North Carolina

This past weekend my friend, Tom, and I went to visit my cousin Catherine in North Carolina. I've been wanting to visit her for a while and now that I finally have a car I was able to do it!

Friday, March 16: We left about 1 pm because Tom wanted to go into work for a half day. Usually when I am excited to go on a trip time seems to go so slow but the morning went surprisingly fast. I took over the first part of the driving, but we weren't even out of Kentucky before I let him drive. I have RLS (restless leg syndrome) so it was really hard for me to drive for some reason.

My favorite part of the drive was driving through West Virginia and Virginia. I love the mountains. We stopped for dinner at Cracker Barrel right before we entered Virginia. Cracker Barrel is a restaurant you HAVE to visit on a road trip! I also love Charleston, WV for some reason. I always remember the gold capitol building on drives to NC years ago.

I also forgot how many toll booths your drive through on your way there. It wasn't too bad though. The worst part was driving through NC with it raining really hard. Luckily, Tom was driving, but I was a nervous wreck in the passenger seat. I get nervous too easily!

Saturday, March 17:  On Saturday my cousin had some ideas of where she wanted to take us. We headed into Raleigh to a flea market. I love flea markets and I wanted to buy a lot of antique furniture and stuff but I had to be realistic. I bought a really cute ring though! I was determined to buy a ring. Ring shopping is always a pain because I have really small fingers so usually when I like a ring they don't have it in my size.

Afterwards we headed to a bar-b-que place called The Pit. It was definitely a nicer restaurant, but the food was delicious and they gave you a lot. Then my cousin wanted us to go to a antique store called Father and Sons because she thought it would be something I liked. She was right I fell in love with the place. They sold all kinds of old things. I ended up buying an owl figurine holder because I love owls, although I wish I could have bought more!

We then headed back to her place and hung out and had some drinks before we went to dinner. The morning flew by and we did a lot so it was nice to just go back and relax. I took pictures of her dog while we were there. I love dogs so much and hers was so cute. She actually brought it back from Africa where she spent two years in the Peace Corps. Her name is Chapati.

Around 8 we headed to a bar/restaurant called Tyler's. It was a nice night so we ate outside. I ate some pretzels because I was still full from lunch. We just sat and talked. Eventually my rls was acting up so my cousin's friend said she would walk with me. We walked around the area. It was actually really neat. There was a river in the middle of the area and we walked across some stones to the other side. I wish I would have taken pictures, but I guess that means I HAVE to go back. Darn.

Had to take a picture for our grandma!

Sunday, March 18: We woke up and talked a bit then got ready to leave. We left about 11 and I started the drive. I'm kind of a fast driver so Tom and I were watching the estimated arrival time go down on the gps. He was bored so I let him use my cell phone to take pictures and he went crazy. Sorry for the black specks on the pictures. I don't know why they are there but it is probably from dropping my phone or something. We were doing so well and we thought we were going to make it back to Ohio in good time, but that was until we stopped in Charlotte for lunch.

It took us forever to find somewhere to eat and both our gps's were acting crazy. We eventually found a mall and ate at Chili's. I have the Four Square app on my cell phone and when I checked in I got us free chips and salsa! You should all download the app! We ate outside and when we first got there we were the only ones outside. It was kind of creepy, but then the outside soon was packed.

After we ate we headed back on the road with Tom driving this time. Then his gps decided to take us off the highway and we were so confused on why we were taking back roads through West Virginia. It was scenic though so that was good. But his gps and my gps were both giving me a headache. I just wanted to get home. Thank goodness Tom is a lot more patient than I am. We eventually made it though!

You can see more pictures from my trip here!

I wish we could have spent more time in NC, but it was a really fun weekend anyways. I needed to get out of Cincinnati for a bit. The funny thing though is that I'm going back to North Carolina next week! I'm going to Charlotte though and not Durham, so I won't see my cousin. However, I am going for my job interview so it could really be a turning point in my life.