The Rest of the Story...

I slept really well Friday night into Saturday morning. I woke up thinking about the day before. I had a talk with God as I laid in bed and then I started to miss Laura Beth. So, I called her on her cell phone and told her to come down the hall. She did, and we talked about the plans for the day... see Oxford for real.

We got ready and headed out to see the city after her mom made us some excellent SISTER SCHUBERT'S Cinnamon Rolls. We drove through the Ole Miss campus on the way to the Square. We went to the Weather Vane to meet Karen... a lady she used to work with there. I felt like the fly on the wall that I always wanted to be when LB was telling someone about me. She told Karen about how we met and all the things she liked about me as if I wasn't there. Of course I loved every second of it. After that, we walked around the Square to Bottle Tree Bakery for LB to get her daily gallon of coffee (har har har). She showed me the places she lived and the different buildings where she spent most of her time while there. We got her some coffee and then she took me to the original Mcalister's for me to get some great sweet tea, but it still wasn't as good as hers. We drove out to a hippy place to look for ear candles for LB because her ears had been bothering her, but they were closed. On the way back to town we went to Rowan Oak, the home of William Faulkner. The weather was beautiful, so we walked around on some of the trails around the house and then went in for a tour of the house. The inside was completely restored and very interesting. We went back outside and walked around. We walked through the backyard where her and Marcie spent a lot of time and then back to the car. We drove around the city some more and then I told her of my desire to purchase something to commemorate our trip... or a souvenir. A tshirt that said "Ole Miss" or something like that. We looked a few places with no luck for me, but she found a hat the first place! We checked a few other places before we hit the jackpot back in the Square. I found good lookin hat too. By this time it was around dinner time, and we were going to celebrate her dad's birthday. We arrived home and as dinner was being prepared we looked at old family vacation photo albums... funny stuff! She also played some old home movies from her in plays back in high school... those were entertaining! I found out for myself that she has an amazing voice. We took a break and ate a very good steak dinner (my first steak believe it or not, and I liked it!) and then back to finish up the evening with a look at her in the "King and I" and a check of the scores in the two Final Four games. Watched a little basketball and then went upstairs to finish the day as we had the previous two days. Again, I told her somethings and it got late so we ended day three.

We woke up Sunday morning and went to breakfast at Bottletree. I had the biggest cinnamon roll in the world and some really fresh OJ... it was awesome. We talked a bit and then went to church. Right off the bat, she had a line of folks wanting to talk to her. Young and old alike were lining up to talk to my Sweatheart. She introduced me to all the folks, most of which knew I was going to be there... hmmm! Because of that we were a bit late and the service had started. Her mom was in the chior and her dad was sitting on the front row... I felt like all eyes were on us as we walked in together. I sat between her and her dad. We enjoyed a very good sermon dealing with Terri Schiavo and then at the end of the service more folks coming up to see her and meet me. We went back home for lunch and a good friend of her brothers ate with us. After lunch, we finished off the film in her and her mom's camera and dropped them off at the local Wally World. Then we took a little drive out to the Mississippi Delta... the place most the photographs I've posted from the trip were taken. It was very interesting to see in real life things I've only seen in my head or in movies. The flat landscape, old cotton farms, small town store fronts with an older black fellows dressed up in suits and hats walking down the sidewalk with a limp. This was the Mississippi I'd had imagined. The sky and clouds were amazing and I've got some video that I'll make a move from soon... it'll be really good. We made it to Clarksdale, MS... "the Crossroads" and then doubled back to make it home in time to go out to dinner with her folks. We drove to a small town called Taylor, MS and ate at the old grocery store turned hip restaurant aptly called Taylor Grocery. It was good. We had a great time with her and her parents. The drive back LB was in a silly mood which made us all laugh... I told her this, but I found out on this trip that she is one of the funniest people I've ever known. We went to bed early because of the drive home the next day. Yes, I did finish the day telling her some of my thoughts. End day four.

We got up and kind of fiddled around before we left. Talked with her mom and dad for a little bit and then hit the road after a few stops. I think at this point in the trip I knew I wanted to be with her forever. We talked about the future all the way home. I shared some things with her that I'd never shared with anyone and she did the same. I could only compare this to a great time of male bonding but she is absolutely and beautifully female. The trip seemed to pass in a snap. We arrived at her place around 10pm and watched the rest of the NCAA basketball champ game with Erin and Becky. I couldn't believe it was over and that I wasn't going to be waking up to another day with my Darlin.

This trip was one of the number one trips I've been on (wink wink).