home again

It began last Saturday and ended just this Friday - Spring Break 2011- Wilmington or Bust! Along with my friend Whitney, I took a road trip to the east coast. I had never visited this part of the country before, and was anxious and excited to experience this newness. Needless to say, there were many memorable experiences that I won't soon forget. We actually kept a notebook in the car and recorded memorable quotes and occurrences from the trip that can make me laugh by just reading them. In a nutshell, I would describe my spring break as - good times!

The adventure started with a trip to Franklin, TN to visit my friend Rachael. Rach moved to Franklin back in December. I was so excited to see Gracie - it had been around 4 months! We read books together, played with toys, and watched TV. It was our normal fun times, and I loved it. I could've spent the whole week with her, but my time was cut short. Franklin had such a quaint downtown area. We went to McCreary's Irish Pub for dinner, where I tried Bangers and Mash. I have always wanted to try this, and on the first night of our trip I crossed this off my life to-do list. They were outstanding, and I had such a fun night with my dear friend Rach in her new town. I can't wait to go back this summer and spend more time with my two girls in Franklin.



Sunday we journeyed to Gatlinburg. Here we walked around their downtown area and visited Ripley's Believe It or Not, the Space Needle, and most importantly the Smoky Mountains State Park. My friends, seeing the mountains was an amazing experience for me. The term - leaving you breathless - could easily be used when seeing one of God's beauties as this. I could just stare in wonder at these huge, green, puffy jolts out of the Earth for hours I believe. I was just amazed at their size. Every where I looked - more. Breathtaking to say the least.



Now as I am talking about mountains, I will add in here that even though I loved the sight of the mountains, I did NOT however enjoy the driving in the mountain area. On our trip through the Smokies, everything was ok. I compared the highway driving to Mario Cart. I felt as though I did much better in real life driving than I ever did in the game Mario Cart though (thank goodness!). Now, on our way home...not so lucky. I found myself at the mercy of my Garmin GPS (who we affectionately called Veronica during the trip - she sounds like a Veronica, I think). After one of our planned stops - kind of- off the beaten path, Veronica took us on a journey up Grandfather Mountain. I know this to be the mountain's name, because once we reached the top, we saw a huge sign and the resort for staying at top. I did not see any use of staying at this resort seeing as though I have never wanted to be away from ANY place more in my ENTIRE life. I will NEVER live in the mountains. I may never VISIT the mountains again. I actually had all intentions of having an "Office incident" with Veronica when I got off this mountain and returned home safely. (Remember in the movie, The Office, when they beat that fax machine with a baseball bat - that sounded pretty tempting) Here I was driving up and finally down this HUGE mountain on the tiniest road I think I have ever driven on. To my right, tall mountain - to my left, nothing. This is where I would drop off this mountain. And the whole journey I find myself getting more and more nauseous while my ears pop CONSTANTLY! Needless to say, by the time we got off the mountain, it took a whole bag of cheese puff corn to calm me down.

Any-who, our next stop was the Biltmore Estate. And...O...M....G! It was out of this world. I mean, a step out of our countries history cool! It is just...well, big for a lack of a better word. The tour inside is outstanding! My favorite part of the castle/mansion was the basement. This is where you got to see all the kitchens, refrigerators/freezers, and storage for preparation of each day. Loved it! You need to put this on your life to-do list. It's totally worth it!




Then the major stop on our trip, Wilmington, NC. This is a great place to go if you are a TV and movie fanatic like me. We took this Hollywood Walk Tour where we walked around downtown and saw the actual places they used in filming of TV shows and movies. Did you know Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was filmed in Wilmington? Yep! I'm not just talking about One Tree Hill and Dawson's Creek scenes here folks (although I got to see SO MANY actual places from those shows). It was really neat. And while eating at the actual restaurant that was Pacey's in the show Dawson's Creek - I cracked and ate my first steamed oyster. I have eaten oysters in dressing before, but never have a tackled cracking and eating these suckers. Check. (off my life to do list)





As we ventured back to our homeland, we made a stop at this place called Mystery Hill. The Vortex in Mystery Hill has the very weird gravitational pull in a few rooms of this house. It's amazing. You can't stand straight up. You are constantly leaning back in a way that you couldn't normally stand without falling under normal laws of gravity. A ball rolls up in this room, and when you throw it across the room - will pull like a curve ball. Water flows up pipes. And there is a swing that will only swing back, but never go forward as the pull is too strong on it. Hard to really explain, needs to be experienced. Look up Mystery Hill on youtube and you will see.



I had quite a trip and many first time experiences during it. But going also taught me yet again a few things about myself.

One, I am more grown up and confident than I realize at times. I usually don't like to drive in places I am unfamiliar with. I always think I will get too nervous. I did the majority of the driving on this trip, and was not nervous in the slightest when driving through big cities, or in unfamiliar circumstances. Major plus in my book.

And B, it again showed me how much I love home. It is wonderful to go on trips and see new things. But at the end of the day, it shows me that what I truly love and need in life is here in this small town where I live. Sure I missed my home - sleeping in my own bed, and my bathroom. But even more than that, I missed Sushi every night. It's funny how I just can't seem to sleep right without her by my side or actually on top of me. She is my little comfort. I also missed seeing my family. I get to see my parents almost every day, and my brother and his little family at least once a week. Boy did I miss these things while on my trip. I was so happy to spend the entire weekend with all these people as soon as I got home. I enjoyed my trip, but as they say - there's no place like home. I am very happy to be...home again! :)