Y'all Want a Boiled Peanut?

This weekend, in an effort to keep my emotional sanity, I drove to North Carolina to visit my friend, Maren.  For weeks, I've been laboring under the impression the trip was a 10 hour drive.  However, when I started my trip yesterday, my Garmin estimated 15 hours.  I verbally abused it, made it recalculate my trip five times, then called my dad to have him plan a route, but wouldn't you know it, it took me 15 hours with traffic.  That stupid Garmin is always right and it pisses me off.  I thought about calling Maren several times along my route to tell her "never mind, I'm heading home..." but I've never been to NC and since she was willing to feed and house me for free for two days, I sucked it up and finished the trip.  

The agony to arrive would have been worth it just to meet her crazy southeastern boyfriend!  He talks a mile a minute in this thick southern drawl, and asked me all sorts of personal questions while spilling his guts about the skeletons in his closet.  I was mesmerized.  He made me taste Dukes mayo at midnight after I arrived, which I guess is THE mayo of the south.  Then, he convinced me to eat a roast beef sandwich fifteen minutes later slathered in the stuff.  I was mildly surprised to realize that anyone who forces me to eat mayo, then a sandwich after midnight, is my friend for life.  I'm not kidding.  I have Kevin's back now.  

I woke up this morning and after teaching Maren how to store pictures to her cloud, she drove me all over the Saluda, NC area.  Guess what?  For a split second I thought I had found the place I thought I may leave Rhode Island for:

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!  I seriously considered moving immediately, especially when we drove past the Bat Cave Baptist Church.  However, there were no bats, no bat cave, no Batman, and like 10 buildings in the whole town, half of which were shuttered.  Oh well, at least I have my memories.

We then walked around Hendersonville and saw loads of peanuts in various forms and even tried some ice cream by an ice cream eating bear:

Plant all the crazy bears you want in an effort to distract me NC but it still wasn't Reed's Dairy.  Sorry.

We then hiked Chimney Rock, which Kevin's dad thinks looks like a penis.  I didn't think it looked like a penis or a Chimney, but it was most definitely a hike - and not the sweaty nature walks I've been dabbling with in the North.  (That's what southerners call New England.  True but also hilarious)!  Here Maren and I are at the waterfall at the top of the final 499 steps:

And me enjoying the view of Lure Lake, which I think looks like a river...

Verdict?  Holy crap it's pretty down here. What incredible adventures I've had over the last four months!  These gorgeous fifty states the good Lord has blessed us with are astounding!  The different food, people, accents...  I feel blessed to have the means to experience them.  I wish my hubby would stop dragging his feet and get my house sold.  There's a whole world waiting for him if he'd just join me.  That, and boiled peanuts and Cheerwine...