The Ride of Our Lives......

For those of you who read Lelia and Missy I am afraid this post will be anti-climatic but I felt compelled to give you my version of the "ride of our lives".

As soon as I found out there was an outlet mall near the hotel I wanted to go. Y'all have to know by now that shopping is one of my favorite sports!!!

So Amy and Carol dropped us in front of the mall as they were fixin to drive home (a little southern slang I learned in NC). I had wanted to pick up an accent while in the South so that was my first acquisition. What do you think?

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As it turns out Lelia and Missy and I have similar shopping styles~~'shop till you drop'! We searched out every bargain that mall had. We refueled at Chili's and then shopped some more. Finally our time was up and we had to call for a cab.

Just to set the record straight, it was Missy who made the call. Personally I just wanted to seek out some nice looking people and see if they'd give us a lift.

"OH NO" said Missy, "that would be dangerous!"

So she called for a cab and we waited. And waited. And waited. All we knew was that the cab driver was an "American Woman" driving a beige vehicle.

Do you have any idea how many beige vehicles cruise the mall parking lot? One after another they passed us by. It was like they were taunting us! We were hot, had sore feet and a plane to catch. Where was our American Woman???

Finally, Missy called her back and apparently there had been a misunderstanding about where she would meet us. She was on her way....Thank goodness!

For some reason I knew the minute I saw her that this was our ride. She pulled up to the curb and was waving wildly out the window. Oh yes, this was our ride alright......

And this was our driver, Ravonda.....
She offered one of us the front seat and when Lelia tried to let me take it I reminded her that her legs are much longer than mine so I graciously insisted she get to be in the front where there was more leg room.

Since the car had no air-conditioning Missy and I enjoyed the humid, North Carolina wind whipping through our hair in the backseat.
I wanted to share a few pictures of the "vintage vehicle" in which we were riding (I believe it was a late 70's/early 80's Crown Victoria LTD).........


Notice the dead roses in the unused air vent.....

The stereo was held in place by some kind of homemade contraption. And yes, she is driving barefoot......

We had to stop back by the hotel to pick up our luggage before heading to the airport and I can tell you that we got more than a few "looks" as we loaded our suitcases into the trunk.



At one point during our adventure Missy couldn't find her glasses. She emptied her purse in a state of panic and I was worried she was going to make us turn around and go look for them. I really didn't want to be in that "cab" any longer than necessary. Finally Missy remembered that her glasses were right where she had left them......ON HER FACE!!

It turned out Ravonda was quite talkative. She asked if we liked to cook and when we said yes she gave us a recipe to bring home and share with the rest of the blog world. By now you may have heard it but it is definitely worth hearing again.........

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After we arrived at the airport we discovered that our flights had been delayed and we would have had time to wait for a car from the limo company after all. But then we wouldn't have had this story to share.

It was more than a cab ride, kind of like my Hurricane Vacation it was a bonding experience, a memory that will make us smile (and laugh out loud) for years to come.

I think more than anything it made me humble. I could have declined that ride and insisted on something nicer but how would that have looked as I came out of a Christian Women's conference. No, I needed to live out grace in this situation. So as the hotel guests and staff stared I held my head high and crawled into the back of that "cab".

On the back of the armrest there was a newspaper cartoon that kind of summed up the whole experience for me.........


Like it or not, it's not about me~~~~To God be the glory!