BANGO JANGO!!!

Howdy ya'll!!!  Well we successfully made it back from our trip down south.  We did NOT get swallowed by the potholes going through Kentucky.  If you haven't driven through Kentucky I strongly suggest you add it to your list of things to do in life (just hold on tight and look out for potholes).  But it is seriously Beau-ti-ful.  There comes a point south of Cincinnati, just crossing into Kentucky where the road winds through the hills and you feel instantly relaxed.

Our trip was pretty nice.  The weather was mostly beautiful (80 degrees and sunny).  We did some fun things such as fishing at the pond behind my relative's house, visited Reelfoot Lake with all the cypress trees growing in the water, went to the flea market where my Papa wheels and deals on the weekends, had lunch at Sonic (sweet Jesus if you've never had a lemon-berry slush and a chili-cheese pie then you HAVE NOT lived).  We also sipped on the sweet awesomeness that is peach flavored Nehi (its a peach flavored pop).  We roamed the streets of the neighborhood I lived in for 10 months when I was little, visited with family, took a barge down the Mississipi and drove into Missouri to a fun joint called Lamberts "Home of the Throwed Rolls" - a restaurant with amazing southern cooking where they throw hot rolls to you from across the room.  We visited with oodles and oodles of family and finished off the trip with a down home fish fry with even more family. 

The downfalls of the trip consisted of me getting sick mid-week with a sore throat and major sinus drainage mmmmm....  We forgot the air mattress and therefore slept on the rock hard floor at my aunt's house which was okay except for the fact that:
Day 1 - I couldn't sleep because of a migraine
Day 2 - I couldn't sleep because my ARMS ached really really bad.  I know that sounds crazy and it IS.  But they did and I'm pretty sure this exact thing happened when we went camping last time.  I think I must fall asleep on them and the poor things get squished between my body and the hard ground.
Day 3 - I started having the horrible sore throat and drainage issue
Day 4 - It got chilly and we pretty much had all of the blankets in the house beneath us for "cushion" and I was too tired and out of it to actually get up and pull one out from underneath us so I shivered, rolled over, slept, shivered, rolled over, shivered.... all night... long

The other downfalls of the trip pertained to family.  First, and foremost, there's just too many of them.  I end up feeling like I'm not spending enough time with one or the other and come home guilty.  I find myself wanting to spend every minute with them but at the same time want it to be a VACATION and get some quality alone time with the hubby.  I know there are sensible ways to resolve this but everyone's on different schedules and I try not to appear control freakish so I try and go with the flow and end up feeling, like I said, Guilty (with that capital 'G').

And the last downfall is going to sound a little selfish but hear me out.  There is a lot of dysfunction down there amongst my family.  I won't get into all the little details but its heart wrenching to say the least and usually ends up feeling more like a mission trip than a vacation.  Make no mistake, I love and adore my family, ALL of them.  But its hard to see some of the sad things I see when I go and being a natural born "fixer" its difficult to detach and enjoy yourself when you want so bad to fix their world in the week that you're there.  So taking the first "vacation" in five years, the first week-long vacation with my hubby ever... it was a bit disheartening coming home and not feeling recharged whatsoever.  But I wouldn't give it up for anything.  All in all it was a good trip and lets face it, some of my elderly relatives aren't going to be around forever so it was great to spend time with them.  Oh and we picked up a little southern twang after the first 24 hours.  We also added the phrase 'bango jango' after everything we said to reinforce the southern-ness of it all and cracked up at ourselves. 

So there you have it ya'll - our trip in a little ol' nutshell.. Bango Jango!  Now please... if yer so inclined... do take a little ol' minute and fix yer eyes on these here photos... Bango Jango!

Check out that southern scene - fields and sky...

This little gem sat outside the hotel in town... only in Tennessee

The decor inside Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, MO.... Check this place out if you ever get the chance.  I swear this place is awesome - food, environment, the little old lady playing "Git away" music on the piano... everything...

The hubby with a candy cigarette in his mouth - trying to fit in with the locals.  Good heavens...