Tom Gets the Clear to Run

Tom was finally given the okay for running after his eye surgery so he opted to do a 10K run with Dave sponsored by the local Methodist church which was a fundraiser for missions.  It was pouring rain so I was the cheering section!  

Dave took first place in his category so he got this cool trophy.  Just so you know, runners don't really want trophies.  They much prefer the stunning medallion they can hang on their door.  Hence, Tom was glad he only placed in his category.  Now that he's cleared for exercise he's training to do a half triathlon in May.  Yep....crazy.

Tom's Face

No, I can't really explain it, but whenever Tom has a significant time away from Coast Guard responsibilities (hence, having to be clean shaven) he feels compelled to go the facial hair route.  And as you can see, it has to evolve into varying degrees.  I have a theory that it goes back to his acting days when he got to be many different characters.  This is just his way of dabbling.  And yes, some of the changes are subtle. Fortunately, some of these looks only lasted a few minutes.

Hemingway fisherman look

If I had to choose a favorite I'd vote for the Van Dyke look.

70's porn star

Just flat out creepy

Y'all Come Back Sometime, Ya Hear?!

We had some options for Jeff & Karen's last day in Alabama which included a 3 hour drive to Talladega for a raceway tour then a 2 hour drive to Birmingham, or to spend the day in Birmingham seeing a list of places I had accumulated, but when it came right down to it, I think I had run them ragged (yeah, I really didn't document EVERYTHING we did so you've seen just most of the big stuff...not all the side trips)  they opted to have a relaxing morning in Prattville before the 75 minute drive to Birmingham and the long flight home.  They had even taken to calling me DiAnne (my mom) as no one can fit quite as much sight-seeing into a day as she can.  So yes, I have learned from the master how to squeeze every last second out of a vacation but really, how many times will they visit Alabama in their lifetime?  So other than a few little architectural gems as we cruised downtown Birmingham I got nothin' for you in the way of photos.  But we had an awesome few days with family and yes, this kind of fun awaits you too if you come to visit... but time is running out!  We're only scheduled to be here until mid-June!

Jeff and Karen's Excellent Adventure in AL continues.....

Monday begins with a trip to the Rosa Parks Museum and a few sites downtown. 

Fortunately Tom is on the morning class schedule this term and is able to join us for the Hyundai plant tour.  Now, I know what you're thinking.  Hyundai plant tour?  Really?  But I'm telling you, this thing is the hardest ticket in town to get!  Only 35 reservations a day and I had to whine to weasel our way in as they were booked like 6 weeks in advance!  Plus, Jeff sells cars for a living!  Why wouldn't he be interested in this place, right?  Write off a few things as education on this trip, impress the boss....you get where I'm going with this.

Did I mention Tom has been growing a beard?

 No photos inside the factory but it was all very interesting and amazing how technology has changed the face of auto making.  Was hoping we would each be given a Hyundai Elantra as a lovely parting gift, but no such luck.

 Had a late lunch though I don't remember where, then we dropped the guys off at the apartment and Karen and I headed to downtown Prattville to do a some retailing in the little shops.  Though she was drawn to the baby sections (they're expecting their first grandchild in June!) we both walked away with new Spring purses that were 50% off!  Yep, gotta love those clearance sales.  Mostly just some browsing but that's my favorite kind of shopping.  Got a message that the guys had walked over to the Bass Pro Shop so we headed that way and found them enjoying the leisure area.  If you haven't been to one of these, they're like Cabella's, full of outdoor gear, clothing, wildlife (stuffed), firearms, boats and a restaurant with menu items like venison and buffalo.  Yeah, kind of a "guy's" place.

And since we didn't make it to Talladega, in front of this mural they could at least pretend that we did!

Weekend in Mobile Part 2

 After breakfast at the hotel we checked out and headed for Dauphin Island.  Where we thought it was and where it actually was were two completely different places so we sucked it up, followed the GPS and arrived quite nicely, thank you very much.

Unfortunately, the beautiful Alabama weather I had hoped for wasn't to be so instead of laying on the beach we strolled a bit and gathered shells for souvenirs.  Oh, and photographed each other.

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 Fort Gaines was not on the agenda but you're there, and how many waterfront forts will you see in your lifetime....hence, we stopped.  The history is long so you can check out the link if you're interested.

Yes, this is a group toilet.  And yes, Jeff is acting again.  We think.

 After the drive back to Prattville we settled in with another hot dice game in pajamas and if memory serves me I'm pretty sure the females were victorious again and again.  Of course.  I also attempted to watch my first Nascar race on television (which included a two hour fire fighting marathon) but after actually sleeping through it my brother kindly suggested I go to bed since at 11 PM it was already 2 hours past my bedtime.  This was very nice of him though I think he actually just wanted the couch I was on so he could sleep through the riveting race himself.