What a day!! A previously planned day of getting up early to get to the beach ASAP turned in to a trip to the Jack Daniel Distillery, followed by another rookie day of driving.
The day started with the Rollings arriving at the Harmon hotel at the agreed time of 7:15am only to find their van with no one in it. Ha, second prediction gone by the wayside. The Rollings made the best of the couple minutes they had, to make a quick McDonald's run for breakfast. After the quick bite, the Rollmans we were off to Lynchburg to see the Jack Daniel Distillery. For those that have not had the pleasure of the free tour they offer, it is very much worth the trip. To know that every drop of Jack Daniels is distilled at this site amazes me even on the second trip. Our tour guide Wes said today that the Distillery writes an 8 million dollar check to the US Government every two weeks for the tax on the Whiskey they distill. WOW! Since my first trip they have built a very nice tour center and the grounds of the distillery are very well kept. The people that work at the distillery are very proud of their workplace. The tour lasted about an hour which worked perfect for our schedule. We left there at about 10:30am for our trip of 6-1/2 hours.
The back roads of Tennesee are very beautiful. The roads are very narrow and the speed limits a little higher than you would think. Little to dangerous for the rookies to be driving. After about an hour and a half we had made our way to Montgomery, Alabama. We decided on a quick lunch at the local Zaxby's. We were close enough to the interstate for the boys to take their turns behind the wheel. Needless to say they got quite a lesson in driving at high speeds in heavy traffic. I was suprised at how many cars and trucks were on the road for a Sunday afternoon. Both boys maintained the speed limit and were passed constantly by traffic going atleast 10 miles an hour faster. I can't speak for Andrew but Carsten handled things better than I thought he would. No rumble strips today. In fact there we a couple of times that I had to scold him for driving too fast. He pretty much took it in stride today and seemed to follow my advice pretty well. Hopefully he's learning and won't be too much of a hazard when he does get his license.
Well after about 6 hours in the car after lunch, we finally made it to Calle Bonita and Beachside II. We all got out of our vehicles only to be greeted a couple minutes later by 7 Blue Angel jets in formation doing a drive-by about 100 feet off the ground, over the beach. Unbeliveable, was all we could say. Mike and Andrew made a dash towards the beach. I was amazed at their cat like reflexes to get to a better viewing position. Certainly was a fun way to start our stay. I made comment to the Harmons that we had planned the Blue Angels to meet us when we arrived. For a second I think they believed me. Not! A few minutes later the Blue Angles passed again even lower in the sky. Probably about 50 feet off the ground or so. They passed by the adjoining town house so low, we could'nt see them over the roof. After talking to my Mom later in the evening, she said its typical for them to do flybys after returning from a day of air shows. But it was rare for them to fly back a second time from where they came. Certainly was a nice treat to start the week.
The two Dads made a trip to Publix for a purchase of groceries for the week, while the Mom's stayed back to get things settled at the condo. After a few frozen pizzas, Carsten and I made way for the first match of ping pong. Certainly is fun to play him and school him a little while he gives it right back. Match one goes to the youngster 3 games to two in the best of five. I'm sure the rest of the week will be hotly contested. Off to bed for everyone. I would imagine everyone will get a goods nights sleep. No plans for tomorrow. Who knows what tomorrows adventure will bring.......
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