Saturday

Tom and all the students had a big test due at noon on Friday so he was very relieved to have that done and ready to relax this weekend. While I went out for a run, he walked over to a little shopping area near us for a haircut but they weren’t open yet so opted for coffee and a newspaper at House of Java next door. I actually got sucked into BEACHES on tv when I got back. I forgot how hokey that movie was but like I said, felt compelled to watch the whole thing while Tom went for his post haircut run.

After a relaxing morning we headed to Montgomery for yet another Saturday along the water. Everything in this city seems to revolve around this area….makes me wonder what they did before it was developed! It was the Montgomery Wine Festival with live music, food & drink samples and plenty of fun people. When we checked in we got a bag with an etched wine glass and a small loaf of Italian bread. You may or may not know that Tom is a connoisseur of Italian bread and proclaimed THIS bread very good.

We ran into several of Tom’s classmates throughout the day so got plenty of visiting and comparing test horror stories in as we encountered each one. We also met a really nice couple (Mike & Kathy) from Lake Martin who recognized Tom from the Sprint Triathlon. (Yes, we've been here 2 months and apparently Tom is already a local sports celebrity!) Mike was in an older category than Tom but they had plenty of training tales to swap as well as the sharing of upcoming race info. Kathy is a principal of an elementary school and both were very nice. As things were wrapping up I asked the girls at the check in table where they had gotten the Italian bread. They said the hotel across the street had provided it but they had two big bags left over so invited us to take what we wanted. I loaded up 5 loaves in my purse!

We also decided to take the Harriott II riverboat for a ride later in the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day (sunny and 85 degrees) with a faint breeze. We had seats out on the deck of the second level and were on the bow so we were right up front.
There was a live band at the back of the boat and a couple of refreshment stands. There was seating along the outside decks as well as inside where they had tables and the football game on the big screen. There was a group of about 8 senior LDS missionaries who got on after we were already seated and I think they went inside. Those badges give them away every time!

It was a beautiful 90 minute ride up the Alabama River and I’m sure it would be gorgeous after the leaves start to change. We turned around at one point and as we headed back the sun had just started going down so I was glad I had a sweater. We chatted with a really cute couple sitting next to us (Dell and Richard). He was from Birmingham and she from Montgomery. She had been in loans up until last year so we plenty of real estate stories to swap. When we got off the boat and headed to our car the two bags of bread were still sitting on the table on the dock, and since we had eaten another loaf on the river trip, we helped ourselves to a couple more!

Came home and relaxed with a bowl of popcorn and the BYU football game but as it didn’t start here until 9:15 PM, I lasted about 45 minutes and was out!