hinesville holiday!

For the first time since February, I had a night away from home that had nothing to do with a mandatory stay in a hospital.

How about that?

Good thing I got the decal for my tag!

Christina and I were to get together for a lunch, just we two, but when I contacted her about our plans on Tuesday night, she suggested that I come and stay over...

so, I did.

After all, as it was a weeknight, I could stay in CJ's room and not be concerned about displacing him to the couch.

(smile!)

I arrived in time for us to go out to lunch at one of our favorites there!

No, it wasn't 'Taco Tuesday' at Rodeo Mexican, but that was fine with me.

The whole point was to be there with her!

And just her!

No kids interrupting every five seconds...

just two grown women spending some much-needed time in each other's company, after far too few such times in the last six months.

Sure, we'd already had an hour at the house, with me opening gifts she'd bought me for my birthday, for Mother's Day, from the spring break trip they had in Virginia.

Of course I read the cards aloud!

Of course I gave her a big hug between each round of gifts from her!

Then we had another hour and more at the restaurant, with a waiter that kept entertaining us along the way!

It was absolutely magnificent.

(smile!) 

So much time, just us!

Then, before you know it, it was 5 PM and time to get the two girls from day camp.

I could not believe how much Chloe has grown!

She's lost most of her 'baby' look, and definitely has matured a bit - that's good!

Miyah has matured a bit, too, and was very proud to show me that she "has a job" now...

she's in charge of feeding Mousse!

Now, if only they could take on their room and keep the floor visible in it - lol!

Here they are goofing around before dinner.

Tonight, we had Charcuterie a la Christina!

Nice and cool and easy and fast!

Not much to clean up, either.

That was a definite bonus!

Then I got to visit with the whole family and chat and watch a bit of whatever was on tv until time for the girls to go to bed.

More alone time with my first niece!

She'd talked to me about a Netflix show she's really into, so I watched three episodes with her... though, truth to tell, she slept through that third one!

She caught up with it this morning, though, while I slept in a little.

We talked about it over breakfast and coffee, with me pointing out that "Outlander" seemed to be a historical romance centered on a woman who helped others.

Perhaps she might enjoy an old show like that, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"?

Oh, yes, she loved that show, too!

Nice!

I gathered up my things, plus the goodies from her - metal dragonfly wall art, two floppy beach hats, a plaque with coral on it, and bayberry soap ball - and moved all to the living room, in preparation for a last hug before departure.

She was busy straightening up, so I helped!

Two trips to the trash and recycling bins later, we were done with the front rooms.

Also, a thunderstorm had interceded, so I left before the next blip on the radar.

That was good timing!

(smile!)

In all, the trip was not only good for my soul, but also gave me insights to driving techniques I need to use these days.

First, it was a good test of my ability to be on the road during periods of rain.

Her house in Hinesville is exactly 46 miles from my home, so not a strenuous haul.

I made it to her door in just over an hour, going down Highway 17 and staying clear of both I-16 and I-95; I used the same route for my return home today.

After all, driving at 55 is quite fast enough, thanks, until my dizzy spells disappear, right?

I ran into one rainstorm along the way there, though that was right in Hinesville.

Fortunately, it didn't last long, but was very hard, as had been the rain on Monday.

That meant I had to slow down more than usual and be extra careful to keep my eyes straight ahead.

The windshield wipers were a distraction to my focus, but I had to use those.

I just had to be extra cautious then of what the cars ahead of me were doing.

What else have I learned from this drive time?

I cannot keep glancing at the rear view mirror and off to the sides and back to the front, as I am accustomed to doing.

That tends to bring on a dizzy spell and that's detrimental.

So I very much limited my use of the rear view mirror and only glanced to the side when another car was not racing past.

I had to keep telling myself that anyone who was crowding up on my bumper was not my problem, that I was their problem and they needed to take care.

Seems like there was one more lesson...

oh, yes, the radio.

I absolutely cannot drive with the radio on unless traffic is very light.

That basically means no use of the radio at all in town.

I had hoped to listen to some music on the drive, but there were more vehicles on the road than I would have expected on weekdays.

That just meant the drive seemed pretty long.

That reminds, I did learn one more thing!

I had brought some hard peppermint candy along in case my mouth got dry.

I had not used them on the way to Christina's, but I did pop one in as i was departing.

And guess what?

The time between Hinesville and Richmond Hill passed very quickly!

I was still well-focused on driving, but I seemed to be more relaxed, too.

Good to know!

Guess I need to get some more of those hard candies!

(smile!)