A relaxing weekend retreat.....

I'm sure after this one, Jen will pull my posting rights - LOL!

Janell and I took a little trip a few weeks back. (Jen, Cindy and RAP all had other plans.) It all started out so innocently, a weekend retreat at the LSS in Peachtree City, which is south of ATL. But then it grew. (For the record, it always grows!) Janell cooked up a scheme to go to the premier scrapbook store in our area - Scrap Etc. in Hoover Alabama. Her rationalization was that we were already on I-20 anyway since she was swinging by my house to pick me up. (It didn't matter that SE was an hour and a half west on I-20!) Plus we didn't have to be in PTC until 4:00 pm. And I being the noble follower did not disagree! Honestly, in the heat of passion - it really did make sense!

We left the Exit 11 at 9:00 am (EST) sharp. We made excellent time to Alabama, and were even sitting in the parking lot at Scrapbook Mania in Pelham before they opened. Yes, we did try to get more bang for our buck and go to 2 stores since we did drive 100 gazillion miles to get there! We were in and out of both stores, had lunch, and then hit the road.

We were making excellent time, and then it all came to a grinding halt! We were faked out by all of the road construction signs and thought that it would be a minor delay. 45 minutes later - we realized that there was a little more to it. Our friendly truck driver in front of us (we like to call him Wedgie Man) was kind enough to tell us that it was a fiery collision b/w 2 18 wheelers. The local volunteer firefighters were trying to put out the fire, but were not having much luck b/c one was full of paint.

So, what do 2 scrapbookers with a digi SLR do - take pictures, of course! We met lots of new friends and witnessed many funny things. We laughed so hard that we cried. Finally after almost 2 hours of sitting there, the truck in front of us squeezed his way b/w 2 18 wheelers to go thru the median to go back westbound to the previous exit. Once he did that, we had a little wiggle room. With a cheering crowd, we were able to do the same. And once again we were on the road!
The pig trails of rural West Georgia were like the interstates in metro ATL with all of the diverted traffic. But thanks to my familiarity with the area, I was able to get us back on track. We finally made it to Highway 27 southbound, right where we had started from 10 hours & 300+ miles early. We made it to our retreat, only 4 hours late! It was a crazy trip, but it was one I will never forget! To use MAG-speak, you had to live it!!!

In honor of our little outing, I wrote a song. It goes something like this:

Croptoberfest 2007
(to the them of Gilligan's Island)

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from Hiram, GA
Aboard a Ford SUV, not a ship.

The mate was a spineless supply hoarder
The skipper a professional shopper.
These 2 crazy gals hit the road that day
For a minor detour, a minor detour.

The weather was drizzling that day,
but the Ford Explorer cruised right on,
If not for the greed of the crazy scrapbookers
They would have been on time, right on time.

The SUV came to a screeching halt on the interstate
With MM (not Matte Magic)
The Dictator too (that's Janell for those who don't know),
The piano hauler and his wedgie-eeeee,
The golfers,
And the truck drivers and the businessmen,
Here I-20 eastbound.

The hoarder and the dictator too,
Did their very best,
To make up the time they lost,
because of their little detour to the west.

So this is the tale of the 2 scrapbookers,
They were there for a long, long time.
They had to make the best of things,
the traffic was a several mile long line.

No ice, no potties, no unsweet tea,
No Fancy Pants felt for me!
Like back in the days of Creative Memories,
As primative as can be.

So join us here for our next outing,
You're sure to get a chuckle,
It's bound to be a wild, wild ride,
so better make sure you buckle!

And now a little eye candy for ya - I bring you Wedgie Man: