Last weekend I went on a road trip. The History Students Association from Laurier was going to Washington, DC for their reading break and I decided to join them. Since my spring break here in Georgia isn't for another month, I cleared it with all my profs before I went. They were all really supportive of me taking the trip. (That's the problem with being a "mature" student. You actually care about going to classes.) The HSA was planning on arriving in DC on Sunday night so I decided to take a detour on my way up and visit...we'll call them acquaintances, in Hickory, North Carolina. That made it a LONG trip. I didn't really acknowledge how long but it worked out.
On Saturday I drove straight from Statesboro to Hickory. I had packed snacks and drinks so I really only stopped for gas and bathroom breaks. It was a miserable grey day through most of South Carolina and in North Carolina it SNOWED! Fairly hard. It made me glad that I got new tires before I left Ontario! I arrived in Hickory around 4pm and met up with people there. It's a little confusing but the people I was meeting was a pastor and his wife who is associated with both the church I attend in Ontario and the one back in BC. I have met them in both places but not really spent any time with them so when I called to say I was coming to visit, they didn't really know who I was. It didn't matter though. When I arrived they recognized me and in any case, they demonstrated some amazing Southern Hospitality and I get the feeling they would have acted the same even if we were complete strangers. They took me out for dinner along with one of their sons and his wife and kids and another couple from the church and then we all went out for coffee. On Sunday I caught a ride to church with another couple and afterwards a bunch of us went out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. This is slightly off topic but going for Mexican after church is becoming a bit of a habit for me. That's where we went when I was in Ohio and the first time I went to church in Statesboro. I like it!
Anyway, at lunch I was talking with some people about my epic year. Being in Georgia followed by the study tour in Europe and three months in France. One of the girls who is quite a bit younger than me, but already married, made a comment about being a bit envious of my life and adventures. I couldn't help but stare at her and try to calmly explain that the only reason I'm going on all these adventures is because I don't have what she has (a husband and somewhere to settle). It was weird to look at someone and wish you were in their shoes while they are looking at you and wishing the same. Not that either of us would necessarily trade but I guess it's a matter of perspective. Or maybe the grass is always greener. Anyway it was strange.
After I said good bye to all my new friends I *flew* to DC. The front desk at my hostel closed at 10pm so I was really under a time crunch to get there. I'm glad the weather was clear and traffic wasn't too heavy because I wouldn't have made it other wise. It's not a process I'd care to repeat but I did make it with about five minutes to spare. And for the record, Virginia along I77 and I81 is beautiful! (it got dark after that but I'm sure it was pretty on the rest of 81 and I66 ;))
I'll put my adventures in DC in another post, with pictures. I didn't take any pictures in NC. Too busy talking I guess. Oops!
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