The Arkansas Traveler was returning from a few day's visit to Little Rock, so the kids decided we'd ALL go meet him at 10:45 last night. The Smithlings had learned about the free root beer float night at Sonic that ended at midnight, so we agreed to take Daddy there after we picked him up. Sounds innocent enough so far, right? Ah... but we forgot to add in the Greg-factor. M's Bible study buddy decided he'd join us -- mostly for the free float part of the equation. Things turned very silly & somewhat boisterous (rather quickly) with Greg along for the ride. :-) What fun!
The boys decided they'd make a sign to hold up so Doug wouldn't have any trouble finding us -- just to be funny. When they couldn't get the printer to properly print the name on one sheet of paper in landscape mode, they opted for individual letters on a single sheet of paper. Is it possible for a sign to LOOK loud?
As the sign was printing out, Greg spied M's old crown, and his SILLY creative juices began to flow. He soon had an old costume & cape to complete the look. Off to the 'port "the King & I" went... oh, and the 3 Smithlings were in the mix. (As an added note, we enjoyed a WONDERFUL thunderstorm light show along the way. It never rains in CA in June, does it?!)
We had to stop for gasoline, so that delay caused us to be a little too late to implement the original plan of dropping the guys out on the curb so they could "lie in wait" for the frequent flier to exit the terminal. When Mr. Smith called to tell us he was on the ground, he was already getting near the curbside pick-up point, which was at the very far end of the terminal. We were just nearing the baggage claim area when he called. This called for a change in the plan because Doug was already outside the building. Greg hopped out of the car at the mid-way section of the drop-off/pick-up zone, and began running toward a very unsuspecting (and weary) traveler. Greg was yelling, "I'm looking for Doug Smith!" as he was holding the huge sign up. There were many people from Doug's flight waiting for rides, so they all were laughing at the scene. When Greg finally reached Doug, he turned to all the other people & exclaimed, "I found Doug Smith! I found him! I found him! He's right here! I found Doug Smith!" Our car finally made its way through the traffic to reached the king and the travelin' man. There is still a look of shock & awe on Mr. Smith's face, even if it was a few seconds after his initial reaction. I don't think anybody has ever had a welcome quite like this one...
Our next stop: Sonic @ 11:30 p.m.
The floats were free indeed. Although free ice cream is good, the best part of stopping at the drive-in restaurant was that we were treated to another incredible lightning display as we waited on the carhop to deliver our order. God's free stuff is better than anything Sonic can dish up.
