May 25, 2010 – Day Eighteen

Today would be the day we were going to go kayaking no matter what. We had decided yesterday that we’d put in near downtown Montgomery into the Alabama River. When we got up, we decided that that would be a pretty big production, so we elected just to go into the pond that was part of this RV park.

I took the kayaks off the top of the truck and prepared them for launching. We then carried them 100 yards to the pond and put them in. The bank was a little tricky, and I ended up doing the Watusi as I maneuvered Marianne’s kayak into the water. She climbed in and I pushed her off into the wild blue seas – kind of…

My kayak is considerably longer than Marianne’s and more unwieldy, and I had to go through a short stretch of red dirt Alabama mud to get into my kayak. With my feet stuck in the mud, I was finally able to create another dance to get aboard. I was now inside of my kayak along with several pounds of that red mud, and I had feet to match.

The pond was about ¼ mile long and 100 yards wide complete with an island in the middle. We had to be careful kayaking in here, not because we may run into some members of the frog chorus, but rather there were a number of sunken trees just beneath the surface. A half an hour later after cruising up and down this pond a few times, we decided we had fulfilled our kayaking obligation.

For lunch we went to one of Montgomery’s favorite eateries, Shashay’s. We got there shortly before 11:30 and were immediately able to find a table, but minutes later it was beginning to fill up, and by the time we left, people were waiting for an empty table. This restaurant only serves breakfast and lunch, and has become one of the favorite of the lunch crowd. All of us had the chicken breast with vegetables, it was tasty and inexpensive. As we discovered in Austin, good food at good prices makes for great restaurant.

We dropped Helen off at the country club where she had her weekly bridge club outing. The ladies all ante a dollar and end up playing a mean game of bridge. This would be the last time they played until the weather cools in the fall.

While Helen was playing bridge, Marianne and I took a tour of downtown Montgomery. They’re constructing another huge building not too far from the state capitol. And the downtown area appears ripe for some new commerce. I guessed they’d need to build some apartments and condos to attract people, and then shops, bars and restaurants would follow. It’s a great area, with the architecture, history, the Alabama River, and the Biscuits AA baseball stadium.

We were driving Helen’s car and it was a pit, inside and out. I’m a car guy, and a dirty car is an affront to me. Apparently Helen has never washed the car in the three years she’s had it, she just lets the rain do it. So we decided to find a car wash. We looked and looked, but finding a drive-thru car wash where attendants do all the work was hard to find. I was about to give up when I spotted a Dairy Queen. Well, if I couldn’t have a clean car I would settle for a large vanilla cone dipped in chocolate, heck, who wouldn’t?

At the DQ I asked the cashier if there was the type of car wash I was looking for in the area. In fact, right next door she informed me. It turns out I was so blinded by the Dairy Queen sign that I hadn’t even seen the car wash!

We got our ice cream and drove next door to the car wash and paid $35 for their ultimate service, which would clean the inside and outside of the car. Thirty minutes later we had an acceptable car again. Helen’s car has a magnetic decal on the driver’s side rear panel, and when I offered to remove it a few days earlier, she protested claiming that was the way she identified her white Honda Acura in a parking lot. There seem to be more than the usual amount of white cars in Montgomery, I guess its because white reflects the heat and these cars are cooler than their darker cousins. Even with the decal on it, Helen got into a white Toyota a week or so earlier in a parking lot. And a couple of days ago, Marianne almost got into a white Hyundai after we had gone grocery shopping, but that’s Marianne who’s not only directionally challenged, but she can’t tell one model of a car from another, whether it’s clean or dirty.

When I got home, I thoroughly inspected the car and discovered that the baked on bird poop had not washed off. So, I pulled out my special car cleaner from my truck and started removing an assortment of baked on spots. It’s then that I noticed that the car was actually even whiter than it was when it got out of the car wash. I ended up spending the next 45 minutes detailing the car, removing bird poop, bugs, and bumper stickers. When I got done the car looked pretty good. But what it really needs is a wax job. Hopefully the next son-in-law or son who comes to Montgomery will take this hint and have it waxed.

We had a Stouffer’s lasagna dinner, then watched the finals of Dancing with the Stars while continually switching between the semi-finals of American Idol. Then it was off for nighty night at frog hollow.