Day Two: Charlotte, North Carolina-Columbia, South Carolina

August 24, 2009
Charlotte, North Carolina-Columbia, South Carolina
Miles: 107.5 miles

I woke up at 5:45 and watched the sunrise as I drove to the airport to pick up my best friend! I waited with excitement by the security gait. Nate came strolling up and yelled “FRIENDS!” there was a manly embrace, and many smiles. We had breakfast at my new favorite restaurant called Panera. Afterwards, we walked around Charlotte for a while and caught up on life. Saw some sweet fountains, parks, and buildings. Nate and I discussed how we had ridiculous nicknames for people in high school like “narwhol” and “meathooks”



We were anxious to get on the road so we did. Nate fell asleep in the car like a little baby. I guess he was jetlagged or something lame like that. Whatever. We arrived at Columbia around 1 or 2. We drove through town and ended up at the townhouses where my friend Gayle lived. Gayle and I met in Antarctica! Before Gayle got home, we found some cool woods behind her place. The trees are all covered in ivy or something that suffocates them. Gayle got home and showed us around columbia, we got Mexican food and it was delicious. While Gayle was in class ante and I wandered around and found the south Carolina state house. The house still has a confederate flag flying in front of it. I guess it is a big controversy because the flag represents different things to different people. Some see it as southern pride but some people see it still as a symbol of slavery and racism. Gayle’s friend Owen said that as a country and a state, he thinks it should be taken down to move forward and progress. We went to the swimming pool and it felt really nice to swim. I kneed Nate in the face because he startled me underwater. I totally did it on purpose but played it off like an accident pphhhhh. Had some amazing and cheap pizza at a place called the village idiot and Gayle and I talked about Antarctica and what it was like to be an RA hah

Went home and Nate fell asleep sitting up in his chair at about 9:45pm…why am I friends with such a loser? I made him a bed and we slept like babies.

baby sleep nate

People in South Carolina have no idea what there is to do in South Carolina. They told us to go to North Carolina, Georgia, or show us the place in USC campus called the clapping circle, where you clap while standing on some bricks and it echoes….in all seriousness, we’re having a great time!
-Love Luke

Nate types with excitement:
We’re only one day in and Luke and I have already done so much. We went to South Carolina State building. It was really cool. It made me realize that I have never been to the Oregon State building. The best part about it was in the front they had a confederate flag. I guess it’s always caused a lot of controversy and it used to be on top of the building so it was a big deal to have it moved down from there. So naturally, we got our pictures taken in front of it. You just don’t see that kind of stuff in Oregon. We were talking about it and some girl turned around and asked us “Where y’all from?!” We must have been asked that like 8 times. Southern hospitality is real. As Luke mentioned they had a hard time telling us things to do, but they seemed completely concerned and really wanted us to enjoy ourselves while we’re here. The best part about the day was when we went swimming. I was exhausted from the heat and humidity and walking around so it was really nice. Luke kneed me in the face and everything! You know, the usual stuff you do when you go swimming..! I look like Sylvester Stallone at the end of Rocky. This morning we had grits for breakfast, another tasty treat. Thank you so much, Gayle, for letting us stay with you and taking up your time and living room! We deeply appreciate it! We are on are way to Charleston to go camping and soak up some real South Carolina history. We’ll let you know how that goes!! Love you all..!

Love- Nate!!!!

Day One: Boone, North Carolina-Charlotte, North Carolina

August 23, 2009
Boone, North Carolina-Charlotte, North Carolina
Miles: 115.3 miles

Hung Out with Anna for one last day. Just laid around, ate a lot of food and packed my bag and my car. I realized that In the whole summer, I have only driven my car by myself only once or twice in three months. That’s good because my favorite thing in the world is a full car. My car has 8 seatbelts and since this summer, we got 15 people in it. It. Was. Awesome. The people at Gables had no idea what was coming when we crawled out like a clown car in the circus.

I left for Charlotte around 6 and was terrified that I would be lost. Fortunately for me Anna was so sweet and wrote me up step by step directions on how to get to my couch surfer’s house in Charlotte. The drive was fantastic because the clouds were orange and pink. Stayed with Nice lady named Kristi who was an elementary school teacher. We watched True Blood and went to be early because the next morning I will be picking up NATE AT THE AIRPORT!!!!
Love Luke

Overview

States: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina

Miles Anna Darea, and Luke traveled from NY to NC: 1,445.9
Luke since OR: 4,500.2

Cost:
Gas Total: 157.33
Divided by three: 52.33

Hosts:
Henryville, Pennsylvania: Camp Lindenmere, The Ghost
Manhattan, New York: Jazz on the City
Worcester, Massachusetts: Dianne, Peggy, and Anthony
Salem, Massachusetts: Konstandt Family
Allentown, Pennsylvania: Senderowitz Family
Virginia Beach, Virginia: Perry Family
Greensboro, North Carolina: Mackey
Boone, North Carolina: Reichard Family

Quotes:
That’s Hogwash –Brenna (even though she’s not here)
My gums are throbbing –Doctor
What is your location? –David/Everybody at camp
I was lookin’ a hot mess –Brenna/Everybody
One hot minute –Brenna
Let’s Discuss how… -Brenna/Everybody
Seriously guys, just come to Oregon and you’d get it. –Luke
DINOSAUR PAAAAARK –Luke
Anna google Dinosaur park. Can we camp there? –Luke

Day 9: Boone, North Carolina

August 20, 2009
Boone, North Carolina

This morning we went to Anna’s mom’s charity event for a new homeless shelter, it was a fancy brunch that included Boone’s most well groomed and wealthy citizens … and us. Anna assured Luke and I that our shorts and shirts were fine, though it was evident that we were chronically under-dressed. Luke attempted to button up his shirt but being a checked hillbilly number his success at fitting in Boone style was slightly limited. However it must be noted that Luke and I may not have fitted in aesthetically but my accent, not consisting of ‘y’all’ or even a remote American twang made me stand out like a sore thumb. Highlights of the event included Eric whispering to me ‘Now the fun really begins’ after the fifth southern speaker said the same thing to their captive audience. The giggles were inappropriately passed around the table doing nothing for our attempts to be inconspicuous. Definitely a unique morning, on a serious note though it did make us all think about the social issue at hand.
‘Downtown Boone’ was about the size of a postage stamp but was chock-a-block full of hippie stores. We especially enjoyed a certain furniture store that looked like we had stepped onto the set of ‘That 70’s show’. It was awesome…dude. We also went to the most amazing old fashioned candy store I have ever ever seen, bought a lot of candy but hey there were barrels full of it! Oh and the other uber exciting part of the day was discovering that Anna had Girl Talk. Way better than dinosaurs. Darea x

dressin' fancy in wal-mart!

Day 8: Virginia Beach, Virginia-Greensboro, North Carolina-Boone, North Carolina

August 19, 2009
Virginia Beach, Virginia-Boone, North Carolina
Miles: 370 miles
Music: Ben Kweller, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Avett Brothers

Woke up to watch the sunrise, but it was not out. The sky was grey and just got lighter and lighter with no colors. We woke up again at 8 and Lauren took us to a restaurant called “The Jewish Mother” where they had a special called 3.33 where you got two eggs and style, two pancakes, and bacon….all for $3.33!!! Sweet deal. I was especially happy because I rode to the restaurant in Lauren’s friend Chris’ convertible...which later got towed for being parked in a dry cleaner spot. After a good breakfast, some friends left for Montreal to go to a rave or something.

Lauren and Allison took us to the beach and we went swimming and laid in the hot hot sun. Lauren managed to get us a few kayaks to paddle around in for free! We accidently paddled too far out past where anyone could see us from shore so Lauren came out and said that there were dolphins near the shore. We paddled back and sure enough, dolphins started swimming right next to us in groups of three or four! We saw babies and groups of them came within a couple feet from our kayaks! It was definitely an unforgettable experience. The coolest part about it was jumping off the kayaks and going underwater. When I did that, I heard the unmistakable clicks and high pitched whistles of the dolphins making noises under water! Got pretty sunburned through the whole thing so we paddled back to give Allison and Amanda a turn on the Kayaks. I’d like to note that Darea managed to give herself the most ridiculous color bone sunburn/soon to be tan line I’ve ever seen. It’s like she put a smattering of sunscreen on her chest with no regard as to how to rub it in properly. Oh how I love this girl. I on the other hand am just sunburned all over, even though I put on Allison’s SPF 70 (allegedly it was not waterproof) Anyways It is pouring down rain now so we have no worries about any kind of sunburns.

Lauren gave us a ride back to her house and we said our goodbyes after a shower and re-packing.

On the road again! We got very lost more than once on confusing highways that wanted us to go the wrong direction. Once we were on a long straight road it was very nice and pretty. Very green all along the southern part of Virginia, and the we passed into North Carolina and Anna and played our favorite Avett Brothers and OCMS songs about North Carolina! Very pretty place.

This whole trip I have been giving any car the thumbs up if I see that they have the same car as me. (Ford Taurus) Anyways, it hasn’t been reciprocated yet unfortunately. I guess not all Ford Taurus owners are as cool as me. I was, however, lucky enough to pass by another car with Oregon plates. Thumbs up out the window and of course what happens? It gets returned. This goes to show you the friendliness of Oregonians in and out of state. ☺ Made my car riding experience complete.

On the way to dinner with Anna’s Grandmother “Mackie”

Ok so being an English gal, meeting someone who quite genuinely says ‘y’all’ has been one of the highlights of this trip for me. Mackie is simply adorable and seeing Anna interact with her was a beautiful sight to see. She is evidently a funny albeit tiny lady who felt the need to be somewhat reserved on account of the two strangers in her manicured little home, but her humor came out in no time.(I would just like it noted that I resent the way I have to spell humor, it should have a u in it but an angry red line appears when I write it like that, so when in Rome…) especially cute ‘Mackie Moments to note are her joke about if she doesn’t read her name in the obituary list then she will go out and the hilarious quip she made to Anna; ‘I thought about it before you, I just didn’t shout it out’. The lady is pure gold and it was a pleasure to meet her. The evidence for this was the fact that the moment we got back in the car, grinning from ear to ear, Luke and I rang our respective grandparents. Being the cool kids that we are one of the biggest laughs if the day came from Luke telling another ‘funny story’ about Gramma Judy and her ‘sex in the car’ story. On our way to Boone now, up some mountains in the rain but we are in good hands with Anna driving. Who I have consequently decided to call Florence Nightingale with regards to the fact that she carries a pharmacy in her purse. Thinking of shortening it to Flo? Hopefully she will be more accepting of it than I was to Drizzle. Darea x.

Note: Anna told me that the ‘site to see’ on our drive to Boone is the world’s only double storey Wendy’s. Not going to lie it is no giant ball of yarn, or an obnoxiously large Confederate flag (either of which would be truly exciting and I’m still crossing my fingers for) but hey a double storey Wendy’s? I’m prepared to be excited, after all I am just a impressionable tourist. Oh and Anna killed a bird, the weapon was Luke’s car and the location was the high-way, but she doesn’t want to talk about it. Darea x.

First impressions of Anna’s town and home: very green, winding roads and some pretty stars. I’m excited for tomorrow. Darea x

Day 7: Allentown, PA-Delaware-Maryland-Virginia Beach, Virginia

August 18, 2009
Allentown, PA-Delaware-Maryland-Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Miles: 317.6 miles
Music: Fun., Manchester Orchestra, Old Crow Medicine Show, The Beatles

Woke up and had bagels on the porch. It is ridiculously hot out today and it has been very hot every day since we left camp. Said goodbye to the Senderowitz family and before leaving took dome pictures and videos with massive white and red flowers growing in front of their home. Biggest flower I’ve ever seen. Now we’re just in the car driving south! Today I hope to surf in the ocean again. The car was filed with this song and it is stuck in our heads: “All the Pretty Girls” –Fun.

We’ have passed about 125 churches so far and a building called “church stores.” Also Anna said there is a church in North Carolina where people are Baptized in hot tubs. Welcome to the South.

Long time driving until we got to the beautiful Chesapeake Bay Bridge which is really long and pretty. We stopped to take pictures and played Hoppipolla, Darea’s favorite Sigur Ros song.


We got to Virginia Beach around 6:30 and we were greeted by Lauren and her mom in their amazing house on the bay. It was huge and gloriously decorated. We dropped our stuff of and Lauren took us to where her brother Brian and her friend Allison work at a burrito place called Muchismo’s. Had some massive burritos, then went to another friend’s house named Amanda. We waited a while, then drove downtown to the strip near the ocean. We had a drink and Darea told us about her adventures in Africa. After listening to some bands, getting ice cream, we decided it would be more fun to sit on the dock at Lauren’s house. The city lights in the distance provided some evening glow and many friends sat and discussed plans of going to Canada and stuff like that.

The floor we slept on was upstairs in a big room and it was the softest carpet I have ever slept on. Good sleep.

Day 6: Salem, MA-Connecticut-New York-New Jersey-Allentown, PA

August 17, 2009
Salem, MA-Allentown, PA
Miles: 326.2 miles
Music: “All the Pretty Girls” –Fun., “I’ve Got Friends” –Manchester Orchestra, Old Crow Medicine Show




Woke up relatively early and hit the road after a quick stop at the post office and goodbye to Marissa. We were basically on the road again all day and stuck in traffic through New York of course. I was running out of gas, had to pee, was sick of driving and wanted food. Needless to say I was not a happy camper. We eventually pulled over and took care off all those issues and Anna finished the drive to the Senderowitz Home in Allentown. They lived in a fantastic hose in a nice neighborhood. Their basement was filled with old arcade games like pinball, pacman, skee-ball and baseball. Rissa texted me and asked if we’d seen the basement. I said, “You mean canteen on steroids?” Because that was pretty much what it was like. Marlee showed us the rest of the house then her father, Donald, took us all for ice cream! Darea and Marlee got ice cream cones bigger than their faces of course. Wish we could have spent more time there it seemed like a very interesting town! Went back to their house and watched a Bat Mitzvah video and looked through photo albums. We are so lucky to have such amazing friends in all the right place.

Day Five: Worcester-Salem

August 16, 2009
Worcester-Salem, MA
Miles: 68.7 miles

Peggy and Anthony packed us a great lunch of sandwiches, potato salad, beer, water, pie, and silverware! Nicest people we’ve encountered. They were so hospitable. The drive to Salem was not that long and on the way we passed a sign that said “Dinosaur State Park” I got really excited and made Anna Google it to see what fun things were there. No camping so it was a deal-breaker.



When Luke says he was excited to see a sign that said “Dinosaur State Park” that is probably the biggest understatement ever, he was like a fat kid in a candy store or Luke in Oregon. His seatbelt held him in place but there was a good possibility he was going to jump out of the car at the sight of the word Dinosaur on a road sign. To be fair to him that is a rarity. Bless him I think the 8yr old Luke in him wanted the state park to have actual Dinosaurs in it, if not life size replicas. It makes me sad that we will not discover that place of wonders on this trip. Darea x.



Got to Salem on the hottest afternoon of the summer Marissa’s house was fantastic and really nice. It was tall and skinny with three floors. We set off for the city and Marissa played tour guide. We saw where the scene in Hocus Pocus was filmed at a tree with benches around it in a playground. We saw the Salem Harbor, bought some postcards, checked out downtown, then went to a place called The Willows. There was a Jazz festival happening and we ate ice cream and shopped around this Saturday market-type place. Met some cool artists including an oil painter and a photographer. We walked and walked back to Marissa’s house. On the way we stopped for Thai food and visited the most fantastical bookstore I’ve ever seen it was covered wall to wall with books. Completely filled! This tiny old man who ran the place said all books were half price. Once we returned to Marissa’s we were all too tired to go out and hit the night life. We caught up on emails, and letters, made more travel plans and went to bed. Nice evening in the witch hunting capital of the world!

–Love, Luke

Day Four: Worcester & Boston

August 15, 2009
Worchester-Boston-Worcester, MA
Miles: 101.6 round trip

Later start and had a nice breakfast Dianne cooked for us. Darea’s mom drove us to Boston for lunch at Anthony’s seafood restaurant on Pier 4. On the way we ad many phone calls.

Phone calls today: we all talked to Darea’s mom
Luke texted his Dad about the trip and dad told him to call so I did. Dianne called me a liar.

Luke talked to Lauren, Darea’s sister She thinks I’m really American
Anna talked to Luke’s mom Lise about the future life plans (what else is new)
Anna talked to her momma about ballet shoes

At the restaurant, I have never eaten so much on my life. Still full form the dinner before we had a huge platter of seafood including mussels, clams, oysters, crab and many sauces. (bread on the side) The entre I had was shrimp scampi which was very rich but delicious. SO MUCH FOOD. I managed to hide a grin when Diane ordered a gin and tonic (one of my favorite drinks) Famous people eat at Anthony’s restaurant and put the photos up on the wall. It’s kind of a big deal.

Drove back and decided that laundry was becoming a dire situation. We all went to the local laundry-mat and Darea did her laundry and Anna did mine. The reason for this is because I have been trying to find a place to wash, and vacuum my car and get the oil changed. Unfortunately for me, I’m a huge doofus and I got on the huge interstate highway, paid a toll, and got lost. When I asked the girl at the toll how to get back, she looked at me and said “That’s where you just came from!” I said, “I KNOW RIGHT?!” She kindly told me how to get back and I figured it out. Turns out, there was a car wash and a Jiffy Lube about a block away from the laundry place….but in the other direction. I vacuumed my car and decided to come back for oil change in the morning. There is no reason to wash the outside of my car because it’s just going to get dirty anyways. I also like the fact that there are dead bugs stuck to my car from 15 different states (so far). Holler.

We came home and I re-packed the car, vacuumed, chatted with Anthony and got ready for sleep. Good day of organizing

Anna is ridiculously good at navigating and not getting lost like me. I however am good at driving and being told where to go. Darea is really good at putting on her makeup and reading a book a camper gave her.
–Love, Luke

Day Three: Manhattan-Worcester

August 14th, 2009
Manhattan-Worcester, MA
Miles:169.8 miles

Woke up early to Anna bringing us breakfast in bed! Slight headache from the previous night but it was worth every minute.

We left for the bus station and managed to get to the Falcor and on the road before too long. Unfortunately, we went all the way back to New Jersey to be stuck in traffic for a long time. The day was mostly filled with driving and spacing out. Darea and I were very sad to be away from friends and kids at camp. Drove most of the day. Stopped and had some great hotdogs at a service plaza. Made it to Worchester (pronounced “wuh-ster”) around dinner time.

We were greeted by Darea’s mom Dianne, her friend Peggy, and Anthony. I have never met nicer people. Very nice hosts. Cooked us a big dinner of ribs, chicken, sausage, potatoes, and wine. After dinner, we sat and chatted about camp and told funny camp stories about walkie-talkies and strange doctors.

I slept like a baby on the fold out couch.

Note to self: Darea did not like the nickname “drizzle” will work on more tomorrow. -Love, Luke