Day 5 - "Thorns and Roses"

What a RIP OFF! After seeing the beautiful white sands of Destin and Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, I was really looking forward to seeing something else new in Orange Beach, Alabama. The beach is NOT ORANGE! It is that same old pure white sugar sand you get in Destin! Now orange sand, that would be something. This town should be called "Same Old White Sand Beaches You Get in Florida", Alabama. "SOWSBYGIF" is more RV friendly than Destin, though. The Walmart just up the road in Gulf Shores welcomes you, and there is a lot more public beach access points with lots of parking.

I have asked each person on this reality expedition to blog their "Thorns and Roses". T&R is a Boy Scout campfire tradition while on backcountry expeditions. Basically, you discuss the best and worst events of your day while on the trail. Since this their first blog entriy it covers eveything from Houston to SOWSBYGIF. Enjoy!

Brian's Blog

My favorite part of the trip so far has been being able to play video games or surf the web going 70 miles an hour down the road. The only problem has been this strange consistant sound that seems to be constantly surrounding my nirvana bubble. I have tried to ignore it, but it just keeps hanging around kind of like that one fly in the room you just can't seem to get rid of. I finally deduced what it was through a Holmes-like thought process. I said, "Aha! Mother!" She apparently does NOT understand the concept that oxygen is a limited substance in the universe. Constantly talking or yelling, "Y'all look out the windows!", "Raise those blinds and look outside!", "Brian get off that videotvtextcomputerthing!", "Holli, wakeup!", "Brian, is Holli awake?!", "Is the carbon monoxide detector working?!" to which Dad replied, "Yes, it is" to which she replied, "Are you sure? I think I can smell it" to which I hung my head.

I finally decided to answer one saying, "Brian can you pour me a Dr. Pepper?". I replied, "Mom, are you aware how hard it is to pour a drink out of a 2 liter while going 65 miles an hour down the road in a vehicle that feels EVERY single bump?". So as I'm trying to pour a drink for my insistant mother, I quickly figured out that the only way to do this is a way OTHER than how I am doing it at this exact moment in time, as I'm wiping the spilled Dr. Pepper off my trousers. As I brace one foot on the fridge and one arm on the bathroom door, I realize that my other foot has slipped in the spilled DP, and I am now wedged in an incredibly uncomfortable position in this RV and wondering to myself, "Why do we pick NOW to go around a corner?!" Now I'm going down the road 65 miles an hour SIDEWAYS with a DP 2 liter in one hand and a half poured DP cup in the other trying desperately not to spill either of them anymore.

It was at this time I decided that RV vacay's with the family were NOT for me. TUNE IN NEXT TIME FOR ANOTHER GLORIOUS ADVENTURE IN THE LIFE OF ONE WHO DOES NOT WANT TO BE HERE.

Holli's Blog

My favorite part of the trip so far, has been sleeping whenever I want! I love sleeping! A typical night has been going to bed at 8 and waking up at 8 the next morning, then taking multiple naps whenever the RV is moving or just whenever I feel like dozing off. Either while Mom is yelling, "Bri-Holli are ya'll looking at the scenery? Look! That is where Aunt Kandi, Aunt Tammi, Aunt GG, and I stayed when we were here! Oh look, it's Florabama! Is Holli even awake?" "No!" Brian usually replies. This way it gets me out of actually having to respond to her because I'm usually sleeping.

The worst part of the trip was yesterday when I had to wake up because we had to go eat. Usually I would be more than happy to go eat, even if it meant I have to wake up from a nice nap, but not in this case. Just like always, I was sleeping when they decided to wake me up and tell me we are going to go eat at this seafood place that "the Golden Girls" ate at last time they went to Orange Beach. So I get up, throw on my shoes, and climb down from my "Haven of Awesomeness" and drag Mom out the door. We walk all the way across the parking lot, through the strip center sidewalk, and down to the restaurant to see the "Sorry we are closed for relocation" sign on the door. Then we had to walk ALL the way back to the RV and go somewhere else. So I was awakened up from my nap to go to a place that wasn't even open! At that point, I couldn't go back to sleep because we were just going to stop somewhere else to eat in like 2 minutes, so I was bored just laying up in my cove doing nothing for a whole 2 to 3 minutes. It was horrible!

Cherri's Blog

The great thing about an RV vacation is that you have all the conveniences of home. One ot the bad things about an RV vacation is that you have all the conveniences of home. NOTHING has changed! You'd think going on vacation, that SOMETHING would change; but, nooooo! Brad is still eating "carp", Brian is still playing his Xbox, and Holli is still sleeping! I'm tired of hearing, "I sick" from Holli (she did start the trip out with a cold; but, thanks to ALL her sleep, she's great now!) trying to get out of doing anything; and now, Brad has even chimed in (of course, he at least had an excuse, but doing great now, too!). On a positive note, though, at least the RV is a much smaller area to try to keep clean...they can't mess it up too bad!

I've now introduced my "addiction" to Holli...seashelling! I was in heaven. Strolling Orange Beach I spent hours of peaceful bliss picking through small and broken shells looking for just that perfect Olive or Sand Dollar. Although rare to find, I did manage to score one of each that are in perfect condition.

I only stopped "shelling" long enough to meet a few people. Gram Gram Gloria is my NBF. She is from Michigan, rents a place right on the beach for three months each year, and is an expert on sea shells. She told us to go to Ft. Morgan and take the ferry to Dolphin Island; and, also, go see the Blue Angels Flight Museum and IMAX. She also told me the best months to search for shells!

Holli mentioned the closed restaurant we tried to go to. What she did not tell you was that by talking to stangers (like the kids are always teasing me about) I found out that the best seafood lunch in Orange Beach is at an out-of-the-way place called Desoto's. When we got there, I had Monica briefed on Brad's dietary restrictions and had the owner, Rosemary, over for a cooking consultation before he even got to the table. Rosemary and her husband have owned the place for nine years, but the place has been there since the early '70s. Monica had to leave work early because one of her children was sick at daycare. I told her I understood because my Grandmother had once forgotten to pick me up from kindergarten, and I thought I had been abandoned and I remember that to this day! Of course they all knew where we were from, where we had been, that the "Golden Girls" had been to Orange Beach before, that we are on Spring Break, will be here 'til Friday, have an RV, kids don't play the vacation game right, and in addition to gallbladder, Brad has a history of kidney stones.

Brad:
Well, what more can I say. The gang is all here and, as for the tone of the blog, I don't know where the kids got it from ;) TTFN from SOWSBYGIF!