Today was the day of the big sit. We drove from home to Alpharetta, Georgia. It is a trip of 814 miles which takes about 13 hours under normal circumstances. Today was normal circumstances. There were a few patches of rain, but mostly dry pavement and relatively light traffic with no traffic jams. As usual I bombed along at speed limit+5. The usual drill during this long drive is that I drive and Ginny reads her magazines and papers. Usually in the afternoon I will get a little bit groggy, and Ginny drives for an hour while I take a nap. This is time tested methodology. We have made this drive and others like it dozens of times. On our road trips, we minimize long driving days, fortunately.

When it gets dark, Ginny can no longer read. She decided to search for something on the radio, but there was nothing that caught her fancy. We have an XM radio in the car, but we let the subscription expire. We got an introductory offer in the mail which offered it for a little over $4 per month. Ginny called the number and we were back in XM radio business in no time. She searched the news channels for something to listen to. She found a PBS channel that featured some complicit smug interviewer talking with an lefty historian who had written a book on Woodrow Wilson. It might have been interesting if they had stayed on the biographical stuff, but every minute or so the interviewee would say something like, "...and that really angers the right wing today." At this point I was not going to put up with it much longer. Ginny sensed my frustration. I guess that saying, "That is a load of crap!" a dozen times might have given it away. She found several country music stations and we listened to them for the rest of the trip. That is good music, especially the classic stuff.

So we arrived at our favorite hotel in Alpharetta a little after 9:00 pm. We took all the stuff up to the room. I was thirsty, but we had brought no beer. Usually, I would go out and find a liquor store. But this time my brain actually worked. The hotel is right next door to a giant service station and quick store. What do they sell in quick stores? BEER! In this case in addition to all the pretend beer like Coors Light, Bud Light, Miller Light and whatever Light, they had some real good beer. I helped myself to a six pack of Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, payed the man, and beat it back to the room for a little relaxation.

Tomorrow we are spending the day with Robert, Laura and Peyton.

Oh yes. About today's picture. It is sort of a John Cooper and BEC collaboration. I was zipping along on I-65 just north of Mobile, Alabama. Ginny occasionally will whip out her camera when we go across bridges. Well, she did so as we crossed the Mobile River. I thought this came out pretty neat. The two structures are identical, but you get an interesting combination of perspectives in this photo. Good job, Ginny.