Day Six

Well, today was a pretty dang cool day. Nothing too exciting happened on our drive. Actually, we've been very fortunate and haven't had any bad weather or traffic on the trip [so far].  We drove from San Antonio to Sumrall, Mississippi today.   But before we left we got up early and went to "Dawn at the Alamo."  We thought it'd be a reenactment but it turned out to just be more of a story-telling/narration/memorial for the Battle of the Alamo.  We ended up leaving after about half an hour....it just didn't really engage us.  Bummer.


Oh, and let me tell you why Sumrall is so significant.  One of the very first things I decided when we agreed to drive to Virginia was that we had to stop and see Hayley and her family in Mississippi. Hayley is my first best friend. When we were little (think 3 and 5) we lived around the corner from each other and spent a lot of time walking down the street holding hands, having sleepovers, swimming, playing Barbies, and doing all the other stuff little girls do together. Hayley's Dad was in the Navy so they moved to California right before her 6th grade (my 4th grade) year. After Cali, her Dad retired and her family moved back to Mississippi. Since she moved we've only seen each other a handful of times, the last being six years ago when I went to Mississippi for Hayley's wedding.  Since then, I've gotten married and she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl (who's now 3!). Despite the infrequency of our visits, I'm pretty certain we'll always be each other's 'best friend.'

Anyways, I was super excited for Neal to meet her and her family and for me to meet Hayley's daughter, Ella Beth!  We got to Mississippi around dinner time so we all went to dinner at Cowboy Jim's.  Hayley gave us the option of southern seafood (we ordered catfish) or lasagna.  Neal immediately said, "Seafood!"  Haha. 
Ella Beth, Hayley, and I.
Neal had a great time getting to know Hayley's husband, Reggie, and I had a great time catching up on life with Hayley and her Mom, Mrs. Donna.  After dinner we went back and hung out at Hayley's house for a while.  The next morning, Mrs. Donna came back over and we all caught up some more.  These people are so sweet and I'm blessed to have had them in my life for 21, going on 22, years.  It's amazing to me how the Lord brings people together.  Who would've guessed that 21 years later Hayley and I would still be in touch?  It was wonderful getting to meet her full-of-personality "country princess."  She was hilarious and so stinkin' smart! I'm also so happy Neal finally got to meet everyone!  And he, of course, fell in love with their rural, country town.  That being said, the likelihood we'll be making a visit sooner than 6 years from now, is pretty high....and I love the idea of that!
We saw REAL, lush grass for the first time in DAYS.


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