On the road again...1
I just got back to my home today and I am about to crash, but today was so funny that I wanted to share it with you. My friend asked me to help him with his move this weekend, as he had sent me a text a couple of days ago asking me to help him pick up a refirgerator. I had plans of going to Atlanta, but I agreed to do it because I know what it is like to have someone help you out when you move. I didn't do it because I enjoy moving, but I did it out of respect for our friendship and the fact that this guy rarely asks for favors. I owed him one.
We had planned to leave between 8AM and 9AM this morning, but I didn't receive a call from him until about 15 minutes after 9AM. I had just stopped by McDonald's and told him that I needed about 30 minutes to get ready. He said that he hadn't gotten up so the timing was working out perfectly. He should be at my place by ten and we could shoot down to Clanton, Alabama and be back in a couple of hours. I could be on the road by 1 or so headed to Atlanta.
He made it to my house a little before ten and I was playing Xbox 360 with my brother. We have these weekly Championshiop of the World Challenges with each other on NBA Live, Madden, and Tiger Woods. We were finishing up a game when my buddy arrived. He was eating his breakfast as we played and I think the competetive spirit got into him while he watched us. He started rooting against my team so I turned it up a notch and took the crown from my brother. I was today's CHAMPEEN OF DA WORLD in NBA LIVE. My buddy picked up my brother's controller and tried to play. We agreed to play half of a game so that he could practice. He got beaten as well and we walked out of the door headed to get the fridge.
I was in my casual attire...jeans, golf shirt, and a ball cap. I chose to wear some driving shoes and not put on any socks so that he would know that I didn't plan on working too hard. :-) I don't think he got the hint, but he didn't say anything. We headed out in the rental truck that was way too big for just a fridge, so I knew something was up. NOTE TO SELF: Always follow your first mind. The truck appeared to be out of balance as we headed down the freeway. He stopped by the rental company and they did not have any more trucks of that size. We would have to take it to their other location and swap it out. The other location was on the way so that wasn't a big deal. We hit the freeway again with our heads bouncing around like Bobble Head Dolls beacause of the tire and made it to the second location. At that location the manager told us that we should've topped it off with gas. He agreed to charge us the cheaper price that we'd seen about twenty miles back. We got into the new truck, which happened to be older and smelled like a truck. The first one was fairly new and it even had power windows. Oh well, it was a moving truck so I sucked it up and we hit the road.
We reached Clanton, Alabama about 30 minutes later. Clanton is known for it's peach farms, but we were headed to a storage unit to pick up a fridge and head back. We were making great time. It was about 1 o'clock and I had made it up in my mind that we could definitely be back by 3p. We had to find the storage unit. The first one we stopped at didn't have corresponding numbers so we pulled back onto the road and continued to travel in the direction that had been given to my buddy. Clanton appeared to be a sleepy southern city not unlike where my mom grew up. All I knew about it was the peaches, but my buddy had heard that it was pretty racist. He'd spent some time in other cities, so I asked him if he was talking about Cullman. He informed me that his coworkers talk about how small the community really was and how everyone knew everyone else's family.
We headed on down the road and finally reached the second storage facility. As we pulled in we saw unit 65 right ahead of us, but weren't totally convinced that we were at the right one until we opened it up with the key that we'd been provided. We opened up the unit that was full of lost treasures. It reminded me of my old storage unit. Full of stuff that you will probably never use, but are too attached to to discard. The fridge that my buddy (Lord'David) was buying was behind some other stuff, but not too far off in the unit. He quickly moved some things around and we put the fridge on the dolly and put it on the truck. We were out of there in 30 minutes headed back to the city. We didn't get a mile down the road before David saw an appliance repair shop. It was locally owned and they had lots of pieces for sale. He was looking for a small freezer and within 5 minutes he had walked in and purchased one. I like warranties and I am always skeptical of "great deals", but hey it wasn't my trip or my money. I asked him if he knew that the unit was working and he said that it was running when he got in the store. I laughed at him as he and the white store owner loaded up our truck. We made jokes about him being worried about getting lynched, but chumming it up with the locals. It would have made a great picture and I was pissed that I hadn't brought my camera to take pics of some of the scenery and as we headed back to the freeway. I persuaded him to stop and check out the local peach farm store. The famous Durbin Farms Market was right off of the exit and they had an ice cream parlor and produce stand. My buddy was hungry and I just wanted to see what the fuss was all about.
Durbin Farms was pretty busy with locals and people travelling through central Alabama on a nice summer day. The place was nice and clean so we acted like tourists and I was getting the feeling that this was gonna be a bloggable day. As I left the restrooom I saw that they had great desserts in their case and food. I wasn't particularly hungry after breakfast so I was gonna get a shake and a pastry. David decided to get a sandwich. The longer I looked at the menu the better things started to look so we tried the Asian Poppy Seed Chicken Salad Sandwiches and milkshakes. The clerk advised us that we would not be able to eat and drive with the meals so we decided to make this an official pit stop. As we sat there we noticed that most of the people eating the heaping scoops of ice cream were overweight. There were kids and old people eating themselves to death right before our eyes, but the homemade icecreams were just that good and the sandwiches were some of the nicest that I had ever seen.
David got on the phone and started calling some of his relatives. He was planning to get a piano from his grandparent's home in Montevallo. I overheard him between my bites and almost lost my appetite. I had a feeling that moving a piano would be a crazy task. At that point though, I was along for the ride and I was helping out a friend so I set out at rearranging my day. No more Atlanta by three, but maybe I could make the movies by 5p. Being back at home soon kept me motivated.
As we approached Montevallo, Alabama's exit I started to get memories of college. I had visited Montevallo on a couple of occassions and remembered it to be a pleasant little city. David's family lived by the school and we drove through the neighborhood speaking to his cousins seeing the houses and looking for a lawn mower. Do you have an extra mower handy? As we waited for his aunt to come to his grandfather's house with the key to let us in to pick up a piano, Dave told me stories of the neighborhood. It was cool to hear the stories of his summers in the south with his family. It reminded me of my summers hanging out with my cousins when they would come to visit from other states. It is amazing how so many people have similar stories.
Well, a few hours later my day came to an end...my 2 hour moving ride turned into an all day experience. I am not even going to tell you what it took to move a 100 year old antique piano out of a house in driving shoes and sagging jeans. I got to sample the famous Clanton peach ice cream, I moved my first piano, and I realized that relaxation comes in many forms. It doesn't take an exotic vacation or getaway, sometimes all it takes is a drive down I-65.
NOTE TO SELF: ALWAYS HAVE YOUR CAMERA
We had planned to leave between 8AM and 9AM this morning, but I didn't receive a call from him until about 15 minutes after 9AM. I had just stopped by McDonald's and told him that I needed about 30 minutes to get ready. He said that he hadn't gotten up so the timing was working out perfectly. He should be at my place by ten and we could shoot down to Clanton, Alabama and be back in a couple of hours. I could be on the road by 1 or so headed to Atlanta.
He made it to my house a little before ten and I was playing Xbox 360 with my brother. We have these weekly Championshiop of the World Challenges with each other on NBA Live, Madden, and Tiger Woods. We were finishing up a game when my buddy arrived. He was eating his breakfast as we played and I think the competetive spirit got into him while he watched us. He started rooting against my team so I turned it up a notch and took the crown from my brother. I was today's CHAMPEEN OF DA WORLD in NBA LIVE. My buddy picked up my brother's controller and tried to play. We agreed to play half of a game so that he could practice. He got beaten as well and we walked out of the door headed to get the fridge.
I was in my casual attire...jeans, golf shirt, and a ball cap. I chose to wear some driving shoes and not put on any socks so that he would know that I didn't plan on working too hard. :-) I don't think he got the hint, but he didn't say anything. We headed out in the rental truck that was way too big for just a fridge, so I knew something was up. NOTE TO SELF: Always follow your first mind. The truck appeared to be out of balance as we headed down the freeway. He stopped by the rental company and they did not have any more trucks of that size. We would have to take it to their other location and swap it out. The other location was on the way so that wasn't a big deal. We hit the freeway again with our heads bouncing around like Bobble Head Dolls beacause of the tire and made it to the second location. At that location the manager told us that we should've topped it off with gas. He agreed to charge us the cheaper price that we'd seen about twenty miles back. We got into the new truck, which happened to be older and smelled like a truck. The first one was fairly new and it even had power windows. Oh well, it was a moving truck so I sucked it up and we hit the road.
We reached Clanton, Alabama about 30 minutes later. Clanton is known for it's peach farms, but we were headed to a storage unit to pick up a fridge and head back. We were making great time. It was about 1 o'clock and I had made it up in my mind that we could definitely be back by 3p. We had to find the storage unit. The first one we stopped at didn't have corresponding numbers so we pulled back onto the road and continued to travel in the direction that had been given to my buddy. Clanton appeared to be a sleepy southern city not unlike where my mom grew up. All I knew about it was the peaches, but my buddy had heard that it was pretty racist. He'd spent some time in other cities, so I asked him if he was talking about Cullman. He informed me that his coworkers talk about how small the community really was and how everyone knew everyone else's family.
We headed on down the road and finally reached the second storage facility. As we pulled in we saw unit 65 right ahead of us, but weren't totally convinced that we were at the right one until we opened it up with the key that we'd been provided. We opened up the unit that was full of lost treasures. It reminded me of my old storage unit. Full of stuff that you will probably never use, but are too attached to to discard. The fridge that my buddy (Lord'David) was buying was behind some other stuff, but not too far off in the unit. He quickly moved some things around and we put the fridge on the dolly and put it on the truck. We were out of there in 30 minutes headed back to the city. We didn't get a mile down the road before David saw an appliance repair shop. It was locally owned and they had lots of pieces for sale. He was looking for a small freezer and within 5 minutes he had walked in and purchased one. I like warranties and I am always skeptical of "great deals", but hey it wasn't my trip or my money. I asked him if he knew that the unit was working and he said that it was running when he got in the store. I laughed at him as he and the white store owner loaded up our truck. We made jokes about him being worried about getting lynched, but chumming it up with the locals. It would have made a great picture and I was pissed that I hadn't brought my camera to take pics of some of the scenery and as we headed back to the freeway. I persuaded him to stop and check out the local peach farm store. The famous Durbin Farms Market was right off of the exit and they had an ice cream parlor and produce stand. My buddy was hungry and I just wanted to see what the fuss was all about.
Durbin Farms was pretty busy with locals and people travelling through central Alabama on a nice summer day. The place was nice and clean so we acted like tourists and I was getting the feeling that this was gonna be a bloggable day. As I left the restrooom I saw that they had great desserts in their case and food. I wasn't particularly hungry after breakfast so I was gonna get a shake and a pastry. David decided to get a sandwich. The longer I looked at the menu the better things started to look so we tried the Asian Poppy Seed Chicken Salad Sandwiches and milkshakes. The clerk advised us that we would not be able to eat and drive with the meals so we decided to make this an official pit stop. As we sat there we noticed that most of the people eating the heaping scoops of ice cream were overweight. There were kids and old people eating themselves to death right before our eyes, but the homemade icecreams were just that good and the sandwiches were some of the nicest that I had ever seen.
David got on the phone and started calling some of his relatives. He was planning to get a piano from his grandparent's home in Montevallo. I overheard him between my bites and almost lost my appetite. I had a feeling that moving a piano would be a crazy task. At that point though, I was along for the ride and I was helping out a friend so I set out at rearranging my day. No more Atlanta by three, but maybe I could make the movies by 5p. Being back at home soon kept me motivated.
As we approached Montevallo, Alabama's exit I started to get memories of college. I had visited Montevallo on a couple of occassions and remembered it to be a pleasant little city. David's family lived by the school and we drove through the neighborhood speaking to his cousins seeing the houses and looking for a lawn mower. Do you have an extra mower handy? As we waited for his aunt to come to his grandfather's house with the key to let us in to pick up a piano, Dave told me stories of the neighborhood. It was cool to hear the stories of his summers in the south with his family. It reminded me of my summers hanging out with my cousins when they would come to visit from other states. It is amazing how so many people have similar stories.
Well, a few hours later my day came to an end...my 2 hour moving ride turned into an all day experience. I am not even going to tell you what it took to move a 100 year old antique piano out of a house in driving shoes and sagging jeans. I got to sample the famous Clanton peach ice cream, I moved my first piano, and I realized that relaxation comes in many forms. It doesn't take an exotic vacation or getaway, sometimes all it takes is a drive down I-65.
NOTE TO SELF: ALWAYS HAVE YOUR CAMERA
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