ask grandma j

Girls Night Out

That was the plan anyway, and believe me when I say Grandma J let's nothing get in the way of a good time.

This post might be a bit long, so go fix that chocolate martini, pour that carafe of wine, or pop open a nice cold brewski. Now pull up a chair and relax, and don't waste too much time or you'll miss the nine o'clock mass golf tournament on TV in the morning.

Since I'm moving at the end of the month, and I'm supposed to drive to Tucson June 1st with my granddaughter and JJ co-piloting, then continuing on to Las Vegas, things were getting a bit hairy and hectic. Normally juggling and multi-tasking is my middle name, but my Vegas buddy, (1SGT John's mommy) is heading to Miami the second week in June, and with the H1N1 swine flu floating around, I figured the scheduling was just too hectic to even pursue. So, I made a deal with my granddaughter. We'd scratch the trip, and I would take her shopping at her favorite mall in Austin, because it's only 77.3 miles away. Not only would I take her to her favorite mall, I would let her buy all the Wet 'n Wild makeup that she can fit in her Coach purse some new summer clothes. And, she could bring a friend.

The deal was cut immediately without any need for negotiations....and we were off.

The girls decided that it would be more fun if we flew down I-35 with all the windows down....and the moon roof open! Then we played loud Country Western music as we sang, la....la...la...la, all the way to Austin.

See? la...la....la.....la!

Then we switched to show tunes....because granddaughter's BFF is quite the dramatic singer...la....la....la....la!

Grandma J was happy as a pig in manure, because for the first time in ages, she recognized the music, and sang along.....la....la....la....la.



When we got to the mall Grandma J left the girls in Nordstrom's as she headed off to J C Penney's Coldwater Creek and Macy's.

We met back at square one when the mall closed, with square one being the Jr. department of Nordstrom's. We were all hungry, and decided to have a good all American Mexican dinner at Abuelo's.

The girls had piña coladas ............



Dinner with plenty of shrimp, fajitas, guacamole and maraschino cherries wasn't complete without plenty of chocolate. Yes, they sat this close throughout the meal, even though we had a huge booth.

We get back on the road at about 10:30 PM........that's when the real fun began.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grandma J decides to take the back roads home because it's really dark and isolated bound to excite the girls and maybe they will want to open the windows again and sing kumbaya show tunes, and giggle.




Here is the route to Heaven paved with chocolate the mall. Just your routine 77.3 miles of good old I-35.



This is Grandma J's big idea of a fun drive home....did I mention it was 10:30 at night? Did I forget to say that the alternate route is a two lane highway? How about the fact that Texas doesn't have any stimulus money for street lights...because Texans don't like payback. OK, I made that part up.



All of a sudden the light became dark, and the singers fell asleep were rendered mute, and Grandma J's bright idea was snuffed out in an instant when she came upon a closed road.....because a bridge was out. Back peddling wasn't a big problem, but it was a problem just the same. Big or small, a problem is a problem. There aren't too many FM routes on my way home, but there are plenty of CR roads, but many go nowhere, and this wasn't the time to explore.....I save those trips for JJ. Grandma J wasn't lost in the official sense of the word....besides, she has GPS. Even though it's always been a real friend to Grandma J......last night her GPS asked for a PIN NUMBER! Huh?


That's what made the alternate route a bit unpredictable. Grandma J kept a keen eye on her compass.....because it said she was definitely heading S/E instead of north. Clinging to the E part of S/E, Grandma J forged ahead......into the light. Yeah, when you are on rural roads, a town several miles ahead can be detected by a glow off in the distance, but you knew that.


So with the surroundings looking familiar, excitement filled the air, and Grandma J started singing show tunes as she went faster and faster....

That's when the red and blue lights started flashing, and the party was over.

The officer told Grandma J that she was going 67 mph in a 45mph zone.

Are you wondering how Grandma J got away with just a warning?

She cried like a baby. Yes, she did.