Yesterday was a mellow day here, which was our last full day in Alabama. I went running while Mer slept in, and then I made cookies (while Mer slept). Mer had been up late grading, and so I let her sleep as long as she wanted to. Kelly had some free time, so she offered to take us out to lunch and then show us some of the damage from last year’s major tornado that hit Tuscaloosa and environs. Once Mer was up and showered and ready, we headed over to the 15th Street Diner, which is one of Kelly’s favorites. I can see why – they offered huge portions of good food for very little money. Mer was pleased that she got three side dishes with her meal, and two of those could be desserts. That is our kind of sides.
After lunch, Kelly drove us around to see where the tornado had struck. Much of the rubble has been cleaned up, but not all. There is a lot of new construction going up, but not everywhere. In several areas, there is a clear path of no houses or trees where the tornado went through. It was hard to imagine what the area must have looked like right after the storm. Kelly said that about ten percent of the business and homes in Tuscaloosa were damaged or destroyed.
After we got back home, I took a nap while Mer graded. I woke up when my niece got home, and we played for awhile. I had wanted to show Mer part of the river walk, and so I asked if she wanted to go. She did, and my niece wanted to go as well. That was fine, although Kelly warned us she might get tired on such a long walk. My niece actually did great – we walked the half-mile to the river walk and then went another third to a half of a mile before she started to say she was hungry. As if on cue, Kelly showed up with a bag of Cheerios, which made my niece very happy. Kelly had driven down to the walk and parked right where we happened to be; she had guessed correctly which way we had gone. The four of us walked on for another half mile or so, and then turned around as a huge cloud bank was looming over the river. Kelly called Paul, and he came down with my nephew in the car, so that all of us could leave together to go eat.
Kelly and Paul took us to Dreamland BBQ, which is Paul’s favorite. It is very good. The kids did well at behaving, and it was a good meal. We headed home, where it was bath time and then bed for the kids, and yet more grading for Mer. I booked a hotel in Cincinnati as our Friday destination, which would leave a very manageable four-hour drive on Saturday. I was pleased – I booked the hotel on Priceline, and we got a four-star hotel in downtown Cincinnati for $65. That done, I went to bed, and Mer followed sometime later. It was not a bad idea to frame our Alabama days with a mellow Monday and Thursday.