Going home: Tuscaloosa edition

I made a last minute trip home to Alabama back in May.  The family that I nanny for was going to be gone for a week, and Mom was missing me (and wouldn't come to Durham)... So, I decided to go home for a few days.  It was a relatively short trip, Saturday-Wednesday, but it was certainly nice to see my family.

I had a pretty long layover in ATL, but it was actually a nice change from having to run to catch my next flight.  I enjoyed being able to get breakfast, and do some people watching.

I coordinated a family get together while I was home.  We met at one of my favorite restaurants, Jim 'n Nick's in Hoover.  To my surprise, everyone was actually able to make it.  Having everyone there certainly made it more fun, although we did all miss Greg.  I got to spend some time with my nephew, Justin.  He actually got to chew on his first rib bone!

Okay, so Jim 'N Nick's is actually Greg's favorite restaurant.  He was extremely jealous that we went to eat there without him.   

Here is me and sweet Justin.  I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with him! 

This is Alicia, Ben, me, Guy, Andrea, and Justin.  It's always great to get a picture of all of us together.

I also got to have dinner with my sweet friend, Mary.  Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture together.  It was one of the highlights of my trip home.  One of the hardest things about living so far away is that you don't get the opportunity to see you good friends on a regular basis.  I am always missing Mary, so it was especially nice to get together with her for dinner.

Mom, Dad and I went out to dinner at my all time favorite restaurant in Tuscaloosa.  I absolutely love Depalmas.  I think the food is really good, and I love it's charm.

It's so cute!  I wish I had some pictures of the inside to show you.

I got one of the specials, and it was so good!  

Like always, it was really good to go home and see my family.  I wish that I could do it more often, and that Greg had been able to join me for this trip.  I was so glad to see my parents, siblings, and Mary!  We will be heading back to AL in a few weeks for a wedding, and maybe we will be able to see a few more people during that visit!

There is no place like home!

Greg and I are looking forward to a much needed trip home.  We will be getting up SUPER early on Wednesday (yes, I'm 'that' person who likes to be on the road at 5 am), and a not so short 10 hours later we hope to be pulling into my parent's driveway in Tuscaloosa!  We will spend 2 days in Tuscaloosa, and then venture over to Childersburg for 2 days. 

Things we are looking forward to:
- Seeing our family!
- Dreamland BBQ
- Lots of hugs and kisses!
- Mugshots
- Seeing some good friends
- Jim 'n Nicks BBQ
- Relaxing
- Laughing with our families
- Spending some quality time together in the car (20+ hours over the course of the weekend)
- Depalmas

As you can probably see, among how happy we will be to see and spend time with our family...  Food is a trending topic in things we are looking forward to.  Greg has been in serious BBQ withdrawal (it's just not the same here in NC).  I'm pretty sure that if he wasn't in a weight loss competition at work then he would want to eat Dreamland and Jim 'n Nicks for every meal!  HA! 

Although I am completely excited about going home, I would be lying to say that I'm not nervous about going to my home in Tuscaloosa.  It has been 44 days since an ugly EF4 tornado tore through Alabama, cutting right through the heart of Tuscaloosa.  I haven't talked about this on the blog because I haven't really had to deal with it.  I remember watching James Spann on the live-feed in our apartment that night.  I sat horrified as they showed the tornado in Tuscaloosa  I just kept saying, "oh. my. God."  I am SO thankful that my parents and their home was not affected.  I am also thankful that my friends and their families were safe, although many faced a total loss or extreme damage to their homes.  I remember watching news and looking through pictures the next day.  I just sobbed.  Everyone says that nothing prepares you for seeing it in person, and I'm positive that they are 100% correct.  I think a good portion of the drive next Wednesday I will be mentally preparing myself to see what has happened to my hometown.  It will, no doubt, be hard to face. 

Greg and I have been really terrible about documenting our lives by taking pictures.  We have recently decided that we are going to try to take more pictures, so we that can remember things that we do.  We are going to try to take a bunch of pictures during our trip home.  SO, I hope that I am able to do a post after the trip and show you guys all that we did.