All Craig

I don't want to work this week!

It has been slow and the cases I have been handling have been stressful. So alternating boring and annoyed.

I also have at least 10 job applications floating around, and no contacts back. So that is just draining. It is great I have been putting in so many applications, so that is good. But waiting sucks.

Tanner started classes again, and research. He is doing well.

Anyways. I'm going to post cute pictures of Craig instead of working!

Note: Craig looks super cute in photos. But half the time he is insane and plays really hard. It is so hard to take photos of that. Tanner some short videos. We will have to take more and start uploading them. Tanner estimate 30% crazy Craig who sometimes wants to bite our ankles, 30% normal cat or begging for food, and 30% calm and cute.

Trying to get an action shot. 

New Year's Eve

So on New Year's Eve we drove half way home, we stopped in Greenville, SC. It was awesome. I was sick of being in the car, and we did have traffic in Atlanta that day, so the drive took almost an hour longer then we would have liked.

The budget hotel Tanner booked us was actually mostly clean and didn't smell weird.

We got pizza and beer in town. Greenville has an award wining little downtown. It is super cute, there is a little river, a park, shops and restaurants. Tons of people were out! Lots of college aged kids, but then a mix of all sorts of people also, couples our age and older. People were leaving a live show in the theater, going to and from parties, ice skating at a little rink that was put up for the holidays. So even though we didn't stay out until midnight, it felt like a nice little night. We didn't get any pictures, it was really dark.

Clemson, the college, is only a few small towns over. They were playing Oklahoma, so the whole bar we were in started cheering when they won. That was fun.

The place was called Barley's, they really did have a ton of Southern beers to choose from

You can see Clemson playing, Big Orange

To be fair to Tanner, here is me after napping in the car

On New Year's Day we got up and drove home. That went smoothly. 

We were super happy to see Craig! He had been without company for almost two days, I didn't want to pay the cat sitter that last bit over the holidays. He was good, the house was not torn apart, he used his litter box only, etc. He has been happy to see us, and cuddling a bit more than normal. I don't think that will last though. 

We returned the rental. We drove a LOT on this trip. But it was nice. It will be nice to get a new one car one, in the meantime, the Subaru is running just fine despite the break and the colder weather here now. 

Mobile AL

We took ourselves into Mobile for a day. It is about 20-30 minutes from Fairhope.

We went to the Mardi Gras Museum. Mobile has an older Mardi Gras than New Orleans. And as I learned, a lot more family friendly.

Quick shot of the outside of the museum. It has been built onto this nice old house. So you actually enter on the side. 

Mardi Gras dress up

Example of Queen of Mardi Gras dress, without her robe on at this point. Great beadwork!

Great illustrations of Mardi Gras floats from the late 1800's. They were pulled by donkeys, not horses in real life. They were smaller than the ones today, but no less elaborate. 

Queen of Mardi Gras outfit, with her dress and mantle. 

Not worth explaining! I learned a lot about the history of Mardi Gras, traditions, how all the different groups developed. Goats are involved.

The little ushers for the Queen and Kings. The mannequins were all decorated, they were so cute! 

Lots of robes, there are just a few examples. They are super elaborate and expensive. They are worn by the Queen and King. They have to pay for their own robe, but also get to design it. So they are unique to that person. 

Great old photos of Kings and Queens. One of these is from before 1900, the other from the 1920s.

Mobile Mardi Gras has a great group who march with satirical signs and other contemporary criticisms. These signs were from the 2015 Mardi Gras. 

Too much fake tan

I would LOVE to go to Mardi Gras in Mobile. It seems a bit smaller and a bit nicer than New Orleans. But still special, and super important to the people who live there. I wished we had more energy left to explore the city, but we did not.

We also walked around the Spanish Plaza next door. Mobile was a Spanish colony, then a French colony, than American.

We had some well regarded BBQ.

Ribs, baked beans and coleslaw

Pulled pork, coleslaw and potato salad

Really divey place to eat BBQ, which was perfect. The staff were super nice, and Southern. One table was three guys from Norway, who ate a ton of food!

It was raining, so we decided to give up and slow down some. We went to the theater and saw Star Wars. It was a really nice last day in Alabama. I am so glad we got to hang out with family, and try new things.