Another leg of this trip means another goodbye and another hello. I'm so lucky that I've been able to spend time with so many special people, and this leg was definitely no exception. This was the first time in three and a half years that Carra and I were able to spend more than a single day together, and after being practically inseparable for the last two years of high school, it's been comforting to wake up and know that I'm going to get to laugh with her and that we're going to get ourselves into crazy shenanigans. So for that reason it sucks to move on. She and Alex have been great hosts and friends and I'm definitely going to miss them.
At the same time I'm now in Atlanta! Which I'm super excited about. The fact that it was in the thirties when I woke up in North Carolina and the seventies when I got to Georgia? An added bonus!
Carra and Alex drove me to Charlotte yesterday to catch my bus, and on the way we stopped in this adorable town where Alex and Carra met their photographer friend. They've had these really cute photoshoots with her for the last year or two and were able to schedule one before we kept going to Charlotte. Let me tell you: it was so fun to observe one of these shoots in action. It was at this really beautiful historical house that's open to the public and the grounds were really cute. Carra and I were even able to get a picture together that ended up being pretty adorable. I'll post it when I get a final edited copy!
Once we got to Charlotte we stopped at a super delicious cafe so that I could grab some dinner for the bus ride. The place was called Luna's Living Kitchen, an all vegan heaven. I got a side of citrusy marinated kale with a bomb avocado sandwich with sprouts, pesto, cashew cream, and a bunch of other delicious things. I was so happy.
But then I had to say goodbye to Carra, which wasn't that fun. I waited for my bus, then once it came I sat in my seat for twenty minutes while the MegaBus safety/informational video played loudly on a loop. By now I'm pretty sure I have that bitch's monologue memorized.
The ride was uneventful, save for the man sitting catty corner from me who thought it was socially appropriate to sing along to his iPod for the entire four hours. Not a fan. Not one bit. But we got to Atlanta half an hour early so I won't complain.
Allie picked me up from the bus and as I shoved my duffel in her car we were getting yelled at by a random security guy. Whoops! It was so so good to see Allie. It has been almost a year since I've seen her last but we quickly picked up where we left off last Thanksgiving.
We drove around a bit and then grabbed a late dinner at a Mexican place with a rooftop patio. We inhaled our food, which included a gigantic bowl of guac, of course. Then we headed to a fro yo place where we struggled hardcore. Like seriously. We couldn't stop laughing. To make matters worse, as I ate my mango sorbet and Allie ate her coffee fro yo outside a man walked up to me and seriously asked me for a bite of my fro. Ummmmm hello? Excuse me? Allie and I were horrified and finally convinced him to leave us alone which was special.
After a couple quick errands we got back to Allie's where Jess was home from work! Like, I seriously love these two together, and I love spending time with both of them, so I am super lucky to call them my family. And so looking forward to this week.
We spent the rest of the night talking and hanging out, but once we broke out the games shit got real. Have you ever played Hedbanz? Google that shit. We ate it up and ended up spending close to four hours playing it. No joke. The whole daylight savings, fall back, gain an hour of sleep thing? Not applicable when you spend the whole night oblivious to a time change and just play games until 4AM.
Woke up this morning exhausted. But happy. Because I woke up snuggled in bed with Squid, my favorite cat in the entire world. The last time that I visited Allie and Jess, three and a half years ago when they still lived in Charleston, Squid was just a tiny little thing who fell asleep in my arms every night. Now? He's huuuuuge! But still oh so lovable. And quite the cuddler.
But we woke up and crawled out of the house, brunch being the only thing to motivate us to move. We love our food. We ended up at Ria's Bluebird, where the line was out of control and our stomachs were growling like crazy. But Allie and I waited outside and caught up, talking all about tattoos and other life or death decisions. Eventually we realized that they skipped over our name, so we marched inside and demanded food. Nicely. We sat at the counter and took a long time deciding what to get, sipping at our coffees like they were our life rafts. Allie got a vegetarian breakfast burrito thing and I got a vegan wrap with these spicy tofu cubes that I pretty much became obsessed with. They might be the best tofu I've ever had.
After stuffing ourselves we headed over to Little Five Points, an eclectic neighborhood with all types of crazy people. We did some shopping, a lot of gawking, and broke the rules to use a Starbucks bathroom. We live really dangerously, I know.
Then we went and met Jess at this random tiny theater in a strip mall. "Huh?" you ask? A friend of Allie's was in a production at this unique theater company and it looked hilarious so we decided to go. Best. Decision. Ever. While it started out slow and iffy it got soooo good and had us laughing the whole time. It's called The Divine Sister and was essentially a sacrilegious play about nuns, some of whom were male actors in drag. YES. We were loving it.
After stopping by Whole Foods to grab groceries (on empty stomachs, no less! Like we're amateurs!) we headed home. Jess spoiled us by making us dinner, which is really sweet considering she had been cooking all day, making brunch at the restaurant she works at. But she made a yummy vegetable lasagna with vegan cheese and garlic bread. Holllllllaaaa.
Then, after finally deciding to watch a movie, we settled in and started it up. The preview made it look right up our alley. HOWEVER it was one of he worst movies I've seen in recent memory. Daydream Nation. Don't google this shit.
I'm reaching the halfway point in this journey, which is hard to believe. New York, Pennsylvania, D.C., and North Carolina are all under my belt. Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana are on deck. I'm super excited to spend this week in Atlanta with Allie and Jess, and if the last day and a half is any indication then were gonna have a fun time. Night all!
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