Password: EastCoast
I'm not sure if anyone will believe it but these videos are still coming after two years!! Counting down until the finale of the Great American Roadtrip. We drifted down the east coast making stop after stop in pretty quick succession, after our long stay in New York. Our first stop was a quick hop, skip and jump away to New Hope, Pennsylvania. One of my good buddies, Bryan Schreck, is from this quaint town. Schreck and I met in college at UCF, living in the height of wake skating, 'The House', The Pub, frat ice luge's and the list could go on. Unfortunately for us, Orlando-ians, he decided to leave after college to return to his hometown. Lucky for Sam and myself though, he had a nice warm house that we could visit with him and his sister, Nell. It was very nice to see them and walk through their hometown that I've heard so much about for many years. Before heading out the next morning we watched the Scientology based movie, 'Going Clear'.....all I will say is, pretty eye-opening to a religion I've literally grown up around living near Clearwater. Moving on.
Our next destination we decided to stop in Washington DC, our capital. This was my first time here. We stayed with Sami's EX, Dylan. He was a gracious host even though he was down for the count with a bum leg. We decided to do the regular tourist monument walk to see some of what has contributed to our American history. All of the places we visited were great and bucket list checking for myself. I can say though, I was not prepared for how hot and humid DC was. I think by the time we hit the Lincoln Memorial both Sami and I were melting. Alas, here we were able to complete one our challenges given to us by Sami's grandparents. Their original challenge was to walk up the Washington monument/memorial, but we soon learned that that ritual is no longer allowed by tourists... probably on account of too many heart attacks, especially in that damn heat!
We had the privilege of meeting up with one of our high school friends, Sarah. We had a great time catching up with her, her fiancé (now husband) and her brother and sister. We ate drank and were merry until it was time to find our way home that evening. I can say it has been extremely nice to see old friends and faces that everyone tends to lose touch with through the years!
Our next stop was to visit Sami's grandparents in Virginia. This was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting them and it was nothing but great! They knew we were ready for some comfort food and a big cozy bed! We dined on a feast that night and indulged in wine while watching TV without judgement: Shout Out to 'Heart of Dixie!' We didn't actually visit any tourist spots, but that was exactly what the road trip ordered for this stop!
Leaving their house in the morning we made a long trek down to Charlotte, North Carolina to stay with my friend Shauna and her BF Brendan. Thankfully they accepted us with open arms and we enjoyed dinner together and then an exciting night out at ...if I can remember correctly... the Thirsty Beaver?? If you were to guess this is a semi hole in the wall bar with great charm and lighting you would be correct. My buddy, Brett, gladly met us out as the Thirsty Beaver is one of his favs. We enjoyed some beers and laughs and retired to sleep that evening.
The next morning we bid our farewells and started our way to Georgia where I would get to see my cute puppy, Nixon. But that is for another blog :)
Until Then,
Katie and Sam
Things we learned:
- Staying with an EX...probably isn't a good idea
- DC can be exTREMely hot
- Grandparents can always give you a second wind
- We've got friends in cool places where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases our sleep away!