“You SURE I can’t kidnap you?” “Yes, I’m sure.” “… grumble grumble grumble…”

So, I’m back from Jackson.

I have to say, it was good to get away from it all for a week. Of course, it also goes without saying that it was VERY good to spend an entire week with Misty. The fact that I had to leave was not an easy thing for either of us. Still, it was a good week, and we enjoyed ourselves. I’ll put what happened on the trip behind a cut so that those who are not interested can skip past. :-)

Anyway, my trip did get off to a rocky start. I was afraid that the bad weather seen in the previous posts would cause my flight to be delayed or cancelled. Fortunately, the skies were clear Friday morning. HOWEVER… once Dad dropped me off at the airport and I checked my suitcase, I realized I had left my debit card at home. I had apparently removed it while taking old hotel card keys out of my wallet. Dad was already halfway home when I found out, though, so he rushed back, found the card in my bedroom, and rushed back to the airport to get me the card right in time for me to get it and make it to my flight. Misty picked me up from the airport in Jackson, and we went to Ruby Tuesday’s in Pearl for lunch. Imagine my surprise when Misty pointed out the bar had Shiner Bock on tap. :-) (No, I didn’t avail myself of it.) We went back to her place where I was going to spend the night; her parents showed up after work, we had a home-cooked dinner, watched TV (Gridiron Gang was on), and I went to bed. All in all, an uneventful day.

The next day, after a breakfast of smoked sausage, biscuits, and chocolate gravy, Misty and I packed up and made our way up to Pontotoc (just outside of Tupelo), where we would be staying with her grandmother and step-grandfather. Unfortunately, while we were driving through Oxford (home of Ole Miss, Misty’s alma mater), a chance comment made me realize I had misunderstood her: we’d be staying for two nights, and I only packed for one. Oops. Once we arrived in Pontotoc, I was introduced to her grandmother, step-grandfather, and her great-aunt. They were all very nice people, especially her grandmother. Unfortunately, her grandmother is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, and it was almost insanity-inducing how many times I had to answer the same questions or heard the same things over and over. I smiled and ignored it as best I could, however; it really wasn’t her fault, after all. That evening, we decided to look for somewhere out to eat, and after passing by many restaurants that we packed, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Tupelo. There was still a wait, but at least while we were waiting we got to browse the store. During the meal, the subject of alcohol came up, and I happened to mention how good Jose Cuervo’s pre-made margaritas were. Well, on the drive home, Charles (the grandfather) stopped at a liquor store, and bless him… he bought me a small bottle of the Jose Cuervo margarita. :-) When we got back to the house, we drank some of the margarita, and Misty and I stayed up watching poker after the others turned in.

The next morning, we got up and got treated to a wonderful breakfast of sausage, bacon, and biscuits. :-) During the day, Charles was nice enough to drive me and Misty to the mall at Tupelo so I could buy a couple of golf shirts and extra underwear (to make up for the fact that I only packed for one day). Granted, I could have had my underwear and shirts washed, but I could always use extra golf shirts for work, and I really did need a white one. After we came back from the mall, Misty and I spent the afternoon talking to her grandparents, with a break to go up to Wal-Mart to browse around, and then get gas from the Shell across the street. When we got back, we had a delicious dinner of chicken, pork chops, corn, and green beans served. After dinner, we talked for a while and watched TV (damn her, Misty got me hooked on Trick My Truck), and after the grandparents went to bed Misty and I watched Adult Swim for a couple of hours.

Before I continue, I should mention that there was one thing about her grandparents’ place that I found amusing. They have three dogs: a mutt named Pete, and two dachsunds named Charlie and Missy. The weird thing was that Missy was such a pudgy dog that she put Missy’s dachsund Dinky to shame. I found it amusing that the dachie bigger than Dinky had Dinky’s owner’s name, so I made sure to email Missy a pic of Missy. I have no idea if she received it, though…

The next morning, Misty and I forewent breakfast, and we ended up leaving at around 11 or so. On the way back, we stopped at the Rebel Store at Ole Miss so Misty could get a license plate tag for her father. While in Oxford, we also stopped at Applebee’s for some lunch. Applebee’s is never my favorite, but I was tolerating it for this meal… and it was decent enough. The three hour drive back was uneventful, other than a problem with MK Online that I ended up fixing after getting my laptop out during a pit stop and logging onto the server while we’re speeding down I-55 at 60 MPH. (My laptop has a cellular broadband card in it.) We stopped in Flowood on the way back long enough for me to get checked into my hotel, and then we headed back to Byram to get my luggage. While there, we ate dinner at Mazzio’s, and I eventually got back to the hotel and turned in for the evening.

The next morning, I got up relatively late, missing the hotel breakfast. By the time Misty came around, we were hungry, so we headed over to Logan’s for lunch. After lunch, we browsed around Border’s for a bit, and then headed over to her house for a time. We planned to meet her paternal grandmother and aunt in the late afternoon, but by the time we got to their houses we realized they were probably off cleaning their church. So, instead, we made our way to the Tinseltown in Pearl and caught the 5:45 PM showing of Transformers. I had seen it, of course, but Misty hadn’t. After the movie, we stopped by Raisin’ Cane’s to pick up some dinner to go, and went back to my room to eat it. After we ate, she went home for the night.

Wednesday morning, I got up early enough where I could have a decent breakfast at the hotel. Misty eventually came around, and it was time for me to be introduced to her coworkers. She drove me to her office, and I got introduced around to everyone. We had planned to go to lunch with Shanna (one of her coworkers), but Shanna had to cancel. So, once leaving her office we went over to Newk’s for a light lunch. After that, we made our way to the MetroCenter and Misty showed me the WaldenBooks she used to work at. Once that was done, we made our way to her paternal grandmother’s house. This time, she WAS home and I got to meet her. After a while, Misty’s aunt arrived from work, and joined in the conversation. Then, we were invited to dinner with them at Cracker Barrel; Misty’s cousin and his wife were in town and wanted to meet for dinner. We made our way over there, where I met her cousin and his wife… and I made a bit of a gaffe. Biscuits were served, and I went ahead and put grape jelly on one and started to munch… only to realize no one was eating. Then I heard Misty’s grandmother mention saying grace… ooops. I quickly folded my hands and covered the half-eaten biscuit and bowed my head as she said grace. When she was done, I turned to Misty (who was between me and her grandmother anyway), who gave me a sheepish look and whispered, “Sorry, I should have warned you about that…” After we got finished eating, we went over to Borders again to browse around and have some coffee. Once that was done we made our way back to my hotel and I got settled in for the night.

Thursday morning, after I had breakfast, Misty came around and we hung out while her mom had some dental work done. After she called us to be picked up, we headed over there and picked her up, and at her request took her across the street to a bargain furniture/clothing store. Once done there (and Misty and I were bored senseless), Misty’s mom took us to a place called Ichiban for lunch. It’s a Chinese/sushi buffet; Misty barely tolerates Chinese but her mom is better… but neither could understand how I went for the sushi with gusto. :-) After lunch, Misty and I took her back to the house, and we went off to Northpark Mall to shop for a bit. Once done there we went back to my room for a bit, and later had dinner at Ruby Tuesday’s in Flowood. Afterwards, Misty took me back to the hotel where I began packing…

Friday morning was spent having breakfast and finishing packing. Misty came around, and I checked out of the room, put my bags in her car, and we went to Border’s for coffee and to browse around. Once done there we browsed a bit at Best Buy, and then had a late lunch at Logan’s. From there we went back to her house to deliver her leftover salad from Logan’s into her fridge, and get my boarding pass printed. She drove me to the airport, to find the line to get through security was horrific. Waiting in line with me would have been more than she was willing to bear, so we said our goodbyes and I got into line. (It turned out they hadn’t opened the security station until 4 PM for some unknown reason.) As soon as I got through security I literally had less than a minute wait before they boarded the flight and I was on my way home.

So, all in all… it was a good trip. It was odd in that I came back with more clothes than I left with, though. The only thing I wish I could have changed is that I wish I could have brought Misty back with me. Ah, well, that’ll be happening at some point in the future. For now, though… we miss each other, but we’re dealing. However, we enjoyed ourselves and don’t regret the week together at all. :-)