Wateree Bound

We planned to be on the road for South Carolina at 9am and to that end I planned to wake at 6am. I came close, rolling out of bed at 610am. Not bad!

Since it was a vacation day, I opted to skip calisthenics. Still planned to run, though. Enjoyed coffee and internet for 30 minutes or so and then headed out for a run. It was gorgeous. Clear blue skies and cool – only 54 degrees. Since my two favorite pair of running shorts were packed, I wore a back-up pair. And like most Friday’s, I ran just three miles.

Back at the house near 730am, I took Mindy some coffee then went back downstairs to finish organizing my things for departure. More than once I went looking for Eiknarf, forgetting that she was with Gloria, Mindy’s mom. Habit! I headed to the deck where I watered a few of the thirsty flowers. In the garage, I moved everything needing to go to the edge of the overhead door, which included my golf clubs and stack of beverages. Inside, I packed our new cold storage cooler with coffee fixins, a few waters, and Gatorade. The beer, soda, and most of the water could ride outside the cooler. I used a small, dry cooler for drive snacks.

I double and triple checked my list. Last second I decided to pack my work laptop just in case something came up and we had to stick around another day or two. It was unlikely since David needed to be at the US Open and we needed to be home on Wednesday for Gloria’s 80th bday party. Even though unlikely, it was a smart move. Just ask!

We cut it close. Packed, showered and ready by 855am. We didn’t eat any breakfast though I did hurry to woof down a slice of bread slathered in peanut butter. The kids were still asleep. We headed up to say goodbye. The plan all along was to let them sleep in. My dad was coming over around 2pm to spend the afternoon with them or until Jimaken got there to pick them up for their Outer Banks trip. The plan was 6pm. Jacob didn’t want to be woken. Bella was a bit more loving. She mustered enough energy to wake and show us the pillow she made/sewed during the overnight. Holy smoke! She sewed a full sized bed pillow out of a t-shirt.

It was just after 9am when we did the final house check, keeping in mind that it was inhabited. We started to pull away but I stopped and asked Mindy if she would pull the Accord into the driveway. It was still on the street after moving it there the lawn the evening before.

On the road by 908am. We stopped at Circle K to fill-up. I made note of the mileage 70221. Wateree bound! We didn’t get out of Ohio before we needed to stop for a pee break. In fact, we stopped three times to pee. Meanwhile, the driving weather was ideal – clear blue skies and in the low 70s. Didn’t see even one cloud until we were well into N.C. Did my best to stick to the speed limit which varies from 55-70mph. We stopped for food and gas near the VA/NC border at a Wendy’s. Of course we turned that stop into a pee break too. 

30 or so miles north of Charlotte, NC we hit our first traffic jam, which was in a suburb called Mooresville and just north of Lake Norman. As it was, we’d be passing through Charlotte at rush hour which was why I really wanted to be on the road by 8am or sooner. But then again, it wasn’t like we had to be there at a specific time. In all, we hit four back-ups passing through the Charlotte metro area and it didn’t break up until we were 10 miles or so into SC. Took about 90 minutes to go 50 miles.

Once you cross the NC/SC stateline the drive gets rural in a hurry. Smooth sailing the rest of the way in. It was warm down there, too – 91 degrees warm! There were scattered clouds around too, but still sunny. We arrived at David & Anita’s lake house near 630pm. It felt good to stretch my legs and even better to finally be there. We both had been looking forward to the visit for a while, but I think Mindy needed it more than me this time. She’s been running around continuously for a few weeks now. As always, David & Anita were out the door to greet us and had snacks ready once in the door. There were a few gifts on the guest bed for Mindy too. David had a bottle of wine and a beer ready as well. Awesome!

We visited chatted for a while, me needing to decompress after a 9+ hour drive. The plan was to boat over to the Retreat for dinner. I’m thinking that it was close to 745pm when we boated on over. I didn’t bother freshening up.

As expected, a good crowd on hand. There was something like a 10 minute wait, which went by quickly sipping drinks out on the large deck that overlooks the lake. Crab cakes were the night’s special but I could resist the pull for beef tips and grits, a dish we tried last year that left a lasting positive impression. Before our dinner entrees we shared some Asian spicy shrimp. That was really good too.

My beef tips and grits were really tasty, though the first two tips I cut into were a bit too rare for my liking. In fact, one was almost purple. I showed David whom immediately and without restraint called out to Sean, the cook and owner of the establishment. I didn’t want to make a big deal about it. Sean came over and encouraged me to check others. I did and most others were fine. More than once he offered to take the dish back and recook the tips but I declined. It was still delicious. Furthermore, I knew I’d be taking at least half of it back to David & Anita’s for Saturday’s lunch. After a microwaving, any remaining raw tips would be fine.

It was completely dark when we left the restaurant but the sun had already set. The boat ride back to the house was quite enjoyable under a developing starry sky. David and I were just getting started. We sucked down a couple more beers then broke out the electric guitars. Thanks to David, he strung one of his two Stratocasters upside down to accommodate my left handedness. Prior to that, I’d never even once strummed an electric guitar. What a hoot! David has a small little amp that puts out plenty enough sound, as well as a distortion peddle and foot switch box. We made plenty of noise over the next hour.

The girls headed to bed around 10-1030pm. David and I stayed up a while longer listening to the frogs and talking from the back deck. Sweet time! Full on summer sounds back in the cove! To bed near 1115pm.