A road trip east in August!  What could be more fun?  With a couple of friends to a horse event – hours away!  Yeah!  Oh boy!  Was it interesting?  Oh yes!  Was it fun?  Yup, it was!  Was there an adventure?  With this group, of course there was!

            Friday evening:  So, after a nine hour trip to our destination, a lot of junk food, gross bathrooms and great conversations, we arrived at the hotel ---- Uggghhhh!  From the looks of the place it was under renovation --- maybe they did the inside first!  Nope, after an initial look around, clearly they had NOT started inside! 

Amid my almost breakdown between laughter and tears, where I was having a moment of “prima donna,” it didn’t really get any better – the accommodations I mean.  Only my one friend’s encouragement brought me back – let’s figure out how to “deal” for the weekend. 

After demanding clean sheets and lots of fresh towels from the non-English speaking “owner/desk clerk,” helping him divide our correct change of only about four bucks each, then, dumping the blanket and comforter off onto the floor, laying towels on the floor and on the furniture we starting laughing again, vowing not to touch the other furniture in the room and admitting that at least the tiny bathroom had hot water, a flushing toilet and was clean (at least to the naked eye)! 

Then, one of the other parts of our quartet entered the room.  She realized promptly that she was breaking into hives.  We had only been at our little “home away from home” for about 30 minutes.  The only culprit seemed to have been a chair that was in her room where she had sat.  Holy crap!  This was just in the first hour at the hotel (which I offer only as a side note was chosen FOR us, and not BY us)!

So, we were off to the closest drug store for some miraculous help, which could only have come by immediately checking out, relocation to another establishment and promptly taking a thorough scrub down with some haz-mat approved cleaner!  Ahhh, but weren’t we going to have FUN?!

We were past exhausted at this point and the only thing we could think of was to find real food and get some sleep – the horse adventure started bright and early at 7:30 A.M. 

We located an Italian joint nearby, which was owned by El Salvadorans --- interesting concept?!  Our group chose, if not timidly, knowing this group’s love of food, but concerned with the possible taste confusion.  Our server, who had relocated from the Northeast, was a delight – she was friendly, attentive and efficient.  We ordered lasagna, chicken alfredo, chicken cacciatore and chicken marsala.  MMMMMM!  Dare I admit it, especially to my Italian husband, that the sauces were great, the chicken was tender and the presentation was overall terrific!  We dined quite happily, sharing each other’s food – as is our custom! 

After we were fat, happy and a bit more sassy (if that’s even possible), we remembered we had to return to our abode for the night!  EEEEK!  Maybe I’ll sleep in the car!  I can fit, really, I can! 

            You can check out a separate blog entry about the horse excursion of this trip.

            Saturday night:  After the event was over, our group and some of the organizers of the event met for dinner at a Mexican cantina – surprise – it was two doors down from the Italian place.  And what a coincidence, it was owned by the same El Salvadorans! 

            My buddy decided to order the tilapia – which was called ­­­­“Mjorra,” and was served fried along with the customary “frijoles and arroz.”  No problemo!   Her experiences with tilapia had always been great!  After the 16 of us had ordered the menagerie of Mexican fare, including margaritas and cerveza, while enjoying some laughs and memories of this trip and others amongst the group, we were waiting patiently for dinner (at this point it’s 8:30 at night). 

We are all pretty bleary eyed from the events of the day and the 90 degree temperatures plus humidity that the south especially has to offer.  Then, the delivery of the food began. . . fajitas, quesadillas, nachos, burritos, queso and my buddy’s fish.  Well, the conversation ceased as everyone strained and stretched to take a gander at her fish!  It was . . . well, it was the WHOLE ENTIRE fish!  Yes, beady eyes, teeth, gills, fins, bones and tail encompassing the full dinner plate --- “Where are the frijoles and arroz?,” you are asking --- oh, they brought them on another plate.  The expressions on the faces of most of the group were priceless – ranging from amusement to aghast!  Then, there was the twitter of giggles and snickers and without missing a beat, my buddy picks up her napkins and lays it across the poor fish’s face!  Laughter erupted and the chow down began!  Normally, as I explained we are a communal buffet kind of group --- not on this night --- not a soul asked to partake in my buddy’s dinner!  To this day, she swears it was delicious and no one challenges it. 

With exhaustion and full stomachs, we returned to our hovel to get some sleep for the road trip west in the next morning!