Around the time of their shout out for anyone who would like to join them, another invitation had been issued for all the folks in MI. Well, Mi Being Mi is from MI and really, really wanted to go but it was just a little too much of a drive for her. So when MB announced their plans, Mi asked me if I would join her on a road trip to Nashville. Now the last time I went on any kind of a vacation without the family was in ForNever. I even mentioned this to MB. She replied that the first trip without her family had her driving on a dark & rainy night to a total stranger's house ( the first roundup held here at my house).
Right off the bat, I said no. Then I asked for details. Emails flew back and forth. The decision was made! We were to do it. Jump out of our comfort zone and JUST DO IT! Reservations were made. Details were being ironed out. Excitment was building! Now MB knew we were coming. LS did not. Cue the laugh!
I volunteered to do road trip worthy food as my partner in surprise crime was doing all the driving. Thank you BearlyBarbie, Allie Geek, Patty Cakes, Nurse Ellen and Emily Nicole for your suggestions when I threw out my picnic "?" thread. You see why I couldn't really tell you what I was doing but I did need help trying to figure out how to have a hot meal on the road. Candice and RedNeckGramma knew and thank you for your suggestions. RNG your hug to Lady S was duly delivered! I also shared your apple juice technique with her too.
Here's what I took.
A veggie soup with wine poached chicken, fresh baquette rolls with seasoned butter ( I promise Baking Nana I WILL get that blog done on seasoned salt & sugar), hummus, and a nice little assortment of cheeses, mixed nuts, my homemade cheezits (Thank you BigShotsMom and Baking Nana for all those discussions we had about how to get those perfected. The ladies said they were and again, I promise to get that recipe posted.), fresh fruit from my orchard and water. I did take adult beverages as well. More about them in a moment :) Also note to self, don't put your soup in a small mouth thermos. While hot & deliciously perfect for that cool rainy night, it was a trick getting it out.
If anyone is wondering what kind of fare I left for my dear spouse who urged me to go on this weekend trip, I thought perhaps he would like to choose his own menu.
Deep sigh! I try so hard with my two but once the Cat is away this is how they play!
Pizza, little smokie sausages, chips and heat & serve pulled pork. The DH was proud of himself for providing his own dinners and also thinking ahead to lunch on Sunday for game day with Alan, our dear friend.
Then suddenly, our plans came to a screeching halt. Mi's work had amped up their workload. She had hoped to take that Friday off as IN is a bit of a drive from here. No such luck! Hopefully, she could leave at noon and I could have someone drop me off in a convenient location to save some drive time. Things went from bad to worse. It looked like Mi couldn't leave until 4. Mind you, she is 1 1/2 hours away from me so that put us coming into IN waaaaay late. Tearfully, I had to decide whether it was even worth trying to go. Too little sleep and all that walking around we were to do, I just didn't think I could manage it. Poor Mi, she felt bad because she couldn't even tell me what would happen with work till the very last minute. So I said if you leave at 12, I'm in. If not, I'm out. I proceeded to pack and make food as if I were going and there were no hitches in our plans. I informed MB that it was likely I wouldn't come. I didn't know if Mi would make that long drive at night by herself either.
Then the email came late Thurs. WE were a GO! I called Mi, we firmed up our plans and I finished up all my chores here. However, I decided to not let MB in on our final plans. Cue that laugh again!
A real quick aside here, I hate traveling. It always seems like so much work and I hate sitting for such long stretches doing nothing. With my partner in surprise crimes, Mi ouse, the miles flew by. We had so much to talk about. That and she might have been doing about 80. This is what I have always found so neat about meeting other AR cooks, you have SOOOO much to talk about. So many different topics, too. Now I did wonder what she and I would discuss on the way home but again we covered many varied topics, some quite important ones too. Like why is it you only see one shoe on the side of the highway? Where is its mate? How did it come to be on the side of the road in the first place? These terribly important topics make all those miles melt away.
The excitement in the car was certainly building because not only did Lady S not know we were coming, MB wasn't too sure either. At our first pit stop, we decided for me to call MB and spin a tale of woe. Again note to self, keep the camera with you at all times! Mi ouse was barely containing her laughter as I woefully told MB how late Mi ouse was leaving and that I just couldn't come. Yes, mauigirl, we feel we did you proud creating that proper surprise atmosphere. Lie like you really mean it and then laugh your you know what off after hanging up. My partner felt unable to do this so stuck to texting for her part in our plan.
Our drive was pretty uneventful up until the last 30 minutes. Truck traffic was heavy and it started to rain. Poor Mi ouse was getting very stressed with the lack of visibility but we arrived safe and sound. I was ever so glad I brought a bottle of wine for her. I'm pretty sure she was ready to uncork that bottle with her teeth if necessary once we settled into our room.
Now for the most EXCELLENT parts.
Maid service was right next door. Perfect! A light knock on the door by Mi ouse. MB opens it with a you know what kind of grin on her face thinking she has pulled off a great surprise on Lady S but the tables were turned!
I do believe she had the same kind of look I had on my face (mauigirl's surprise visit to my roundup) when the recognition that the lady taking pictures was none other then the Cat that was woefully left behind.
Does she look surprised to see me or what?
And look at this smiling face; it is not a beautiful sight?
Naturally Mi ouse and I had to do a little self congratulation on our most excellent surprise. Then we were off for our trip to Nashville. It is a lovely little town and there was quite a bit to see. At lunchtime we were joined by Indiana Peggy.
It was so nice meeting her. We visited all kinds of shops but I think our favorite might have been the one with the free samples of wine!
Mi and I were very sorry we couldn't meet Lucky Noodles but we thank you and Peggy for those sweet gifts.
Lucky made us all a traveling music CD and Peggy shared with us her rock sayings.
We all had a wonderful day followed by happy hour in our motel room. The conversation flowed as it always does with AR peeps. Alas, it had to come to an end but we met up for breakfast the next morning. Even more conversation followed which included topics like toilets, trumpets and echoing. Then we had to say goodbye and hug for one last time. Mi ouse and I had a long drive home to make but our weekend had been so worth it. I have made another wonderful memory to cherish with the help of my dear friends and met a new friend.
Thank you all so much! I missed you as soon as I was back home. Mi and I discussed our next get together opportunity on our way home and as you know the date for the next roundup is already set. So there is much to look forward to in the future and maybe more new friends to met and make!
So till I see you again!
(((((HUGS)))))
Love,
Cat
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