I come to Alabama with a Bon Jovi CD

When you're going to go on a long road trip, it is imperative to have the right music.

If I remember correctly, there was once an invention called an "iPod" which allowed people to listen to songs without burning CDs. Clearly, I never had one, so even now in the smart phone digital postmodern age I still had to make a few CDs for the car full of songs Joseph has (sometimes inexplicably) become attached to. Like "Africa" or "Believe it Or Not" or "Livin' on a Prayer" or now "The Pretty Song" (that is, "What Makes You Beautiful").

Armed with 80 minutes of Joseph's favorite songs, some downloaded games, lots of snacks, and a few clothes, we embarked on our journey to the very bottom of Alabama to visit Kaylie and Derek for Thanksgiving. Why do such a whirlwind trip? We were enticed by the cheap gas prices, warmer weather, and the chance to add 3 more states to the list. (And to see family, of course.)

We left right after Kevin passed his PhD proposal (the end is in sight . . . yay! and eek!) and spent the night with our friends in Columbus. As is traditional, we played the ever dramatic and poorly

shuffled Killer Bunnies while sampling divine homemade chocolates.

This probably means nothing to most everyone . . . but Kevin really had a lot of bunnies

The next morning, we headed down, and down, and down, and down. I could tell right when we had entered the South not just by the water tower that said "Y'all," but also by the lady at the convenience store who pleasantly ambushed me the minute I walked in with a cordial "hello," and caught me on the way out to compliment my hair (it was unbrushed). Usually I try to pretend that I am invisible at gas stations, but I had to admit this was a pleasant change.

And down, down, down we continued. Kevin and I took turns squeezing into the only open seat in the back to help take care of the boys, but they generally did pretty well. We would get a laugh when Joseph would say, "I never heard this song before" to a song he had heard less than 2 hours before on his CD. (We would also get a laugh out of his requests to get out of his car seat when he said, "My bottom isn't very good," and we would try to acquiesce when possible.)

There must always be a selfie.

Both boys also did a pretty good job napping, though there was one part right as I was driving through construction-ridden Nashville (ugh) that Matthew woke up extremely upset. Not my fave. Also, who does construction in late November? I think every state except Michigan had a substantial amount. (Incidentally, it's comforting to know there are terrible drivers in states other than Utah . . . though not so comforting when you're actively being tailed by someone who is following you from lane to lane or flashing you in a construction zone.)

Before we knew it, we made it to Alabama! Only . . . Alabama is a really, really long state, so we still had 5 hours to go. The freeway was a lot busier than I was expecting, even in the rural parts of the state. And especially around Birmingham. But we kept going, and going, and going, and before 8 pm we were in a cute little town called Daphne. We had made it!

Although it wasn't terribly late by even Eastern Time standards, we were so exhausted by the drive that all attempts at conversation with Kaylie, Derek, or my aunt Megan were unsuccessful. The next morning I said things like, "I vaguely remember something about . . . " and they'd be like, "Yeah, we talked a lot about that for a long time and you said stuff too." Ha. Guess I'm not cut out for 14-hour car rides. The next morning we also discovered that Derek's friend Andy had also joined the party, which meant there were 6 adults and 3 cute little kids celebrating Thanksgiving.

While Derek and Andy were playing football, the rest of us walked down to the bay, which was more fun to explore before I saw the "Beware of alligators and snakes" sign. On the way back, Megan and I caught up on each other's lives after having not seen each other for 5+ years, bonding over things like secret identities of 100 Hour Board writers and past trips to Disneyland.

Oh, and while we were on the walk, we discussed how Thanksgiving is Derek's favorite holiday. We decided to give him something to make it extra special this year. After bequeathing him his turkey feather crown (renamed the more politically correct head loop), she made some for the rest of the menfolk.

Before we all knew it, the turkey, rolls, stuffing, and everything else was ready to eat! Thanksgiving was here for real!

If you don't take a picture of the food, it never happened.

After a delicious meal I seem to remember eating basically one-handed (thanks Matthew), we all fell into food comas. Except, when I woke up from my nap it sounded like I was the only one who really slept. When dishes made it into a manageable state, we all went on a walk to a nearby park for Joseph to play at.

So much for that

Hi Megan!

Can you spot the ornaments in the tree?

This cool swing lets both mom and baby swing together.

Sweet, sweet girl.

Back home, we watched football, played the person game and gratitude scattegories, and acted pretty lethargic overall. Despite my nap, I was still really, really tired. At one point Kaylie asked, "Kyra, can I have one of your fruit snacks?"

In my groggy state, my train of thought went something like this: Fruit snacks. Yes, we do have fruit snacks. They are something we eat in the car. If we don't have enough then there will be sadness. But maybe we have enough. I don't know.

Me: "I'm not sure."

Kaylie: "You're so nice to say it like that. You could have just said no."

"No, I'm really not sure."

She counted them, and then she ate a pack. It was all fine.

We went to see some glittery lights in nearby Fairhope and some un-glittery lights at the park we went to earlier (we considered finding an outlet to plug the lights in), and that was Thanksgiving!


The next day, we had fun playing with cute kids,

got ready, and headed to the beach at Fairhope to enjoy the bright sunny 70 degree weather. We planned our outfits to look good for casual family pictures, but the minute Joseph saw the water, he ran right in with his jeans still on. It didn't affect things a ton, but it set a tone of "whatever happens, happens" for the pictures. We still managed to get a few good ones.

Not a bad view for late November, especially when it's 75 degrees.

His jeans were already wet, but we figured he'd rather play in the water in real swim shorts.

At one point, a local family walked by and remarked that he was brave to be playing in cold water. Kevin said, "We're from Michigan. This is warm to us!" The mom responded, "Yes, I thought you were Yanks." (After playing in recently-melted-glacier-water at Lake Michigan, nothing is cold anymore.) Oh, and speaking of having a different accent, I failed to mention that at a gas station in Tennessee a man asked Kevin if he was French. "No, just congested."

But we got to speak a little French when we headed over to the French Quarter in Fairhope for lunch. Words like "beignets" and "macaron" and "panini." There was just something about the charming outdoor setting that made Kaylie say, "It's just like Disneyland!" (Actually, since it wasn't humid there, it basically was like Southern California with more trees and Spanish moss.)

While we were eating, Kevin let out an audible gasp and an "oh no."

"What?"

He pointed to a little shop right by our table.

"We have to get some of those chocolates," he told me. He had brought some home after his conferences in Belgium and Paris last year, so I agreed with him.

and so did Matthew.

After splurging on our favorite chocolates ("My birthday is coming up," said Kevin), we walked around a little more and then headed back to Kaylie's apartment to pack.

Once we were all packed up, we headed up to Megan's house in northern Alabama. On the way, we were pleasantly surprised to run into each other at a gas station. After a little bit of safe racing (ie we passed her, she passed us a few minutes later, and we passed her a few minutes after that) we all arrived safely and went to bed. The next morning, Megan made muffins and some sweet potato casserole since we were the two people that missed having them for Thanksgiving. We packed some with us, and then we were off!

There was less traffic on the way back, but there was plenty of rain from Nashville to Cincinnati to make up for that. Again, both boys did a great job in the car, especially when The Pretty Song was on. Which meant it was on a lot. Before we knew it, we were getting off the freeway and onto familiar roads. We had made it home!

And after a trip like that, we might stay put for a while.