Day 1: The Adventure Begins

Yesterday was the big day: I’m finally 60! Doesn’t seem possible that I’m now officially in the “60 and over” age bracket, but there it is. So far, so good.

The celebration actually started earlier than expected when my staff gifted me with an early present of chocolate, glasses, and peanut butter whiskey! Seriously, I don’t know which I’m most excited about. Okay, we all know it’s the whiskey. But then Friday brought a huge bunch of balloons, lunch with work friends and dinner with another group of friends! Had an especially lovely dinner: grilled oysters three ways and a nice, chewy dark beer. Yum!

Saturday was a rest day, but the actual birthday — on Sunday — featured the usual 9:30 a.m. call with my Mom. She always calls my brother and I at the time we were born. Lovely chat with her, then on to lunch with a lifelong friend. We had fried shrimp on the deck, overlooking the Gulf of Mexico in about 82 degree weather with a brisk breeze. Lovely! The staff sang happy birthday and gifted me with a large helping of bread pudding. Double yum! We did a little shopping at an antique store to walk off the meal, then home to prepare for the birthday road trip! Oh, and fielded a few more calls and kept up with Facebook posts. Birthdays are fun on Facebook!

Then this morning I packed and got my stuff together for a much anticipated road trip to kick off being 60! Earlier in the year, prior to Covid and the world losing it’s collective mind, I was planning a “big” trip somewhere, possibly out of the country. As it became clear that wouldn’t be a great idea, I scaled back and have embarked on a drive the length of the Natchez Trace with stops along the way to look at landmarks and take in the scenery as well as visit with friends and family.

Today’s stop: Natchez! Yes, I’ve been here before and got here a little later than I planned today. But I took a little walk along the river then made a foray for dinner. The plan was for tamales at Fat Mama’s, home of the Knock You Naked Margarita. Unfortunately, they were out of tamales! Seriously? How do you run out of tamales when that is your signature dish? So I punted, and came back to a little barbeque place and had pulled pork instead.

Now I’m hanging out in my hotel room watching Monday Night Football and pulling for the Vikings. If they win, I’m 9-5 with my picks this week and will keep my average this year to about 67.5%. Have not been able to get the hang of picking the spread yet, but I do pretty well with picking winners.

Hitting the road tomorrow for more adventures…