old penny, new penny!

This morning, I awakened in
Morgan's room for the second day.
After a leisurely breakfast,
I headed out west.
That's right: west.
I was on my way to a birthday party for a niece I had not yet met.

As soon as I crossed
the state line, I looked
for the Welcome Center.
Found it!
And look at that nice sign!
Makes you want to sing, doesn't it?
(smile)

With the song in my head,
off I went.
I was watching my odometer, too.
It was approaching a palindromic
reading and I was ready for it!
164461 - nice!

And here was the view
when the odometer flipped!
Look at that blue sky!
Those green trees!
e.e. cummings had it right.
i thank You, God!

When I stopped to feed the car,
I fed me, too, at the KFC.
And what is that gleaming on the floor, next to my table?
A new penny!
And by my foot?
An old penny!!
I put both in my pocket,
feeling cherished.

When I arrived at the Days Inn
in Fultondale, Bonnie and Michael
were waiting.
The boys were at Matthew and Lindsay's and we needed to go there.
And so we did,
finding Merritt and Conner
in the pool.

"Play with us! Throw something
for us to dive after!"
And I reached in my pocket...
for the old penny and the new penny.
Perfect!
That gave Grandma Bonnie at least an hour to visit with her two sons and her only granddaughter.
Perfect!

Time to get out of the pool, boys!
Here is Michael with his two sons.
Merritt is wearing
the Jack Skellington t-shirt,
Conner is up in the air.
As usual for him!
He hardly ever stops moving!

Here, we have a family portrait!
Michael is holding
his niece, Aubree,
while her dad, Matthew,
plays with his nephews on the swings.
Bonnie really likes this one!
Me, too!
(smile!)

After a chicken dinner from Hardee's,
Michael, the boys, and I headed back
to the Days Inn.
And to light our way?
A rainbow!
And it hadn't even rained!
Very nice!
Right place, right time!