Howdy, y'all Part 2

After leaving Biloxi it should have been a quick 6 hour trip to H-town. However, we didn't leave until almost 11. Check out took a while because my mom regailed the front desk girl with the horror story of our dinner in the casino's steak house the night before. "Let me s'plain, no, that will take to long, let me sum up:" We were one of 5 tables in the restaurant, yet we still had to wait 45 minutes for our salads. That was the highlight. However, due to mom's expert storytelling, for our return trip on Monday we were upgraded to suites and given a $50 casino credit.

"Oooh, Antique Village Exit 10!" Mom exclaims. Dad and I give each other a knowing look, this could be trouble. And indeed, it was a "town", term used very loosely, very similar to Waynesville, Ohio, where my parents antique store is located. It was a main street lined with antique stores, my mom's own little paradise. I managed to make it through 4 antique stores and actually managed to pick up 2 skirts and a funky denim jacket. However, really, I was looking for books. I learned in the many roadtrips of my youth that antique stores are the cheapest place for used books. And they tend to range from literature to cookbooks but mostly consist of pulp fiction, perfect for road trips. However, these stores seemed to be more high class, nary a book insight. It wasn't until the 4th store that I found a meager selection of books. However, books found I was able to pick up a few for $1.50 and head to the car to read it). Dad threw in the towel after the second store, he went to the car to nap. Mom made it through all 6 and 2.5 hours later we were on the road again for the 15 minutes it took us to stop for lunch of delicious Lousianna gumbo and raw oysters.

Finally, 9 hours later, at 8 pm we pull into my aunt's drive way. Where the cousins yell out "Aunt Margie, Aunt Margie" my dad walks in to a very cute "Hi, Uncle Joe!" and they sort of look at me. Maybe I need to visit more. However, by the end of our meal (my aunt cooked, it was delicious) my cousins had warmed up to me and vice versa.