I got home late Tuesday evening from a 200 plus mile road trip stopping from Louisiana to Georgia to North Carolina then on to DC. It was a whirlwind of a road trip loved and hated by yours truly for a variety of reasons. A solo road trip has numerous perks including but not limited to:
1) sole control of the radio
2) being able to sing loudly, and generally off key, to the same song over and over
3) the passenger seat holding a sampling of not your typical road trip food because I stopped at Whole Food prior to departing to refrain from eating slushies and combos the whole drive up
4) catching up on phone correspondence starting with the A section of your phonebook
5) no one faulting me for only driving 5 over the speed limit
6) being alone to reflect on the most demanding and interesting year of my life to date
drawbacks:
1) reflecting on the most demanding and interesting year of my life to date
2) sections of middle of no where Alabama with horrible radio stations and no cell phone signal
3) hands free cell phone laws when my speaker phone is broken
4) getting sleepy and having no one to trade off driving with
5) my spine KILLING ME yet not having the capability to low ride and lean my seat all the way back and still be a safe driver (still can't figure out how people lay their seat back that far and are able to see the road)
However, the pros out weigh the cons because I got to see some amazing people along the way: best friends, old friends, new friends, etc. My stops in North Carolina really kicked off the trip right and made my back not hurt so badly and me way less tired. I realized once I drove to NC, I did not really have a plan. I planned on going to Winston, Charlotte, and Hickory yet didn't know which one on which day. Not having a plan for the first time in months was great to me. After teaching for a year and feeling that every minute of every day had to be accounted for, I loved being able to say "Ummm let's just see." I'm sure it drove my various hosts nuts, but they put up with it :-)! My favorite part of the trip was my visit to small town NC, Hickory. I had heard of how country, small-town, and boring it was from the friend I was visiting. As soon as I got there, I was just very happy to see my friend and he took me to a new restaurant he had never tried out. We were completely underdressed for the place that had a wine list that rivaled a small novel. After an extremely indulgent dinner surrounded by well dressed businessmen, he claimed, "These people aren't from here I swear!" We then went to see Bridesmaids at the ever-sentimental Carmike movie theater, which made me miss college. Hickory ended up being quite a classy visit AND the city has a drive through Starbucks. Needless to say, my friend does not realize the budding metropolis he actually lives in.
Being in Winston made me miss college and Wake. The night I stayed there was exactly 365 days---12 months since I had moved to New Orleans to start my new adventure. Regardless of the sheltered and somewhat homogenous experience Wake Forest could be at times, I look back knowing I loved it and am a little sad i will never get it back. I don't regret anythings, but there are a few things I wish I would have done more of or differently. But, cest la vie; what can you do; alls well that ends well. The campus is beautiful with the addition of the new dorms and admissions building. Yes, one day I will be that mom that forces her children to visit Wake regardless of their actual interest in it.
Post Winston, I spent some time with a sorority sister in Charlotte. I have always been a fan of sushi and of fro yo, but I discovered something absolutely delectable: ginger fro yo. Yes, it sounds weird; but if you ever get the opportunity to indulge and feel a bit adventurous, please do!
The best part of the trip was my time in Annapolis and DC. I got to see a sorority sister wed her soulmate in front of friends and family with the gorgeous backdrop of the sunset over the Chesapeake Bay. Stunning. By no way shape or form am I getting married in the near future, but I am such a hopeless romantic and have loved seeing friends find their best friends and tie the knot. You get to celebrate with them and get back in touch with friends you haven't seen in awhile. The ceremony was absolutely gorgeous and ADPis represented in full force. Seeing one other girl from my pledge class made my week! Note to self: this was a reconfirmation to me that I have sucked at staying in touch with my friends who live out west in particular and must make a more conscious effort to stay on top of that!
Interruption: Indy Jazz Fest coming up...TROMBONE SHORTY IS COMING!!!! If you live in Indy, GO SEE IT SEPTEMBER 12th
Okay back on my train of thought, post wedding, I headed to Arlington to see an old friend I hadn't seen in a long time. Yet another hospitable person allowing me to crash during the road trip. I love New Orleans. It is so unique and different from anywhere I've ever lived or imagined myself living. However, being in Arlington and DC just made more sense to me and felt more comfortable. ALthough I am now soft when it comes to cold weather, I see myself moving more North (yes, even Charlotte is more north) in the near future after a few more years of teaching (yes, in reflection I hate it and i love it...but I mostly love it!).
While people were at work on Monday, I got to do the whole tourist sight seeing thing. Yours truly loving to walk and having been sick of sitting in the car rode the metro from Arlington to Foggy Bottom but proceeded to walk everywhere in flip flops for the rest of the day. Poor decision considering my calves are STILL sore. However, the Newseum is AWESOME. I was particularly interested in the Photos of the Year, Katrina Exhibit, and the History of News. Seeing the evolution of the "newspaper" since Gutenberg is amazing. If you're in DC, you need at least an entire day to check this museum out. I wish I had the opportunity to stay a bit longer so I could have taken in the museum another day. My sister gave great food suggestions since she lived there for four years, but, sorry Katie, it doesn't hold a candle to NOLA cuisine, but I think she knows this as well.
All in all I loved this trip even though most thought I was a bit crazy for solo driving 2000 miles. Getting to see friends was just a great way to start my short summer vacation and relax after a last few very stressful weeks. With my birthday coming up in about a month, yet another year older, it was nice to put things into perspective and grow up a bit. My best friends from home made me very aware that I am much more aware of what I want these days. A Faulkner quote sort of fits how I feel, although it talks about Mississippi. But, it works because it says "like Mississippi": To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi. Yup, after NOLA I think I get "my world" a bit more.
Now just to really get summer going, I aggravated the crap out of my siatic nerve and L5 disk herniation with a 10 hour power drive back from DC in one day to my favorite city in the world: Indianapolis! I couldn't stand up straight when I crawled out of my car on 62nd, but I got welcomed with open arms by MB, Dfisch, and KT. I was so glad to be home but utterly exhausted. I got the great news that I had my doctors appointment on Wednesday afternoon, a mere 12 hours after getting home. A mere 17 hours after that doctors appointment and lab work, I was dressing in a hospital gown, compression tights, and those AWESOME hospital socks which I would wear every day if I could, to get my long overdue back surgery. It was a, "hey! Surprise, we can squeeze you in tomorrow be at the hospital at 5am!" I was too shocked to be nervous or worried, but when my dad gave me a kiss and I was alone watching AM news in the hospital room, I'm not going to lie, I started to freak out a bit. My generally low resting heart rate got up to the 50s and I think I made the lady walk me to the bathroom twice. So, shout out to all the demon deacons for a long overdue surgery from lifting and who knows. Herniated disk, its been a fun 4 years. Steroid back injections, it's been real. Standing up and walking out of the middle of movies and dinners, welp, that's been embarrassing. But, hello rehab walks on the monon and a whole new spine for yours truly!!!!! I'm pretty miserable right now but I didn't puke on the nurse nor did I say anything embarrassing to the anesthesiologist. Nothing as embarrassing as what my comrade Mike Tyson told people about his back problems: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw47gXsDwjw
So, today, being bored to death because of my immobility, I decided to start my blog again. Let's see if I can actually keep it up this time. Posts will be less lengthy and less play by play. However, I cannot guarantee they will be interesting. Sorry.
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