I have to pat myself on the back - the beach trip actually went really well! I was expecting the shoe to drop, but it didn't.
We did get off to a rocky start when Mary Ann wasn't even ready for me to head to her house until 1:30pm and THEN wandered around still preparing, choosing what to pack, talking to yard guy, etc. until we finally left between 2:30 and 3:00. Still, though, I wasn't by usual bundle of nerves, "let's get going" self. I don't know if it was because I was trying to make myself be on my best behavior or what.
The ride went well - good chatting and enjoying music. We had just gotten south of Montgomery when I jokingly (as I do every time I've ever passed it on a trip because I've never had anyone agree to stop) mentioned we were coming up on Priester's Pecans. Mary Ann said, "Oh, we should stop! Isn't the kind of thing people do on trips?" I was shocked and excited!
We pulled off the interstate and went in. Was it the most amazing store ever? No. Was it cool to be spontaneous and finally at least get to check it out? YES! We both bought a few treats, and we got to use a restroom that seemed to be kept pretty clean.
As we got closer to Gulf Shores, we saw a billboard for House of Jerky - boasting every kind of jerky, including vegan - and located at The Wharf. Even though it was nearing dark, we decided to go on our way into town. Being so spontaneous is out of character for me, but I was really enjoying it! We parked and started wandering through shops and stopped for dinner in The Wharf. Dinner took longer than expected so we didn't make it to House of Jerky before it closed so we decided to come back on our way out of town. Mary Ann really wanted to ride the giant ferris wheel so we did - after we got over the butterflies the first time the wheel stopped and out cart moved, it was fun.
We finally got to the rental property between 9:30 and 10:00. After loading everything in, it was pretty late - and of course dark. We had talked about going to walk on the beach in the dark, but I was afraid we wouldn't be able to find the path and said we should wait until tomorrow. Mary Ann said she was sure we'd be able to find it and convinced we to go ahead and go.
She was right - we literally crossed the street at the light and walked down the obvious beach access path onto the sand and to the water. It was beautiful and there weren't too many other people on the beach. We strode up and down the shore for a bit then headed back to the rental. We finally turned in about midnight, but I actually felt like we had already done more than I usually do on the first day of a trip.
The next day, we took our time getting ready - eating breakfast, getting sunscreened up, etc. Since no one was at the pool (and the beach seemed crowded), we headed to the pool. We laid out for a good hour - not something I usually do but I'd eaten a quarter of an edible gummy and was pretty relaxed. Mary Ann got in the pool for a while, but I didn't want to rinse all my sunscreen off since I wasn't sure how much we'd be in the sun the rest of the day since we didn't have real plans. It was HOT so we decided to head back in the room to cool off.
I suggested we drive around the area and visit shops since we were in the heat of the day then head to beach once it started to cool off. She was up for it so away we went. We had a couple of hiccups of Mary Ann saying we should go somewhere AFTER we passed it when it was not really possible for me to turn around and go back. I got a little frustrated - and probably a little short - but we ended up cooling down and agreeing on the handful of places to stop. About 4:30, she was hungry so we finally (after hitting up 2 other spots that were closed at the time) hit The Oyster House.
There was a brief wait, and while we were sitting outside, I pulled up their menu on my phone for her to look at since she's pescatarian and a little particular. After looking at it, she went inside and when she came back out, she said she'd asked them to let us know when seats at the bar (which were limited to 4 total with COVID) were available because "she was probably going to have questions and would rather bother a bartender than a server." I wasn't sure what that meant, but whatever.
We actually got seated quickly, and ended up with a bartender that made me wish Doug was with me (but only for a moment because otherwise, I would have had to listen to him bitch about it and ruin the meal) because he would make SUCH a good improv character. He was WAY into his job, wanted attention (kept making "ugh" noises or saying something under his breath then explaining it as if someone had asked about it though no one had. He was a total show.
Mary Ann did ask a lot of questions, ordered things when we had asked for a minute, etc, so I learned what her comment had meant. I usually would have been annoyed but I actually just appreciated that she knew herself well enough to know how to make it work. She ordered the special recommended by the bartender, but ended up not enjoying it - and let him know (in a nice way but she said she just wanted him to know since he was suggesting it). He - in his "look at me" dramatic way - said he was so sorry and they had a conversation that I tried to completely avoid/ignore and focused on intently eating my red beans and rice.
Inside, I was wanting it to end - I AM of the British nature enough that I would never let the staff know if I didn't enjoy my food and am not used to someone being so honest. I was honestly embarrassed, but he handled it in stride and then offered us a free piece of cheesecake to make up for her not enjoying his recommendation. I was floored! I went from wanting to crawl in a hole because I was so NOT used to someone speaking up to coming out with a delicious benefit. This was only one of the confounding but enjoyable contradictions I continued to discover around Mary Ann.
After another shop stop, we headed back to the rental, loaded our purchases inside (better than the hot car), got ready, and headed to the beach. IT WAS PERFECT!!! The temperature was comfortable plus there was a breeze. The sun was starting to go down so it wasn't blazing. People had started to head in so the beach wasn't crowded at all. We chose a spot that was a bit away from other people but right up at the water to set up our chairs (which I'd borrowed). Mary Ann swam out in the water for a while. I sat and listened to the water, took some pics, walked and splashed at the water's edge, picked up shells, etc. We were there maybe 30-45 minutes, but it was just right.
I pointed out that it may be pretty empty and not too hot if we headed back to the beach around sunrise (and would give us an early start since we had to vacate the rental by 10am). We hung around in the room - watched a little TV, she smoked and listened to music in my car for a good half hour. The heat had taken it's toll, and we were out by around 10:30.
The next day, I had set an alarm for 6am (she was going to get up earlier but forgot to set an alarm). We actually got moving relatively quickly and made it to the beach. She apparently had told her boyfriend the night before that she didn't want him moving to Birmingham and living with her. Despite it being her birthday, he had obsessively been trying to call and had sent a few dozen nasty texts to start her day. I was appalled at him and told her it was definitely an abusive relationship (which she replied to with "imagine that for me again") and she was much better without him. I rushed her to the beach since I knew she was planning to meditate there and figured it would help - it seemed to and the beach was once again perfect.
We were back in the rental by 7:30 or 8am. I was trying to take it easy and not be too pushy about getting on the ball to get packed and out of the rental but was definitely watching the clock. At about 9:30, she asked if it would be ok for her to jump in the pool then come back and finish packing. It's the only time I started to kind of "show my ass" (as Dad says) and told her we HAD to have everything out by 10am. So she agreed to get everything out then go swim. I literally had to give her a countdown every ten minutes, but we left with the last load AT 10am. I also had to keep reminding her that we could not leave ANYTHING in the rental because she kept saying "we can leave that for the cleaning crew" - she finally apologized that she just wasn't getting it and I realized I might have started crossing into being harsh.
Anway, as I took the trash to the dumpster, she went to the pool. I told her we were in no rush NOW so she swam and basked in the sun for another 45 minutes (as I huddled in the shad of an umbrella and sweated). After she was done at the pool, we drove across the street to the beach restroom so she could change out of her wet bathing suit.
We headed to the go kart track we'd seen on our drive the day before that she'd gotten really excited about. She paid for the whole thing (and bought gas later) which I really appreciated since I already will be pulling savings to pay for the trip. We rode two different go kart tracks and started playing one of the mini golf courses when the heat really started getting to be too much (I know I had sweat pouring down my back). We went in the A/C arcade to try to cool off but didn't find anything of interest. I suggested we go get some lunch for a prolonged cool off and could always come back to do go karts again for a bit (since we still had credit on the passes) before heading to The Wharf (and House of Jerky) on our way out of town.
Since it was Monday, the first restaurant we went to was closed. When we went to the one next door, it didn't seem to have much inside seating (which is additionally limited during COVID) so I said, "Let's sit in the A/C car while we make a plan. I definitely need to eat inside somewhere." She suggested that we go ahead and go to The Wharf - eat there and shop. She said I could keep the passes card since they don't expire and I'm coming back in October (if not sooner).
At The Wharf, we ended up parking directly in from of a new age crystal type store - 100% up Mary Ann's alley and definitely of interest to me. We ended up staying in there for a good half hour. By that point, I was starving so we wandered down a ways and found a place boasting a crabcake special. Food ended up being really good PLUS we were only few doors away from the House of Jerky.
The HOJ ended up not being quite as grand as it sounded, but I still ended up dropping almost $150 and leaving with all kinds of good stuff. We hit a few more shops - including a pet boutique to get goodies for our dogs (much to Annabel and Horatio's chagrin). After that, I had hit my wall. I was ready to get in the car since we had a 5+ hour drive ahead of us and it was already 4:30. I finally got her back in the car (without seeming too impatient, I think) when she said "the Ferris wheel looks like it's open." I finally put my foot down and said we needed to get on the road - apparently too forcefully since she started apologizing and saying she wasn't aware of the time. Of course, I apologized back and said I understood and that I was enjoying just going with the flow but did have to go to work tomorrow.
We got on the road finally and were once again chatting and enjoying music. We were not too far up the road when I said I was going to pull over to grab a soda so I'd have caffeine in my system for the drive. Mary Ann asked if we could wait because she'd seen a sign for Buc-ee's that wasn't too far away. I took a deep breath and said "sure" even though I was frustrated. And, once again, I realized she had been right.
Buc-ee's (or however it's spelled) was AWESOME! We wandered around for quite a while and ended up buying food and other treats (including the same adorable t-shirt - unintentionally). It was the oddly perfect ending to the trip.
One odd thing that maybe made the trip even better was that I had several moments that I realized were incredibly similar to dreams I'd been having recently. It was like I was truly supposed to have gone.
Every since the trip, I also have moments where I return to the peace and relaxation I felt. I expected to be keyed up and anxious the entire time, but I managed to really step out of my typicalness to have a trip like none I can really remember.
I'm now looking forward EVEN MORE to my other girls' beach trip back to Gulf Shores in October, but I know in many ways it will not compare to this one.
