Joe's Roadtrip

Location: Raleigh, NC 

Miles Driven: 172 

Total Miles: 2,319 

I had such a relaxing morning after waking up at Dennis’ place.  Although he had to go to work, he gave me a set of keys and said I could be there as long as I wished.  So I spent the greater half of the morning being lazy, but did take care of some paperwork and other random things I need to set up – a car appointment back home (just regular maintenance), some stuff with the 401K from work, in addition to catching up on a few emails.  Also, I’ve been trying to carefully track the money I spend on this trip, so I’ve been saving receipts; however, it doesn’t do me any good if I don’t tabulate all that information, so I spent a good amount of time writing all of that into Excel and doing some quick sums.  So far, so good – I’m underbudget at this point. 

Good to have the morning to get caught up on things.  I also proved to be somewhat useful, accepting deliveries at the door on Dennis’ behalf.  Got to exercise early afternoon, had a shave after a few days of getting beardy, and eventually was loading up the car around four-ish (I told you it was a lazy day).  Actually when I went upstairs to grab the last bag, Dennis was there.  Not sure how I missed him in the car loading process, but glad I got to see him one last time before hitting the road. 

My destination for the evening was Raleigh, which is just a short three-hour drive Northeast.  In Raleigh live Saba and Aaron.  Saba is the older sister of my best friend Sam, and I’ve known her practically my whole life.  Despite the fact Sam and I probably terrorized her when we were kids, she’s still so very sweet and generous.  Aaron is her husband, one of the nicest guys you’ll meet.  A few years back I attended their wedding in this area, and it remains to this day one of the nicest events I’ve ever been a part of.  I’ve been to weddings on three different continents, and it was still one of the best.  My plan was to meet them around dinnertime, and they also kindly offered a place for me to crash.  

On the way to Raleigh...the Carolinas are just so green

I'm not a huge Tar Heels fan...but I'll cheer for anyone playing the Dukies from Durham

Arrived at their house around 7:30PM, and what a nice house it is.  Saba and Aaron just moved in over the weekend, so here I was again being one of the first sets of eyes checking out a new place…first Dennis’ condo in Charlotte, now this house in Raleigh.  I guess I’ve gotten pretty lucky with the timing. 

Enjoyed a great meal – pizza, garlic knots, wings, etc. while enjoying the conversation with the couple.  Haven’t seen them since their wedding, so it was real good to catch up once again.  Saba commented about my trip at one point, having known me my whole life, “Who would’ve thought little Joey Curtin would be doing this?”  Hahah…it’s true, back in the day you probably could have pegged me for a person who never leaves their home.  It’s been a big change from those days – here I am just passing through on this big road trip, and here’s Saba expecting a baby this August.  I’m so happy for them, and look forward to that big day. 

Great conversation, great food, great friends.  Hope I can make it back down this way…between Charlotte and Raleigh, it would be hard to find a nicer area to live in. 

Me, Aaron, Saba

Tomorrow will be another relatively light driving day.  The plan is to make my way to historic Kitty Hawk in the AM, and from there I’ll head north to the Virginia Beach region to visit some more friends.  Soon I’ll be saying adios to North Carolina.  What a beautiful state. 

joe