Linden

So what did I end up doing with my 24 hours of freedom? Nothing too exciting. I took a brief nap, watched Rachael Ray square off against Giada on Iron Chef America, finished my Health & Fitness assignment, went out for sushi and coffee with my coach, and then to practice.

When I called Warren to see how everything was going he replied, "They both fell in the river, I hope you packed them a lot of extra clothes."


I thought two changes of clothes plus pajamas would be enough for 24 hours, but I was wrong!

After practice I was absolutely exhausted, but I made myself stay up until midnight just to maximize my alone time. The best part of being alone was the fact that when I went to sleep at midnight no one--not even one of our dogs or our cat--woke me up until my alarm went off at 8am.

Monday morning I had a doctor's appointment and then I had to hit the road to pick up the monkeys in Linden, Tennessee--about a two and a half hour drive. Warren gave me great directions and I was actually able to spot the crew from the road. When I walked up to the site, I was somewhat amazed by the fact that the monkeys seemed to be fitting right in.

At this point in his life, there is absolutely nothing Satchel likes to do more than dig in the dirt.


When I asked him if he wanted to be an archaeologist when he grew up, he replied, "No, I want to work in a forest and catch reptiles and sell them to people for a penny!" (Okay, so he likes catching reptiles more than digging in the dirt.)

Jiro too seemed to be enjoying himself. He was doing more checking out of the equipment than actual digging.


When he saw me, he ran over, hugged me, yawned, and said, "I want to get in your car and go home." This coupled with the fact that he had his pants on backwards gave me a good laugh.

We spent rest of the afternoon in Linden proper while Warren finished up. I tried to keep the monkeys entertained in Warren's quaint hotel room but that was crazy-making. Thankfully there was a playground down the road. We ended up staying there for almost two hours. The boys were making up some really fantastic make believe games which I enjoyed watching. (Later Satchel explained that they were actually putting on a play!)

We spent a little time with Warren when he was done working and then hit the road again. (Yes, the woman who is scared of driving, signed up for a 300 mile day trip just to get some alone time!) Amazingly enough, the monkeys slept the ENTIRE time and I somehow managed to stay awake!