Weekend Getaway

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin',
We gonna do what they say can't be done.
We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there,
I'm east bound, just watch ol' "Bandit" run.

I just pulled in from a weekend jaunt reminiscent of Burt Reynolds' famous exploits in the Smokey and the Bandit films. I didn't have to pick up deliver any Coors beer or a pregnant elephant like the Bandit and Jerry Reed did in the first two movies (don't get me started on part three), but I did drive a long way in a short time.

In the past 53 hours, I drove 1,127.7 miles round trip in my black Trans Am, err Honda Accord, traveling from Raleigh, N.C., to Guntersville, Ala. The reason for the excursion was a bachelor party of sorts for my good friend Scott, who lives in Atlanta. Eight of us, including Scott, rented a cabin on the banks of a lake in Guntersville to celebrate Scott's last few weeks of singleness before he ties the knot in September.

After leaving Raleigh at 3 p.m. Friday, I pulled into the Lomart Lodge a little before midnight EST that night. The trip took me through four states -- North Carolina, Tennesssee, the northern tip of Georgia, back into Tennesse and on into Alabama. After arriving at the lodge, I joined in some high-stakes card games of Texas Hold 'Em, finally turning in for the night around 3 a.m.

On Saturday, we threw horseshoes, played more poker, threw more horseshoes, fished a bit, grilled out and shot the breeze. I got a good night's sleep Saturday night, and left the Lomart Lodge just before 11 a.m. EST this morning and pulled back into Raleigh just before 8 p.m.

Honestly, when we organized this shin-dig I had no idea I was facing a nine-hour drive, but it was well worth it to spend some time with Scott and other friends from Atlanta that I haven't seen in a while.

One thing I didn't see on the way back, however, was a runaway bride like the real Bandit stumbled upon.