18 HOURS HERE, 18 HOURS THERE. AND A MOOSE IN BETWEEN.

Our travels began Saturday evening at 6:00pm. We left the state of South Carolina with me, myself, and I driving. After two hours I was ready to hand over the captains seat and take in the scenery that was around us...and thank goodness I did because I really could not take my eyes off of THIS.

I had never heard of the South of the Border before but when I saw and read the signs for it 50 miles before we even arrived to it, I knew I was in for a real highway oasis. Seriously! Of course we had to stop, of course! V wanted a magnet to add to our collection. Our goal was to find a bride and groom because 1. South of the Border is a great place to have a destination wedding(obviously) and 2. We wanted to send it to our family, just for giggles. ;) Once we found our fabulous obnoxious magnet for our future refrigerator we ventured out of the land of specialness and made our way further north. By this time it was getting close to dark and my eyes were beginning to take their detour south aka closed. I tried to stay awake as long as possible for V knowing that he was in a little bit of pain and wasn't in his right stature to be driving. Unfortunately, I could not hang. Cat naps here and there were necessary for my sanity. At around 3:15 we pulled off in Delaware(unaware that we had recently driven through DC AND Maryland....what the heck? where was I during all of this?....WOOPS!) Delaware was a perfect place for a quick nap for V and me. By 4:30 we were back on the road heading to New Jersey.

Ahhhhh New Jersey......now I've never been to this part of the country before but according to MTV and Jersey Shore...I could tell I was in for a trashy treat. ok ok ok, so New Jersey may not be all that bad(from what I hear) but from what I could see...WHOA. That turnpike looked just as trashy as those leather faced reality folks. It was disgusting. As we jumped from tollbooth to tollbooth we soon came upon....THE BIG APPLE! I have NEVER been to New York City before and even seeing it from a decent was soo awesome! It was about 7 in the morning so the morning fog was a bit of a problem but still, I could see the skyline and the outline of all the buildings! Very exciting!

Once we were out of the crazy New York traffica, we were finally in Connecticut. Um, all it took was crossing a bridge to cross into a completely different world(from what people have said)??? V kept telling me how beautiful the state was and finally I turned to him and said "where?" 3 minutes later he was pulling off the interstate which landed us into a very fancy neighborhood with massive homes.....on.....a.....private.....beach!! Private Beach? WHAT! Yes, we stopped! It was amazing, the fog was still coming off the water, old men were out fly fishing, birds were wading in the collldddd water, and we watched two horseshoe crabs get it on in the water(nice touch to the start of our day..) While at the beach, we changed, brushed our teeth, and climbed along the rocks for some sweet pictures! The neighborhood was something right out of a movie, the homes were incredible and the scenery..oh the scenery was perfect! After we pulled our bottom lips up from drooling we then hit the road to find some yummy Connecticut breakfast! We stopped at the Cromwell Diner in Cromwell, Connecticut where we shoveled down some yummy pancakes, eggs, an egg sandwich, sausage and were done with our people watching...we both decided that I should drive the rest of the way so that V could rest his back and could get some shut eye. The rest of the way was a piece of cake! We drove straight through Massachusetts, it was a bit small but very beautiful, unfortunately we did not have time to stop(sorry X). Once out of Massachusetts....we then were in......

from the words of our australian accent gps: "ARRIVING AT NORWICH UNIVERSITY IN NORTHFIELD, VERMONT!" hearing those words were relieving as well as sad, sad because our trip had come to an end and we would soon have to say our goodbyes...until next weekend...

VERMONT! Aka. Moose Country? One of the first road signs we saw in Vermont was MOOSE CROSSING! Moose Crossing? They have moose here? I'm still a little shocked by this, ignore me. But really, I would have LOVED to have seen a moose! As we drove up and down mountains, I was surprised at how gorgeous the state was, I had no idea this place was so green and so mountainy! As we finallllly pulled into Northfield, VT so V could check in with the school we wasted no time getting back on the road to Burlington so that I could hop onto a plane only to come back to Charleston. :( On the bright side: 1. spent 20 hours in a car with V and we still wanted to kiss afterwards and 2. I will be back in Vermont on Thursday! Only to drive back down to Charleston....another 18 hours in the car...making it a 36 hour trip all around. And I still think I'll keep him! :)

Hero Week!

My plans this weekend were to lay low and enjoy a Saturday with my hero(who just an hour ago donated bone marrow in Washington DC) before he jetted off to Vermont for his Masters week shenanigans. Fail. My brain starts to think and we all know when that happens some of the craziest ideas come forth. sidenote: For the past 2 weeks the whole world and I have been worried about the 18 hour travels he planned to undertake alone after a painful surgery. SO being that its "hero" week, I decided that I would drive the 18 hours with him only for him to put me on a plane once we get there. 18 hours for a one way ticket? yes please! In all honesty I am extremely nervous about the drive through the night but also excited to spend some quiet alone time with the boy. We will be hitting some of the major cities along the way such as DC and New York but unfortunately only from a distance. This will be my first trip North East and I'm anxious to see what it all looks like and most importantly ready to hear some crazy yankee accents! gag. So my dear friends, please pray. Pray that I live through Monday morning at work and pray that I don't bite anyones heads off. Also, lets not forget that I will be back on a plane for a one way trip to Vermont on Thursday night and driving down the following day. All in all.....36 hours in a vehicle within 7 days. I can handle this. I think. :)

I guess we do what we have to do for the people that we love. :)

Accomplishments

Well i'm back. The wedding festivities and trip home was a success! The weekend was full of crazy fun and tons of old memories. Friday night Me, V, and the Taylors went out to our high schools graduation to see a family friend graduate, it was good to be back in town and to see some familiar faces however I quickly came to realization that I have outgrown my small hometown. Growing up I always knew and wanted to end up back home having my own family but the dear Lord had something much more exciting for me, and boy did he! Being home made me appreciate all the places I've been and seen and I wouldn't change it for the world.
Saturday the crew all headed up to Nashville, TN for a family friends Scottish wedding. I was anxious to see how the city was recovering due to the flooding that had occured only weeks before and to my surprise everything was back to normal, tourists flooded the streets with their neon cowboy hats, fanny packs, mullets, and cut off jean shorts. It was actually a great sight to see regardless of what was roaming the streets. As we ventured down 2nd Ave we decided on lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory, one our all time favorites. While there, we ordered a few cocktails and reunited with their Mizithra cheese and angel hair pasta! YUMMM! I also was reunited with my favorite Nashvillian, Tianna! Tianna and I go all the way back to 2002 Fundamentals of Music class at MTSU where we became friends almost instantly. A couple of years later we let our friendship go to the next level and became roommates! Living in Middleborough Court with yearly block parties was the very best decision I could have made. Its hard to believe that all those times are long gone and its even harder to believe that we no longer live together or close enough to see each other but once a year. However, I know that no matter where we are I will always have such a dear best friend. It was so great to see her even if our visit was brief.
After lunch we all headed back to the hotel to change and to prep ourselves for what was about to happen that night. Once at the wedding I was greeted by so many familiar faces that I hadn't seen in years! The groom's father sat us in the "cousin" section so we could get a good view at Mr. Hannaway taking the plunge in his kilt! The wedding was gorgeous and probably one of the best weddings I've witnessed due to the Kilts and Bagpipes. After the wedding we all headed to the reception where we were greeted with an open bar. Yeah...that was a brilliant idea, good choice Hannaway's! The reception ran into the night and once the bride and groom had made their exit, we headed back to the hotel to see if my brother-in-law could get us kicked out by opening a champagne bottle of the indoor balcony. Fail. But not kicked out. Whew!
Sunday morning rolled around quite early and we all packed up and headed to breakfast followed by a day on the Tims Ford Lake with our family friends. Most of our Tennessee friends live on the lake so it was a perfect way to end an exciting weekend! After boating all day we grilled out and played Wii with our friends and caught up on all the families.
All in all, it was a great weekend to see so many familiar faces and friends. I'm also excited that V was able to get to meet all the important people that are so important to me. :)

Now, let me get you caught up on what the following weeks will consist of. V has been found as a bone marrow match for an 8 year old little girl with Leukemia living over seas. So this week he is being flown to D.C. where he will donate. I'm upset that I won't be able to go and help him get through this painful surgery but his sister has volunteered to go and lend a hand. This process is a very painful and I'm hoping that he recovers quickly for his Masters week in Vermont next week! He's definitely my hero and its made me fall in love with him even more...if that's even possible! Next week V is receiving his Masters and is required to be in attendance all week long. Praying hard that he keeps up with the pace after his surgery. Praying Praying Praying! Next week I will be flying up to watch him achieve such an awesome accomplishment and once again be incredibly proud of him. After the ceremony we are driving, yes driving the 18 hours back down to South Carolina. Movies, Laptop, Book, and Iphone are already packed no worries. It won't be our first rodeo so I think we can handle the long drive. I do best sleeping though, just sayin. I'm excited about the trip and looking forward to other extravaganzas in the near future!

Back In Time

This weekend I am looking forward to going back in time, where my life began. I'm headed back to Tennessee for a friends wedding and its been almost 2 years since I've stepped foot on its soil and I'm ecstatic to be spending the weekend rehashing the only thing that I knew for 22 years. I'm blessed to have been raised in such a small glorious town, it was such a great place for kids to be raised. It was a place where a a 10 minute trip to Walmart turned into an hour trip to Walmart because seeing everyone you know is just part of the daily hussle bussle of Tullahoma. Its things like this that make you really appreciate where you've come from.
Over the past 4 years I've travelled and seen so many great areas of our country such as New Mexico and now Charleston. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to experience knew places and cultures but home will always be my comfort zone i.e. Tullahoma. I always look forward to going back and seeing all the places, people and things that I grew up with but I'm usually quickly reminded that places change and people change or leave. I'm still learning that its all just part of growing up and moving on with life.
My boyfriend is joining me on this trip and I'm extremely excited for him to see where I come from. We've been seeing each other for almost 3 months and I feel that there's a giant side of me that he hasn't seen or doesn't know, not that this is a bad thing, just a big piece of me thats important. Tullahoma is where I started singing and performing, its where I graduated high school, its even where I cruised the strip on Friday and Saturday nights....don't judge me for being a social butterfly with my surrounding town rivals! I'm nice...even to them. :)
This weekend should definitely be a good one. Wedding in Nashville Saturday night and friendly visits with people I haven't laid eyes on in years!

Summer Lovin

Its beginning to look a lot like SUMMER! Ahhhh, the smell of skin burning and sand in the crotch...its all beautiful. The past few weekends have been spent either pool side or on a beach absorbing the sun and relaxing from the daily grind of work. I try and take full advantage of my days off on the weekends and I feel that laying by a pool or laying on a beach is exactly what I should be doing.

Last weekend was eventful...E.V.E.N.T.F.U.L. It started off with my singing the National Anthem at the Riverdogs. Always a good time for not just me but for my friends as well, they like to surround themselves with a star and..I don't blame them. We definitely enjoyed watching those dogs give the Augusta greenjackets a beating(sorry V)!

After belting my heart out in front of baseball players and my friends I then belted my heart out at the Lady Antebellum/Tim McGraw Concert because sometimes I think the coliseum can hear me and only me. riiiiiiiight. It was a fantastic concert even though I did NOT have my meet and greet with them......don't ask don't tell....its still a very sore subject...moving on...

Since my birthday was on a Monday, V decided he would take me to a delicious dinner Friday night (Trattoria Lucca)so that we could enjoy a glass of wine and PINK champagne!!! PINK! To match my PINK dress! The dinner was perfect and more than I could ask for. After dinner we met up with a few of my favorites (X, Cal Cal, and S) for a few drinky drinks. Perfect ending to a fabulous night....or so I thought it was a perfect ending.....until V surprised me with GOLF CLUBS FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! Notice...THE PINK! and the PLAID!!! I am sooooo excited!!!! We took them out to the driving range where the clubs and I bonded over 120 yard drives and ending in blisters... :) Ignore the tshirt...it was 2am. :)

Saturday was spent hanging out around the pool soaking up the rays while the boys played their round of golf. It was a nice laid back kind of day due to a rockin Saturday night on a boat. My brother-in-law is making Captain in the Air Force so it was mandatory for the 20+ Captains to rent a booze cruise for the evening sailing around the harbor. SHIT SHOW? YES! After the booze cruise the piss drunk pilots decided to take their game downtown to a new bar called NV. Great bar...a little pricey but fun. After a few drinks we all decided it would be best to hit up a McD and head home. Sidenote: The McD's on Ashley Phosphate ladies and gentlemen is where I witnessed my very first "woman hitchiker gets ride from two men in a truck." yeah...that happened.....right next to us. Note to self: Never use the Ashley Phosphate McD's.

Sunday was also spent hanging out around the pool and prepping for our Birthday Cookout with friends. Since we had all gone "balls to the wall" the night before, we decided that a low key cookout would be best for everyone. It was a perfect evening with friends, cornhole, kabobs, and more presents! I am extremely blessed to have all the friends that I have in Charleston + Ohio :) My birthday could not have been more special.

Monday was our actual birthday and since I get my birthday off from work, me, V, my sister and brother-in-law decided to have a relaxing day at the beach at our favorite station on Sullivan's Island. It was a typical day at the beach until my boyfriend being the adventurous 'one with nature' guy decided to swim out to the sandbar to check it out. His first round of convincing got me as far as the break and then I chickened out. After 30 minutes or so he ventured back to shore where he told me about a 5ft shark that had washed up recently and that I needed to see it. Need? Not. However, being the loving gf that I am....I DID IT! I.DID.IT! I SWAM ACROSS TO SEE A FREAKING SHARK! A 5FT SHARK! Panicking? Yes, a little panicking....but more so on the way back after actually seeing and laying next to the creature. Fortunately, I made it back in one piece. OH the things we do for the people we love. He'll never forget it.

SHARK!!!

So all in all the birthday weekend was a smash blast hit. A perfect weekend of mingling with new friends, alcohol, cute dresses, swim suits, and sharks. I'm hoping for an even more eventful year and thanking all of you for such a spectacular weekend!

Touring My Southeast!

The past couple of weeks have been almost a complete blur from running all around the southeast, literally running.....ok not really just a lot of driving. I've always wanted to just drop everything that was going on in my life and travel around the world seeing and experiencing new and exciting things, however work seems to always get in the way of that idea and lets be honest I really enjoy driving a nice looking car and having a roof over my head so the travel idea has me stuck.....until a few months ago when I started dating the most amazingly random man i've ever met. His love for travel and randomness is exactly what the doctor ordered for my life. It's going on 2 months now that we've been together and my life hasn't stopped for a split second. Since I work full time during the week we try and take full advantage of the weekends...and boy do we.



Our first weekend away together was spent in Augusta with a day in Asheville visiting the Biltmore.... (this blog can be found http://jennakate84.blogspot.com/2010/03/m-to-ia.html

A few weeks later we were in Hilton Head at the Verizon Heritage Golf Tournament where I experienced my very first pro golf tournament. We stayed with some friends in a suite at the Marriot Grand Ocean Resort. The weekend was perfect.

This past weekend we traveled to Blue Ridge, GA for a weekend getaway in a cabin on the lake. It was an incredible weekend packed with alcoholic beverages, boating, play time on the dock, more alcoholic beverages, hammock naps, hot tub nights, and a flip flop hike up waterfalls. I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing weekend with my special one.

And now this weekend I'm looking forward to another Highway 20 Ride, destination Augusta to spend another weekend away from all things Charleston. Just another opportunity for me to bond with my Honda.

More weekends away are planned and I can't seem to take all of the anticipation and excitement! I promise to take more pictures at some point....I just get wrapped up in all the funness and forget to share. Sorry!

And then ladies and gentlemen NEXT WEEKEND IS MY BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!!! 26!!!!!! The weekend is packed with a Lady Antebellum Concert, a fancy Air Force Captains party on a boat, Birthday festivities, and a friendly cookout with all my favorite Charlestonians, oh and lets not forget a DAY OFF from work!!!

THE WORLD IS BETTER IN ALL CAPS

well, hi there, nugget-lovers. my name's callie. it's such a pleasure to meet you. i'm here because jenna feels bad for her blog, but she can't think of anything to write about. actually, she blatantly asked christina or me to write an entry for her...so basically, i'm doing a favor for a friend. plus, i'm bored at work, and so this is what you're getting. enjoy. here are the important things you need to know about me:

1. i like lists and parenthetical statements (that means using parenthesis, in case you didn't know);
2. i l-o-v-e the charleston nugget;
3. i also love baseball, football, girly drinks, wearing dresses, and all things related to the south;
4. i write my own blog (though it's been severely neglected lately);
5. i will be coming to charleston for the first time in just under two weeks!

yeah, you read that right. i'll be coming to a city near you very soon to help celebrate the nugget's birthday, and let's just say that all participants involved are pretty psyched. i know you readers probably don't care that much (considering we just met and all), but trust me when i say that i'm pretty awesome, and you should consider getting excited anytime now.

now, let's briefly discuss the reasons why i like jenna:

1. her e-mails make me laugh a lot and keep me amused all day at work;
2. she is southern and she likes quotes about the south (please reference #3 above if you have ADD and don't remember why this makes me happy);
3. she's pretty, smart, honest, and a good friend;
4. we both love bright colors, yummy wine, being girly, and things with polka dots;
5. we both highly enjoy writing e-mails to each other in ALL CAPS on friday afternoons when we are too lazy to un-click "caps lock" on our keyboards.

i could continue, but let's face it, if you're reading jenna's blog, you probably already know all the reasons she is wonderful. so, moving on to the real topic of my post. as i mentioned, this little midwesterner is heading to the gorgeous city of charleston (i'm pausing to give you a second to cheer and celebrate), and christina has already come up with a list of things for us to do. i'm here on jenna's blog asking you for additional "must-see" people/places/things for my trip. i am obsessed with mini vacas, and i want to make sure to see every important landmark in the city while i'm there! here is christina's list - copied and pasted directly from a friday morning e-mail:

possible plans:--
--whole foods for cheese and $4 wines (so good) and gelato!
--party at the point
--the market saturday morning downtown for crepes and charleston stuff!
--beach day
--celebrate NUGGET'S bday
--walk around downtown
--mimosas or brunch
--EAT EAT EAT DRINK DRINK DRINK DANCE DANCE DANCE

(see, i told you i wasn't the only one who's excited about this!)

so, adorable readers of the charleston nugget, what else is there to do? what one thing will make my entire trip complete? help!

xoxo,
callie

p.s. random fact: i just wiki'd charleston and discovered that its nickname is the holy city. i also learned that it is supposedly the "best-mannered" city in the united states. (note to self: practice your etiquette and your holiness?)
p.p.s. in case you were curious, this blog contains 3 lists and 7 parenthetical statements. that makes me smile.
p.p.p.s. you probably make me smile, too.