Tuscaloosa or Bust...

And it may be bust! Whew…this is a long road trip from south Florida, let me tell you!

But…it’s all good because I get to take a road trip with my 2 favorite girlfriends and we have always been up for a road trip together, even when they were kiddies. The cool thing about taking one now when they are 14 and 12 is you really get to hang out together without a lot of distractions, and that is always a GOOD THING!!! The only thing better would be if we had the dogs because…sniff, sniff…we miss those boys☹ Notice I left out their Dad. That’s because he is NOT a road trip kind of guy. His philosophy is if it is over 3 hours and a plane flies there, why drive???

Anyway, why are we driving to Bama??? My girl Taylor is going to an ABT summer intensive at the Univ. of Alabama for 3 weeks.


YIKES!!!! 3 weeks? It could be worse…most of the programs were 4-6 weeks. We chose this one because we thought she would be going with her friend but that didn’t work out as planned. Taylor actually seems to be very cool about the whole thing. I guess when you get to spend 3 weeks doing something you love (ballet), making new friends, living in a dorm, eating what you want…it might not be so bad. Her mom is the one who is not so cool about it but I figure it will be good practice for that horrid day she goes of to college…which is what I feel is happening now.

So, how to make this fun??? A road trip…with laughing, singing to our favorite songs, banana cream pie blizzards…good stuff like that. Hopefully we’ll stumble across a few awesome antique stores too. (my girls love the whole chic vintage thing so that helps) And the peach stands along the way…YUM!

Day 2


So, we made it!!!!! And somehow, we didn't get lost...which is a miracle when you see the road signs:-) I kept saying "Okay, everyone look and see which way the arrow is pointing to Hwy 20"or whatever......and hope we all had the same answer!:-)

Yep, these 3 Florida girls arrived in Tuscaloosa Alabama…and all I can say is YIKES…it’s hot here!:-) And coming from us…that means it is really hot. I mean, at least when it’s summer in south Florida and 99 degrees, there is a breeze from the Gulf. Yes, it’s a warm breeze…but still. This is stifling, hard to take a breath hot. Anyway, the University of Alabama Campus is beautiful…especially for us. It’s a "hilly: area and the buildings are all brick…very unlike south Florida and very pretty.


Blount Dorm...Taylor's Home for 3 Weeks

Speaking of hills, I was told we had to drive through hills to get here. Excuse me…there is a difference between a hill and a mountain. Okay, maybe a smallish mountain but when you are on a narrow 2 lane road and the only signs are “Beware of Rock Slides”, “Shoulder Drop-off” and “No passing…dangerous curves and hills”…you are on a mountain, thank you very much. I mean, it was no big deal but I just want others to know about those "tiny" hills in Alabama and Georgia☺ (remember, I am coming from the land of sea level...and sometimes it seems we are below that:-)

We checked Taylor into the program and set up her side of the dorm room.


She has one roommate and 2 other suite mates…and they are all really nice girls. Her roomate, Tessa, is also 14 and came from Malibu California. She is a really sweet girl, very much like Taylor. All of the girls seem very nice and are pretty much focused on dance. Anyway, Taylor & Tessa became instant friends when Tessa pulled out the same pillow Taylor has...a pillow from the Shabby Chic line! Yes, they both love "Shabby Chic":-) Her other suite mates are from Maryland and Virginia and she has made another good friend from Napa, Ca. Hmmmm...do I see a trip to Cali in our future? hahahaha

Taylor calls us and is having a blast. They work hard and are pretty wiped out...but still love hanging out in their dorm, making popcorn and talking until lights out at 10 p.m. She is very happy and not homesick at all...so if she's happy, I'm happy!!!:-)