Cullman, AL to Athens, GA

I have a lot of friends. And by association, so does Nathan. I just wish they were closer.

We checked out of the motel and drove out to the project for breakfast with the dwindling crew at the Carpenters' project. After a few last hugs we hit the road. Only for an hour though since we were stopping at Samford. We went to the bookstore to get a few things we hadn't found to order online and then met with the alumni director, David. He's a really nice guy who I had only spoken with by email. Definitely a good connection to have. While we were at the bookstore, I saw Sherry who worked in Human Resources and got a hug from her. In the food court I talked to a different David and was amazed he remembered me even 3 years after graduating. I saw Miss Dot in the caf and she was just as sweet as ever. I got to show Nathan a few things we had missed last year in our stop at Samford but there's still plenty more to see the next time. I kinda like it that way....it means we have to come back. =)

Our next stop was in Gainesville to have dinner with Ashlie and Derrick. That meant driving thru Atlanta....on a Friday afternoon.....on the downtown connector. This may sound simple if you're not from here. Our side alone of the downtown connector (I-75/I-85) had 7 lanes. I can only imagine the southbound side had 7 lanes too. We criss-crossed traffic changing interstates 3 times or more. We had a massive lightning storm while sitting in bumper to bumper traffic. And we saw a couple people merge 5 lanes of traffic in one swoop. Nevertheless, traffic really wasn't that bad. Most of the time it stayed moving and we were always in the right lane thanks to accurate signage being posted in advance!

We got to Applebee's and had good food and good service. Mostly I was intersted in the good fellowship so I think I forgot to eat. We had such a good time we went to Starbucks for after dinner coffee and I got a slice of marble loaf since the Pacific NW has decided never to serve it again (meanies!). It was wonderful to realize how similar married life is, no matter where you live or how long you've been together. We definitely enjoyed an adults only dinner (though the boys are precious...) and wish we could do it more often. So if anybody would like to invent an instant travel machine.....

The drive to Athens from Gainesville wasn't bad. No deer and no cops. We have been on the road quite a bit today but it was worth it. We are now in eastern time zone and not quite used to it. Maybe it is better to fly and settle into it faster than a one hour adjustment every few days...not sure. Soon enough we'll be back in my favorite time zone (Central) which is where the majority of our trip takes place, surprisingly.

My favorite car (detail) wash also does oil changes so we're going to go there tomorrow since we've definitely gone 3000 miles! We'll also be negotiating our return route as the bonus of our trip has been canceled. Maybe another day.

'Night, y'all.

Navarre, FL to Cullman, AL

An exciting day on the trip as we left Florida to head to the Carpenters project. We were up at 5:30am with Bryan as he got ready for work and had the car packed and ready to go by 7, right on time.. Morning rush hour out on the beach area was kind of rough but we were able to get ourselves into Alabama with very little effort. There was construction all the way up I-65 which we joined well before it hit Montgomery. Long story short, we made it in time but ran into an unexpected situation...

As we were about to turn into the driveway at the project a little kitten was in the middle of the turn lane running towards us. Katie got out and picked the little guy up and noticed that he was dirty and had some sort of eye infection. Not having any idea what to do we gave the guy a little box to lay in and then hooked up the wireless modem and had google find us an animal shelter. The timing turned out great as we got the kitten to the shelter not long before it closed. Not being a vet i dont know how sick he was but he seemed to have energy enough to climb all over Katie and was purring like a monster. He drank some milk from a plate but we arent even sure he was old enough to know what to do there. The shelter people werent excited about taking him in since he was looking kind of pathetic but it turns out that a girl came in to turn in a stray dog and she was a foster for kittens... she took him to the doctor and then assuming he only needed a few shots and some meds, home. He was adorable and I am glad we were able to get him to someone that could help since 3,200 miles is a long way home for a kitten.

For the record, since I dont live in cullman county the lady put my address down as:

Nathan Speulda

319 NE Autumn Rose Way.. Oregon

Anyhow, We went to get some lunch since we missed it while taking our little friend to the shelter and then headed back to the project. The weather was beautiful and we milled about until it was dinner time. Dinner was Catfish and Hush Puppies - very nice.

The people were great, it was like meeting 20 different uncles of Katie's. Tomorrow will be interesting as Katie works on electrical and I either work on CD burning or putting up interior walls (which I did in my community service class back in 8th grade so maybe something will come back to me...).

We will post more on the CFC project tomorrow after everything is finished.

The hotel we are at is the Best Western just down the road from the site which was a good deal and is pretty clean.

We are working on an alternate route home since our plans are changing... we will post the updates here.

-Nathan