First America Holiday (8)
I realized that everyone wanted us to stay and visit, but did nobody realize the hectic schedule we had been following for the past
14 straight days since the minute he stepped off the plane? Did nobody give a shit? Now we would be driving straight through,
finding a hotel and going to sleep. Rhonda's Mom had been so thrilled to cook for Marco, so there was no way we were leaving and
disappointing her. We stayed until we ate one burger each, which were excellent by the way, and then left.
When we finally left I had only driven for about 2 hours and was too tired to go any further. I asked Marco if he could drive, but
he had been drinking all day and was too tired as well. So again we changed our plans. Instead of arriving in Memphis tonight,
going out on the town, then sleeping in late tomorrow before going to Graceland like we had planned, we were now going to stop as
soon as we found a hotel, and get up early in the morning to finish another 3 hours of driving just to get to Memphis. If it sounds
like I was in a bitchy mood by this time, you are absolutely right. But it wasn't just me, Marco was just as bitchy and just as
exhausted.
To top things off, this was Memorial Day weekend. I never considered hotels being filled. I assumed people would be spending
the weekends with their families. Stupid me. We drove for almost another hour, pulling off at every single exit we could to find a
hotel with vacancies. Every one was booked. Eventually we found one. Because we were changing plans and taking the first
available hotel rather than go to the city where there are a million different choices, we ended up paying almost $100.00 for this
one room. The only plus was that it had a jacuzzi tub. We checked in and then went to the store to buy some dinner and wine. We
WERE going to relax tonight damnit! And relax we did.
There is only thing I will suggest not including in a relaxing evening together. Do not add a half bottle of shampoo (in
replacement for bubble bath) to a jacuzzi. It's kind of hard to relax when you are in constant fear of drowning by bubbles! Poor
Marco, by the time he got in, I had pushed all of the extra bubbles over to his side. As he stood there, they were piled just about as
tall as his head! So when he finally climbed in, I couldn't even see him. I kept pushing all the extra bubbles up above his head. So he
had a constant drip of soap falling on him as they dissolved. But he was so cute, he never complained one time. He just sat there
looking like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters! We stayed and played in the jacuzzi for over an hour. It was as
relaxing as the hottub was, but now we were alone and able to have a little more fun.
The evening definitely did its job of giving us peace and quiet. So much in fact that we both overslept and didn't wake up until
almost 11:00am the next day! Noooooooooooo this was not happening! We still had a 2 1/2 hour drive to Memphis, had to visit
Graceland, drive 5 hours home, and be to Cathi & Jim's house that night for a karioke party. Why was every single thing that we
planned being jinxed?
By the time we actually found Graceland it was almost 2:00pm. I had taken a wrong turn and ended up driving completely around
the damn city instead of straight through it. But in my defense, the signs were retarded! This could still work though. We could get
our tickets, run through the tour, and be back on the road by about 3:00pm. This would put us at Cathi and Jim's house by about
8:30pm. How long could it possible take to look at a bunch of boring rooms anyway? Just about this time someone had announced
that the wait time to purchase the tour tickets was about 1 hour. Also that the next available tour wasn't for another 2 hours. And the
total tour time was about 1 hour. This would now put us at Cathi's house by the earliest, midnight. You would think I would have
been freaking out by now huh? Nope, as sad as it is, with everything that was continually blocking us from keeping our schedule, I
was becoming very used to it. Hell, I was actually starting to expect it.
I left the decision to Marco. This was his Holiday and he is the one that wanted to see Graceland, so it was his choice what we
did. He really wanted to go to the Karioke party tonight, so he decided to pass on the Graceland tour. We stopped so he could buy
some souvenirs, waited for an hour to have a hamburger at the Elvis Cafe and then headed back to St. Louis. With everything that
had happened, we still managed to have a very nice drive back home. We did make one very clear solid decision though. From now
on, we were doing what WE wanted to do. If we hurt someone else's feelings in the process, then so be it. We realized that everyone
wanted to have time to spend with Marco while he was here, but it was about damn time that everyone realized that this was our
only friggin time together as well!
We had an awesome time at the karioke party. He had told me numerous times that he was NOT singing! But we had already
convinced him that it was an American tradition to shotgun 6 beers, one per minute, when we were late for a party. Shortly after
that he was up there holding the microphone singing his little heart out. hahaha
The following day was Memorial Day. We did absolutely nothing! We slept late, laid around together, drank lots of wine, played
on the computer, took a long nap, and did absolutely nothing with anybody else! It was GREAT!
Tuesday I worked all day as Marco stayed home. He asked me throughout the day if we could please go back to Walmart that
night so he could buy a game. Isn't he cute? He's just like a little kid. He loved 'The Walmart'. We mostly sat around playing games
all night after getting back from the store. Played, watched tv, drank a few bottles of wine. Nothing exciting, but by now this is
exactly what we needed.
Wednesday Marco and James went to 6-Flags for the day. Cathi dropped them off in the morning and I picked them up when I got
off of work. I was glad they were getting along so well. I was nervous that when I picked them up they would both give me 'those
looks' that said, "why did we do this?" But they didn't, they were both happy and smiling. I had to laugh when Mr. Brave Marco who
literally ran from ride to ride in Disneyworld, was giving James shit for telling him that certain rides weren't scary! hahaha James
just laughed as Marco was telling me about them and why he wouldn't go back on them again. Continue
14 straight days since the minute he stepped off the plane? Did nobody give a shit? Now we would be driving straight through,
finding a hotel and going to sleep. Rhonda's Mom had been so thrilled to cook for Marco, so there was no way we were leaving and
disappointing her. We stayed until we ate one burger each, which were excellent by the way, and then left.
When we finally left I had only driven for about 2 hours and was too tired to go any further. I asked Marco if he could drive, but
he had been drinking all day and was too tired as well. So again we changed our plans. Instead of arriving in Memphis tonight,
going out on the town, then sleeping in late tomorrow before going to Graceland like we had planned, we were now going to stop as
soon as we found a hotel, and get up early in the morning to finish another 3 hours of driving just to get to Memphis. If it sounds
like I was in a bitchy mood by this time, you are absolutely right. But it wasn't just me, Marco was just as bitchy and just as
exhausted.
To top things off, this was Memorial Day weekend. I never considered hotels being filled. I assumed people would be spending
the weekends with their families. Stupid me. We drove for almost another hour, pulling off at every single exit we could to find a
hotel with vacancies. Every one was booked. Eventually we found one. Because we were changing plans and taking the first
available hotel rather than go to the city where there are a million different choices, we ended up paying almost $100.00 for this
one room. The only plus was that it had a jacuzzi tub. We checked in and then went to the store to buy some dinner and wine. We
WERE going to relax tonight damnit! And relax we did.
There is only thing I will suggest not including in a relaxing evening together. Do not add a half bottle of shampoo (in
replacement for bubble bath) to a jacuzzi. It's kind of hard to relax when you are in constant fear of drowning by bubbles! Poor
Marco, by the time he got in, I had pushed all of the extra bubbles over to his side. As he stood there, they were piled just about as
tall as his head! So when he finally climbed in, I couldn't even see him. I kept pushing all the extra bubbles up above his head. So he
had a constant drip of soap falling on him as they dissolved. But he was so cute, he never complained one time. He just sat there
looking like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters! We stayed and played in the jacuzzi for over an hour. It was as
relaxing as the hottub was, but now we were alone and able to have a little more fun.
The evening definitely did its job of giving us peace and quiet. So much in fact that we both overslept and didn't wake up until
almost 11:00am the next day! Noooooooooooo this was not happening! We still had a 2 1/2 hour drive to Memphis, had to visit
Graceland, drive 5 hours home, and be to Cathi & Jim's house that night for a karioke party. Why was every single thing that we
planned being jinxed?
By the time we actually found Graceland it was almost 2:00pm. I had taken a wrong turn and ended up driving completely around
the damn city instead of straight through it. But in my defense, the signs were retarded! This could still work though. We could get
our tickets, run through the tour, and be back on the road by about 3:00pm. This would put us at Cathi and Jim's house by about
8:30pm. How long could it possible take to look at a bunch of boring rooms anyway? Just about this time someone had announced
that the wait time to purchase the tour tickets was about 1 hour. Also that the next available tour wasn't for another 2 hours. And the
total tour time was about 1 hour. This would now put us at Cathi's house by the earliest, midnight. You would think I would have
been freaking out by now huh? Nope, as sad as it is, with everything that was continually blocking us from keeping our schedule, I
was becoming very used to it. Hell, I was actually starting to expect it.
I left the decision to Marco. This was his Holiday and he is the one that wanted to see Graceland, so it was his choice what we
did. He really wanted to go to the Karioke party tonight, so he decided to pass on the Graceland tour. We stopped so he could buy
some souvenirs, waited for an hour to have a hamburger at the Elvis Cafe and then headed back to St. Louis. With everything that
had happened, we still managed to have a very nice drive back home. We did make one very clear solid decision though. From now
on, we were doing what WE wanted to do. If we hurt someone else's feelings in the process, then so be it. We realized that everyone
wanted to have time to spend with Marco while he was here, but it was about damn time that everyone realized that this was our
only friggin time together as well!
We had an awesome time at the karioke party. He had told me numerous times that he was NOT singing! But we had already
convinced him that it was an American tradition to shotgun 6 beers, one per minute, when we were late for a party. Shortly after
that he was up there holding the microphone singing his little heart out. hahaha
The following day was Memorial Day. We did absolutely nothing! We slept late, laid around together, drank lots of wine, played
on the computer, took a long nap, and did absolutely nothing with anybody else! It was GREAT!
Tuesday I worked all day as Marco stayed home. He asked me throughout the day if we could please go back to Walmart that
night so he could buy a game. Isn't he cute? He's just like a little kid. He loved 'The Walmart'. We mostly sat around playing games
all night after getting back from the store. Played, watched tv, drank a few bottles of wine. Nothing exciting, but by now this is
exactly what we needed.
Wednesday Marco and James went to 6-Flags for the day. Cathi dropped them off in the morning and I picked them up when I got
off of work. I was glad they were getting along so well. I was nervous that when I picked them up they would both give me 'those
looks' that said, "why did we do this?" But they didn't, they were both happy and smiling. I had to laugh when Mr. Brave Marco who
literally ran from ride to ride in Disneyworld, was giving James shit for telling him that certain rides weren't scary! hahaha James
just laughed as Marco was telling me about them and why he wouldn't go back on them again. Continue
