At the end of June I had to work eleven days straight, the last few of which were long ten and eleven hour days. I was also doing freelance work on the side, which increased my sense of apathy over anything having to do with work. I also greatly pissed off my VP of HR by replacing the background and homepage on his laptop with Red Sox images (he’s a Yankee fan) after he left his computer unlocked. I had a Friday off and spent three days doing nothing at home. The following week was the week of July 4th and I had the whole week off work, so come Monday, after stewing for three days, I headed off to the gym to work out and immediately upon leaving, hit the highway and headed North.
I hit I4, then I95, through Jacksonville, into Georgia, through Georgia, past Savannah, and into South Carolina. Upon entering South Carolina I started looking for a place to stop for food and gas, what I wasn’t looking at was my speedometer or the cop that tracked me down. After that delay, I found a place to stop to fill my tank and my stomach. Back on the road, I continued North on I95 into North Carolina and halfway through the state, finally turned off on Highway 64, which I rode all the way to the East Coast and the Outer Banks. It took me twelve hours total to get there from the time I left to the time I arrived.
My Sister had gotten there from Massachusetts the day before, driving down with her husband and three kids. The condo they had got for the week was on the fourth story and looked out over the beach, not that I could see it in the dark of night. The next morning however, I made my way out the door to see the rolling waves on the sand with the sun rising over the horizon. After a week and a half of stress, this was just what I needed.
My niece and nephew awoke, excited to see me. As we live over a thousand miles apart, I typically get to see them only once a year. It’s tough living so far from your family and I frequently get homesick not just for my family, but for the things that I can do when I’m in New England. But staying in the Outer Banks was a great alternative. The sun was hot, but the ocean was cool. I never really swam in it, I would just walk in and let the waves crash against me for a bit before getting out. I took several long walks on the beach – if you consider a mile long, which it kind of is in sand.
Most of the time we spent in the pool, as the kids were better able to swim there. I alternated between swimming with them and lounging around poolside with a good book – first Before the Big Bang: A Prehistory of our Universe, and then Rocket Boys. We also traveled around the Outer Banks on most of the days that I was there, to places like Jockey’s Ridge State Park where we flew kites for a bit, Bodie Island Lighthouse, Jennette’s Pier, and the town of Duck for the 4th of July Parade. There were also fireworks on the beach the night of July 4th, which my nephew did not like because of the loud noise. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though the fireworks were literally going off just above us.
We also got to celebrate my younger nephew’s first birthday while I was there. He was already a year old and this was the first time I had gotten to see him – more reasons why I hate living so far away from my family. He got to eat his first cupcake, and then have the cupcake removed after stuffing his mouth full. I think he liked it.
Eventually after a week of fun and sun, I had to make the long drive home on Saturday. With better planning for bathroom breaks, remembering how to use cruise control, and not getting pulled over, I was able to make it home in eleven hours and thirty minutes! And then I had a whole day off on Sunday before having to go back to work the next day. I enjoyed the whole trip – from the beautiful beach to experiencing something a little different, but most of all seeing my family again. Hopefully it won’t be another year and a half before I see them again.
ren3gade 