Speaking of Craigslist, I enjoyed an ironic moment on the phone with a friend a few days back. I believe I've described my single biggest gripe with Craigslist personal ads before, but allow me to summarize: Succinctly, 90% of all ad responders on Craigslist are idiots who don't bother to read the ads they're responding to. If you post an ad looking to meet someone and there is a single qualification in your ad— for instance, looking for someone with red hair— 90% of the responders will not have red hair. That's how stupid most of the responders are. About six weeks ago I happened to meet my friend Lauri for an fun evening and I was trying to explain this Craigslist phenomenon to her, but it wasn't making sense to her. Then I spoke with her on the phone a few days ago, and, without realizing what she was trying to describe, she was complaining about the Craigslist phenomenon back to me. It seems she had recently been posting and meeting only the worst that Craigslist had to offer. You coupled people have it so lucky— you don't know how fucked up the dating pool is these days.
Anyway, you're not here to listen to my dating rants. Back to the big story:
On Saturday morning, we got up early(ish) and hit the road. Naturally, Russell's mother would not let us leave before serving a final delicious breakfast and packing us some food for the road. Honestly, I could've stayed another week, his mother is such a wonderful hostess and cook! She even made pimento cheese sandwiches for us— from scratch! I say that with a bit of wonder because I've eaten pimento cheese many times in my life, but it's always been from a jar. It never occurred to me that someone could make it from scratch. Let me tell you, it was 100% better from scratch too! Later in the day, when I ate my sandwich, I was in heaven and mourned that there weren't more sandwiches for us. (As I write this, I am craving pimento cheese spread!)
We finally got on the road about 10 AM after a hearty round of goodbyes. I felt a little guilty driving off with Russell who had been with his folks for a month. I didn't want them to think that I was taking their son away!
Our path was to the south. One of the joys of traveling on the east coast is that you're constantly reminded of your progress. The states are small, and about the time you get used to being in one, you are crossing into another. If you ever wonder how far you have to go before reaching the next state, many of the states post their mile markers in descending order so that you know exactly how far away the border is. It really helps to make the miles pass. Unlike California, where you can get on a big open road and drive from sun-up to sun-down without ever leaving the state.
From New Jersey we passed into Delaware, and we passed through Delaware in a matter of minutes. (We only went through a small portion of the state.) From Delaware we passed into Maryland. In Maryland I discovered the latest thing in highway technology— a rest stop between the north- and southbound lanes, meaning you didn't have to exit the toll road to enjoy it. On top of that, it doubled as a food court, as there were half a dozen restaurants in the rest stop. Whoever designed it should be given a raise! I was able to get a cup of Starbucks, and Russell bought cookies from some ingenious Girl Scouts who had staked out the rest stop.
For those who are curious, we were traveling down Interstate 95. Before too long we found ourselves approaching Baltimore and decided to leave I-95 long enough to loop around the south side of the city. This worked remarkably well, and we were not once slowed by traffic. Again, in California, one loops around heavy traffic in order to get stuck in slightly less heavy traffic. In no time at all Washington DC lay on our horizon.
I had been warned that Washington is always good for traffic delays, but, even though it was now well into the afternoon, we ran into no problems at all. There was a stretch of a mile or so when we slowed down for what turned out to be a small spot of construction. That was all. As we passed through the city, there was an exit for Pennsylvania Avenue, and had we not been expected in Raleigh later in the evening, I would have suggested we exit and drive past that famous residence.
Virginia followed DC, and after driving in the state awhile I couldn't help but notice that the state is apparently no longer 'for lovers.' If you're old, like me, you'll recall that 'Virginia is for lovers' was a long-run tourism ad campaign. You used to see billboards and bumper stickers all over the place. No longer. You're on your own now in Virginia.
At the North Carolina border, we stopped at the welcoming center and rest stop. Russell picked up a map of the state, and I called my brother to let him know we were on our way. (Regular blog readers will recall that he lives with his family in Raleigh.)
I have to confess that I turned out to be an uninspiring travel companion beginning on this day. I warned Russell when I got to New Jersey (or sometime before then) that I fall asleep while traveling. Most of the time I absolutely can't help it. Despite whatever may be interesting to view outside the windows, the rhythm of the road puts me right out. This happens on trains and airplanes as well. For some reason that I can't explain, however, this drowsy never struck during those initial days in New Jersey. I rode the train in and out of New York, we spent the day driving around northern New Jersey, and another day driving around the southern part of the state. During all that traveling I never once fell asleep. Our trip south was a different story! I could hardly keep my eyes open most of the day, and it only got worse the next day. I felt so bad, leaving Russell basically alone for most of the day. My naps probably explain why I found the drive south quick and pleasant though.
Just past standard dinner time, we hit Raleigh and made our way to my brother's house. After a rest of a few minutes, though, the three of us headed out for dinner. If you'll recall, during my previous visit to Raleigh, we had tried to eat at a local Brazilian BBQ only to discover it closed for a private party. It was open on this night, however, and the three of us enjoyed a spectacular meal. I would rate the Brazilian BBQ that we go to here in California as slightly better— the buffet part of the meal is better and it's much cheaper— but the Raleigh restaurant had a wonderful live band performing jazz.
After dinner, Jeff, my brother, gave us a tour of the plant at Grenwich Bay. If you ever have the opportunity, do get a tour from him, because it is fascinating to see all the machines that perform the magic. It is also the best smelling tour you will ever take! After the plant tour then, we checked into a nearby hotel and got some shut eye.
Sorry this wasn't a more interesting post today, but it was a day spent driving. Part 12 tomorrow.
Until next time!
"Maryland is for crabs."— tourism motto for the state of Maryland
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