Sleepless in the South

Thirty hours without sleep, twelve hours of driving, and nine hours without food.

This describes my second "date" with Isaac. Sunday at midnight, we made the irrational decision to travel from Nashville to New Orleans despite having class the next morning. We saw the sunrise dance on the bayou, gorged on French breakfast tacos, and sauntered around Bourbon Street. I felt I had stepped into a real life version of Princess and the Frog (minus the voodoo) until three o'clock that afternoon. Exhausted, I felt more like The Walking Dead.

Isaac and I said, "Au revoir!" to the Cajun city and began our frantic, fumbling journey to our next destination: Gulf Shores. Typically this excursion would take three hours, but with the aid of countless one way streets and marathon runners we managed to make it four. I could barely keep my eyes open and Isaac, sick from exhaustion, was unable to relieve me. Desperate to reach the beach, I weaved mercilessly between every type of car. One car, two cars, red car, blue cars- I had no bias. They were all obstacles between me and sleep.

After using every ounce of my focus, we arrived at Isaac's grandparents' condo in Gulf Shores. The guest bed was in sight; alas, right as I began settling into harmonious sleep, someone suggested, "Let's go out to eat before you kids sleep".

My sleepless torture continued under the name Bahama Bob's, a shack lit up in a cliché, neon alliteration. I pouted slightly when the overweight server brought us waters and ordered the Bahama Bob Burger because it was the only thing I read comprehensibly off the menu.

A short time later the waitress returned with four burgers dressed with cheese, bacon, and grilled pineapple. I bit into what I believed to be a typical fast food burger and my world was forever changed. Each part of the burger danced with the other parts in perfect unison: the beef and cheese intertwined, practically melting in my mouth, while the smoky flavor of the bacon tangoed with the citrus of the pineapple. In the end they all joined together as I swallowed; it might have been the fatigue, but in that moment I might have seen God.

After dinner we slept briefly, then raced back to Nashville for class. My head still spins when I remember that day, and in complete honesty many of those memories are fogged by sleep deprivation. I share those foggy memories with Isaac, my soon-to-be-husband, and we both remember Bahama Bob's neon shack despite the haze.