I've been everywhere man, I've been everywhere...

Aside from the swollen feet/ankles/legs (sitting endlessly), repeatedly playing "How many seat protectors/layers of toilet paper must I put down before I can relax enough to even pee?" (I curse my hamster-bladder), and succumbing to the notion that eating overly processed food from a machine along the interstate is somehow a reasonable thing (that most likely leads to the swelling and peeing)... aside from that, I love to travel. Traveling is one of the few dreams I have. Or one of the few I have that I still believe in, I should say.

So, with next to no planning, I, er, planned a trip. Mom and I were to leave around 7am but truth be told, we could've left at 2am. We wanted to book a hotel for the first night which didn't come together until about midnight, maybe a little later, but it was right around the time we got directions to get to that first point. Bedtime was around, oh, 1am or so. I do use the term 'bedtime' loosely because neither of us slept more than an hour. It was a rough start but we made it there, got something quick to eat, made it to the room with daylight to spare and then planned a bit for the next day before going to bed.

We took a drive through Durham, NC which is home to many notable organizations including Duke University (chapel/grounds shown) and Research Triangle Park (RTP). Durham is known as the City of Medicine and I was in all my nerd-glory when I was driving through RTP past Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Syngenta and numerous other giants in the medical/scientific field. The city is not too big and it is clean. Well, compared to living up here in the rust belt, it's clean!

Next was Durham's sort of 'sister city' - Raleigh, NC. Now Raleigh provides a border for Research Triangle but is almost twice the size of Durham. Even so, there are very few large buildings. I mean maybe the tallest is, I don't know, 50 stories? I'm all for that. I don't dislike large buildings per se but they block out the light. And I have no real purpose for being in them, that's not the kind of life I lead. Like Durham, it was clean, great historic areas, charming architecture, rather inviting for the most part.

A few things I noticed about the south, and this isn't even the deep south... but it's clean. Oh, and people still have manners. I witnessed four things that almost made me fall over: a man asked me (a female) how to operate a particular gas pump (machinery...), another man pubicly and without shame asked for directions. At two different times, two different men held the door (I almost fainted) and when I had to go into a mall for something, not only did the associate tell me where the item was located, he walked there with me and helped me look. If any of you are from the north, you know that for the most part, those kinds of things are unheard of. Or they have been for at least the past 40 years. People here are generally rude. And I must admit that I loved all the flowers. There was one flowering tree, loved it but don't what it was, looked almost lilac-y; they were everywhere, even along the freeway along with hundreds and hundreds of lilies. Living in an often dreary location, I really appreciated that.

Off we sailed, so to speak, to Virginia. I wanted to hit Hampton, Chesapeake, Norfolk and Richmond. Funny thing is that we stayed about an hour away and while watching the 11p news, we learned that there had been either two or three 'bomb' issues in that area (complete with city block/road closures) along with an anthrax scare. Eesh. When we woke up a special bulletin alerted us that I-95 had been closed due to a collision between a car and a semi leaving the latter short by about 100 gallons of diesel fuel. It was all over the road and you were not permitted to pass. Hmm. Ok then, moving right along.... just not on I-95... we took the hint. We apparently weren't supposed to be up there. Literal roadblocks everywhere. So we took off and went back through Raleigh and Durham. Only later did we hear that there was also a tornado in VA. Hey, I consider it that the forces of nature were guiding me elsewhere.

I'd hoped they'd guide me to Charleston, SC but my mother said it was too far to go. I should have just driven anyway; it was my car after all. Charleston will hopefully be a place I can do a weekend trip flight to in the very near future. I want to go there in a bad way! Perhaps it's the combination of palm trees, that stunning architecture and the ocean. Anyway, we stayed in Mt. Airy for the night. Does anyone know what it's claim to fame is? I didn't either, but I quickly learned. It's Andy Griffith's home town! It's Mayberry for crissakes! They even have a Floyd's barber shop. How adorable. And... now this important. There, in Andy Griffith's home town, also where Chang and Eng lived, is the absolute best Mexican restaurant that I've ever visited. Half of the employees didn't speak more than maybe 20 words in english and perhaps they really did live up to the term 'authentic' that was noted there. I'm a fan of Mexican food and I've tried alot. We had a great meal at a place in Emporia, VA but even that paled in comparison to this place. I would have gladly become temporarily bulimic and continued eating but they were closing. I wonder if the restaurant ever made it into an episode of Matlock...

The next morning, we headed back to Ohio. A little south of Akron/Canton, my allergy related itching came back with a vengeance. Funny, I hadn't really realized it was gone until it came back. It was nice to get home and to not be living out of a car, but I wish I had more time there. All in all I had a positive impression. We'll see what happens next.

Traveling is great. Even with getting lost, unintentionally busting into a Sonic (how was I to know that you didn't go in, that they actually came to you in your car... sheesh!), and all those other little things that make you feel out of your element, traveling is wonderful. I haven't exactly been everywhere... but enough to make Johnny proud. ;)