As many of you know, I was an avid blog writer for a while. I decided to break from it about a year and a half ago, for various reasons, and I know many, many of you were extremely disappointed. And if you weren’t, just let me know have this one. Well, new town, new life, and why not, new blog. Except by new, I mean The Barker, the same blog I used to write. So no promises this time on how often I will post, or on what, or if it will even be funny (it will be hilarious!), but I’ll do my best. I hope you enjoy!
I thought I would start by giving you the highlights of my 22+ hours driving, 1300+ miles, spread out over 3 days drive from Tulsa, OK to Myrtle Beach, SC. Life on the road can interesting, or at least you have to make it interesting to avoid going completely insane.
-Stopped the first night in Nashville to visit my friend Amanda, which was about a 10-hour drive. Got to see a little of the city, including the outside of the football stadium (I always like seeing where teams played). Seems like a nice place to live, especially if you like country music (which I didn’t used to, but do now). Also had an interesting first. While we were having dinner on the patio of a local brewery, a beggar hit me up for money during our meal! I’m very sympathetic to people who are having a rough time, and try to help out when I can. But seriously!? Wait until I come out the door, bothering me mid-bite is not going to help your case.
-Turns out you take I-40 for almost all of the drive from OK to the Carolinas. This makes for a simple, albeit boring drive. However, when you go from TN to NC on that highway, you go through this beautiful (although winding) stretch that is in the valley between the Appalachian Mountains. There are even some tunnels cut through the rock that go through. Despite the temporary loss of XM, it was the definite highlight of the driving portion.
-On the 2nd night, got to visit my good friends Greg and Xtina and hit up the Chapel Hill nightlife. We had a great time and sampled many a great brew (and a PBR or two). I had a lot of fun (despite my near comatose-ness from 18 hrs of driving), but I was left wondering why UNC people say Duke is so preppy. The places/people I saw there seemed pretty damn preppy to me! I guess that blind loyalty is what makes rivalries so awesome…Go Blue Devils!
-Greg and I walked most of the way back from the bar barefoot in the ra
in. Not as romantic as it sounds, but quite fun despite some minor injuries. I think we’ll both avoid the DL though.
-Quick music review (if you’re new to the blog, my thoughts on music are a common theme): I bought the new O.A.R. album, “King”, on iTunes before I left and absorbed it on the way. Overall, quite good, and sounds much more jam band and less poppy, so going back to their old “Crazy Game of Poker” roots. I highly recommend the first single “Heaven” (thanks Melissa for the tip), not only as a great tune, but as the lyrics describe my religious thoughts near perfectly. The other one I love (and I think is bound to be the 2nd single) is “Gotta Be Wrong Sometimes”. Download now, thank later.
-To my pleasant surprise, the weather was mostly great on the drive. Towards the end of the first day, I hit a small rainstorm, and it was honestly the first time I’d seen rain in about a month! Lesson for those of you not from OK: Tulsa is hot and dry in the summer! However, on the last morning, I drove through a pretty big rainstorm, which including several traffic jams because of people who had gotten into accidents and/or skidded of the road. The more important lesson here: Drive safely, particularly in inclement weather.
You won’t save that much time if you crash, and you sure as hell better not slow me up!
-This sign is from a different time I drove through SC, but it's still funny. "That's what she said."
-To help pass the time, I decided to see how many different state license plates I could find on cars (trucks don’t count, since they drive all over and often have out of state plates anyway). I was surprised to find that I reached 33, plus D.C. and Ontario. I got the whole South and most of the Midwest, as well as a few random surprises (New Mexico, Vermont, Wisconsin). It was a fun game, and I probably got more obsessed with it than I should have, but you should have seen by 4 pm on Friday or Saturday. It was the alternative to zombie.
-I left OK at 9am on Thursday, I got to Myrtle Beach apartment at 3pm on Saturday. I got my key and signed the lease in a short amount of time. I checked out the place (its nice, I’ll have pictures up soon), and walked outside to unpack my car (particularly my air mattress and sheets to take a much needed nap). And it starts pouring! I mean really pouring. So I ended up having to wait another hour and a half to unpack and get settled. But all and all, a great trip considering all the driving and I’m happy and excited to be in SC! I’m sure there will be much more to come on that subject…
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