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This entry is rambly and stream of consciousness. I've had about seven hours of sleep total over the last 48 hours, and now my eyes are puffy, red, itchy, and watery because I am allergic to Sam (this always happens when I visit/he visits). Anyway, apologies that this entry doesn't really flow well.
I'm in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. If I had not forgotten my camera, you'd already have some pictures of the property surrounding Sam's parents' house, which includes a natural waterfall and creek mere yards away from their backyard. Meeting the parents went well, other stuff not so much (some of which will have to be discussed behind a filtered cut, sorry to folks who aren't friended/not in that filter, but it's rather serious).
Nothing about yesterday went according to plan. Sasha decided to go play in the pond near our house and didn't want to come home when called, so we got out an hour later than planned. We dropped Sasha off at the boarders, and got to Orangeburg to stop for gas and lunch. The gas station I stopped at was having difficulties with the card reader at the pump, so I had to go inside to pay which meant waiting in a very long line. Then, the Arby's couldn't take debit cards as they too were having difficulties with card readers, so we ended up at Burger King. I had planned to be out of South Carolina before noon. It was 12:30 when we left Burger King.
Oh, but the fun wasn't over yet. I made it up to Asheville without a problem, and I called Sam when I hit the road he'd told me about. However, it turns out I took the wrong exit (going South when I should have gone North) and thanks to a lack of highway signs, I didn't realize this until I was in a town whose name I didn't recognize as one I was supposed to go through. Thank goodness I can read a map, but that didn't spare me from traffic where I couldn't get in the left lane fast enough to get back on the right path. For the record, it is damn near impossible to get turned around on I-240 in Asheville.
FINALLY, I got to the McDonald's where I was supposed to meet Sam, only he wasn't there. After waiting nearly two hours for me to turn up, he freaked out and went back home to try and call me, worried there'd been a wreck or something else. I called him right as he walked in the door.
All told, save for the lunch we had in Orangeburg and a couple of rest stops along the way, the kiddo and I spent from 10:00 AM until 6:30 PM in the truck yesterday. To put it in perspective, it should have only taken us five hours at maximum to get here. Yeah, that bad.
Despite all this and only getting about four hours of sleep, I am having a wonderful time, and spending time with Sam last night was great. His parents are completely awesome and his dad showed me his ink, which includes a full back piece of Odin hanging from the world tree. The detail is amazing and it's all black work.
And finally, the kiddo has been amazing. Despite all that time in the truck and being utterly exhausted, he has not made one negative comment or misbehaved at all. After we take Sam in to work this afternoon, I'm taking him to a place that'll let him mine his own rocks/gems. Should be awesome.
I'm in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. If I had not forgotten my camera, you'd already have some pictures of the property surrounding Sam's parents' house, which includes a natural waterfall and creek mere yards away from their backyard. Meeting the parents went well, other stuff not so much (some of which will have to be discussed behind a filtered cut, sorry to folks who aren't friended/not in that filter, but it's rather serious).
Nothing about yesterday went according to plan. Sasha decided to go play in the pond near our house and didn't want to come home when called, so we got out an hour later than planned. We dropped Sasha off at the boarders, and got to Orangeburg to stop for gas and lunch. The gas station I stopped at was having difficulties with the card reader at the pump, so I had to go inside to pay which meant waiting in a very long line. Then, the Arby's couldn't take debit cards as they too were having difficulties with card readers, so we ended up at Burger King. I had planned to be out of South Carolina before noon. It was 12:30 when we left Burger King.
Oh, but the fun wasn't over yet. I made it up to Asheville without a problem, and I called Sam when I hit the road he'd told me about. However, it turns out I took the wrong exit (going South when I should have gone North) and thanks to a lack of highway signs, I didn't realize this until I was in a town whose name I didn't recognize as one I was supposed to go through. Thank goodness I can read a map, but that didn't spare me from traffic where I couldn't get in the left lane fast enough to get back on the right path. For the record, it is damn near impossible to get turned around on I-240 in Asheville.
FINALLY, I got to the McDonald's where I was supposed to meet Sam, only he wasn't there. After waiting nearly two hours for me to turn up, he freaked out and went back home to try and call me, worried there'd been a wreck or something else. I called him right as he walked in the door.
All told, save for the lunch we had in Orangeburg and a couple of rest stops along the way, the kiddo and I spent from 10:00 AM until 6:30 PM in the truck yesterday. To put it in perspective, it should have only taken us five hours at maximum to get here. Yeah, that bad.
Despite all this and only getting about four hours of sleep, I am having a wonderful time, and spending time with Sam last night was great. His parents are completely awesome and his dad showed me his ink, which includes a full back piece of Odin hanging from the world tree. The detail is amazing and it's all black work.
And finally, the kiddo has been amazing. Despite all that time in the truck and being utterly exhausted, he has not made one negative comment or misbehaved at all. After we take Sam in to work this afternoon, I'm taking him to a place that'll let him mine his own rocks/gems. Should be awesome.
