What a crazy weekend. I can’t remember the last time I squeezed so much activity into only three days. I got back to Houston last night not even 72 hours after leaving, and felt like I’d been gone for weeks.
Friday I flew in, got the previously-mentioned rented Mustang, met up with Kent, Karen, Katie, Joel, etc etc etc. The rest of my family arrived around 5:30, and we headed to dinner at Katie’s friend Lauren’s house. (Lauren is another of Katie’s bridesmaids.) Lauren’s mom had fixed a fantastic dinner that was enjoyed by all. We also got to meet Joel’s parents for the first time; unfortunately his two brothers didn’t make it.
They are really nice, just like Joel, and Joel looks just like his Dad and has many of the same mannerisms. Katie should look at Joel’s dad and make sure she likes what she sees before getting married… 😉 By the end of the weekend, I’m sure Joel’s parents were worn out by the constant craziness and chaos and loudness of my family. But that’s the way we are.
After dinner, Brian and I headed to Carter’s to crash for the night while David, Mom and Dad returned to their swanky hotel room on the 50th floor of the Westin.
Saturday morning came bright and early as we headed to the Georgia Dome for the graduation. Kent and Carter came along to entertain me during the almost four-hour ceremony. Katie and Joel both officially graduated, so hooray for them. Afterwards we stuffed ourselves with delicious bbq at Katie’s roommate’s boyfriend’s father’s restaurant. (Confused? It was Jody’s dad’s bbq place for those who know Jody.) From there it was a quick stop at the 50th floor hotel room to take in the view of Atlanta, then back to GT for the baseball game (a rout of Florida Atlantic), then a nightcap of yummy ice cream at Jake’s.
Sunday it was up again to help Katie pack, although we didn’t get there until she was basically done, so we didn’t turn out to be very helpful. Lunch at Rocky Mountain Pizza on their deck, which is much nicer than it was that last time I was there. Said goodbye to the family and then headed to Peachtree City to see Carter’s parents. They have just moved into a gorgeous new house, and on Saturday they got their pimpin’ yellow golf cart with green racing stripes, and green and yellow seats. There will certainly be no mistaking the cart for anyone other than the Greens! We rode at breakneck speed (which on a golf cart turns out to be ~20 mph) around PTC including visits to Radio Shack, a used bookstore, and a secret pavilion in the woods only accessible by golf cart.
We had steak for dinner and then it was time to head back to the airport, where I was overcharged for the rental Mustang (apparently she gave me the wrong car — a Mustang isn’t a compact, it turns out, which didn’t really surprise me, but that’s what they told me to take, SO I have to call them today and sort it out) and chastised by the anal-retentive security lady who counted my purse as a bag and wouldn’t let me go through the metal detectors unless I somehow consolidated to only two bags. Somehow I did it without bursting the zipper on my suitcase, but I fumed the whole time. Every time I fly out of Atlanta, something goes wrong. I am convinced that it has become the worst airport in the country since 9/11.
And now I’m back in Houston for the work week before heading home to NC next weekend for Brian’s graduation from UNC. We were teasing him this weekend because he’s the only member of the family without a college degree…for this one week. 🙂
I have to say, I have never seen lines anywhere outside of *Russia* like I saw at Atlanta after 9/11.