Brace yourselves, this is gonna be a long one.
December 23rd: Early in the morning, we headed to the airport for our flight to Jackson, only to find out that the first leg was going to be delayed for 2 hours. This meant that we were going to miss our connection in Dallas. So I called the airline to find out which later flight we would be on, and I was informed that we could maybe get on standby for the first flight out on Christmas Eve, but it wasn’t likely. (Keep in mind Teenie was with us, so if we had to stay in a hotel, we would’ve had to get food, litter box & all other kitty accoutrements that my mom already has at her house.) Dave and I made the executive decision to screw the 2nd flight, rent a car in Dallas, and drive to Jackson so we could get there the same day. We told the airline this, and they said that they’d change our luggage orders so our bags would stop in Dallas. Turns out, my bag stopped in Dallas, but Dave’s apparently traveled on without him. Oh well. We got the car and I drove us the 450-ish miles from Dallas to Jackson. Dave slept for 5 1/2 of the 6 hours – he woke up in Vicksburg, so he was conscious for the last 40 miles or so. We got to my parents’ house sometime around 2 a.m., and promptly collapsed.
December 24th: We had to go to the airport in Jackson to get Dave’s bags, and in spite of the previous day’s bad travel luck, we actually got them. Whew. I should add, my sister flew to Jackson on the 22nd, and she didn’t get her suitcase until the 24th, either. And then there was all the news coverage about the thousands of people whose bags were lost by the airlines, so we felt pretty lucky by comparison. Anyway, we all went to the candlelight church service that evening, came home, had the Huge Christmas Dinner, and opened presents. I cleaned up this year. I got clothes from my parents and a pashmina from my sister, which were all great. Then Dave got me a necklace that I absolutely adore, a purse that is nicer than anything I have ever owned in my life, and other assorted goodies. I got him a grandfather mantle clock, which he seemed to really like – although he only got pictures of it at Christmas, because it was too big and breakable to get it from Seattle to Jackson and back again. (He got the real clock when we got home yesterday.) What can I say, Christmas was good.
December 25th: The worst migraine I have had in ages. My mom even gave me one of her heavy-duty narcotic painkillers, which did absolutely nothing for it. Somehow, in spite of the pounding in my head, I managed to get myself dressed and packed, and we headed down to New Orleans. We had to take a roundabout way to get there, because it had actually snowed in Louisiana, which is something that never happens there, ever. But, we arrived safe & sound, and we had a great time visiting with relatives that night and on the 26th. Then Mom & Tracy headed back to Jackson, Dave & I got another rental car, and we had the city all to ourselves.
December 27th: The first day of our vacation without my family around. We woke up at 9 a.m., showered, lay in bed to watch the news coverage of the tsunami, and fell asleep until well after 1 in the afternoon. Ah, laziness. I love vacation. After we woke up, we went to an absolutely horrible lunch (at a restaurant that both of my parents raved about, oddly enough), and then wandered around the French Quarter for the rest of the day/night.
December 28th: Slept late. Got up, checked out of the hotel, drove around New Orleans for a bit before heading back to Jackson. Hung out with my parents and watched “Collateral”. It was good.
December 29th: Slept late again. Actually, that was an accident, I got up at 11:00, went into Dave’s room to wake him up (no co-ed sleeping arrangements in my parents’ house), and I lay down on the bed next to him and fell asleep for 2 hours. I was worried that my parents might have caught us like that and freaked out because the door was wide open, but he was under the covers and I was on top of them, so I think it was ok. If they walked down the hall and saw us, they didn’t say anything about it. Anyway, we eventually got up and drove to Memphis. We checked into our hotel, met up with Kris for dinner and then went to play pool at a sketchy bar near the university, which used to be one of our regular hang-outs. Kind of funny to be there again, although I didn’t run into anyone that I knew. Which is probably a good thing.
December 30th: Got up, had lunch, and gave Dave a driving tour of all the places I’ve lived in Memphis. Took him back to the hotel to shower, and then he wanted some quiet time, so I left him there while I went to go hang out with Kris for a couple of hours. We went to some of the local artists’ shops in midtown, which I love. Then Kris and I went back to to the hotel to pick up Dave, and we went to check out Peabody Place. This is one of those cool new things that’s happened to Memphis since I left the city – downtown is actually nice now. Who knew? It’s fabulous. We shopped and went to the Peabody Hotel next door to see the ducks. We avoided Beale Street because it was insanely packed, apparently there was some parade going on there, which may or may not have had something to do with the Liberty Bowl, we weren’t sure. The three of us met up with Becky, Naina and Carrie for dinner that night, which was great. Dave seemed to get good reviews from all of my friends, so that’s good.
December 31st: Spa day! Kris arranged for us to get manicures, pedicures, facials and massages. Ah, so lovely. I had never had a pedicure before, and I haven’t had a facial in years, so that was absolutely wonderful. And it took up the better part of the day; meanwhile, Dave had the rental car and he went off to explore Memphis on his own. We met up at the hotel that evening, got dressed, and went over to Kris’s house for her New Year’s party. I had way too much to drink and was quite obnoxious. Dave somehow managed to get me to bed, where I promptly passed out. Didn’t feel too hot the next day, either.
January 1st: Got up, checked out right at noon (barely made it), drove to Jackson. Chilled out with my parents. Watched “The Manchurian Candidate”. Dave & I had already seen it, but I knew there was no sex in the movie, so I would be safe to watch it with my dad. He seemed to like it.
January 2nd: Flew home. Not nearly as much airport drama as last time, just that we were tired and irritable. But I had so much fun on this vacation, it’s probably one of the best holidays I’ve had in years. I was sad that it was over. And I’m sad that I don’t get to see Dave every day anymore, I really enjoyed that. Even when I was pissy and he was getting on my nerves, I was still glad that he was around. Go figure.