I didn’t get around to writing this entry last night because we were having too much fun. Yesterday, we made the 4-hour drive from Hattiesburg (Thank you SO much Alaina and Derek! I had a GREAT time seeing you both!!) to Southaven. We were visiting my cousin Nicole and her husband Mike. We drove through the heart of Mississippi, which consisted of a mix of churches and catfish restaurants. Fortunately, the cracked windshield did not get worse.
Nicole’s father and mine were brothers. Exceedingly different personalities, yet inseparable. My Uncle Mario was a character to be sure. He was my godfather, and I know he loved me dearly. I have clear memories if him handing me a $20 bill and saying, “I didn’t get you a birthday card, but I wanted to give you this.” I never cared about the card or the money. I knew he remembered, and that is all that mattered.
Nicole and Mike’s house was beautiful, and they had made sure we felt right at home. They have 4 dogs – 2 tiny Yorkies (Gino the asshole, and Louie the grunter) and 2 massive Burmedoodiles (Vinnie the baby and Frankie the giant). Daisy, the Needy Bichon, had no idea what to make of all this! She was quite skeptical of them. Only Gino seemed ready to quickly accept Daisy into the tribe. In the end, all 4 of Nicole’s dogs were cool with Daisy. Daisy continued to be distrustful of any other dog. Peeta remained separated from all 5 dogs in our bedroom and was very happy about that.
Mike is a cooking machine. He has a superb pizza oven and was ready to show it off. He made 6 different pies from scratch – all of which were delicious. We were joined by Nicole and Mike’s daughter .Christina and her husband Matthew. It was so much fun to catch up with all of them over good food (pizza and Christina’s buffalo chicken dip), good drinks (wine and bourbon, of course) and great conversation. We will definitely make a trip back to visit in the warmer weather. Even with a great breakfast Mike prepared this morning, it was tough to say goodbye for now.
Tonight we are at a campground in Carrollton, Kentucky, just a little over 4 hours from home. We contemplated driving all the way tonight but smartly decided not to. After all, we can hit a liquor store in Kentucky tomorrow morning for bourbon we can’t get in Ohio! And we had a great dinner of leftover Mike Botti pizza. Plus, we’re retired, so were in NO HURRY!!
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