The Grand Finale

I last left you after Nashville, Tennessee, and I was headed oddly to Nashville, North Carolina so we could visit Chris’s Grandmother and Uncle. We were in, through, and out of North Carolina in about 9 hours, but I felt like I got to experience a few quintessential aspects of the south: humidity and BBQ. One of the side effects of humidity that I experienced firsthand was the abundance of mosquitoes. In the amount of time that it took me to walk from the driveway to the door of Chris’s Grandmother’s (less than 90 seconds), I received four mosquito bites. And unfortunately I am the kind of person whose bites turn into giant welts that itch non-stop for at least 3 days. However, the quality of the food we had at dinner was definitely worth it. Chris’s Uncle picked up dinner for us at Doug Saul’s BBQ and Seafood, and I was relieved when he brought only BBQ. The traditional southern meal included fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, hushpuppies, pulled pork, and boiled potatoes. As you can imagine, North Carolina was worth the stop.

That night we decided to continue into Virginia so in the morning we would be closer to Washington D.C. We were in D.C., checked in, and on the train platform by 2pm and headed towards the National Mall. It was overcast and a bit rainy, but definitely still shorts weather, and the mall was captivating as always. We had just enough time to walk through both the Air and Space Museum, and the Museum of Natural History.

My final destination, Pennsylvania was the next stop but not the end of the trip. I brought my truck home, emptied it out and spent Friday night in Newtown before we headed north to Boston. Chris’s flight was leaving on Tuesday but we had a full agenda for the weekend. After spending about 3 stressful hours online back in D.C., I decided that the easiest way to plan hotel accommodations was night by night based on the location of our activities. I get why it’s called “The Walking City” once you are actually IN the city, but they should include a footnote “Only if you can afford to pay $500 a night for a hotel”. Anyway… Saturday night we had dinner with one of Chris’s old friends and then he took us out for drinks in Salem, which strangely was less creepy at night. The only witch references I noticed were a bronze statue of Samantha from Bewitched, and a lady who was not in a costume but still looked just like a witch. Sunday morning we were up early and headed to Foxborough to attend the home opener of the New England Patriots. They beat the San Diego Chargers, which made my first ever NFL game a very fun experience. It didn’t hurt that we also had amazing seats, thanks to Chris. Monday morning we were again headed to a new neighborhood to watch the Red Sox. I assumed when we bought tickets in the lodge section at Fenway that we would be on the second level, but our seats were only about 20 yards from the field because the stadium is so small. The Red Sox lost, and have quite a bit since then, but the weather was great. Although I was exhausted and ready to be home, Boston was another successful stop and fun way to end my adventure.

My favorite part of the trip: experiencing all the different landscapes and cultures.

My least favorite part of the trip: driving in Connecticut (and I grew up on So Cal freeways!).

The truck did an amazing job taking me from Depoe Bay to Newtown, almost exactly 4700 miles. I drove my Mom’s car to Boston and back, making the entire trip 5100 miles.

It’s been a week since I’ve been home and I’m just now starting to feel truly settled. Between all the laundry and the boxes I emptied I felt like I was drowning in clutter. Fortunately I was able to take my time and now I can focus on job hunting. Wish me luck!