I made it to Winston-Salem late afternoon Saturday, and Caitlin took me to a local Mexican place, where we caught up over some margaritas and far too much queso. The next morning she took me to some of her favorite local spots, including a cafe that sells art from an old cigarette vending machine. A word to the wise, buy the token from the server first so that you don't forget to do so and end up with no cool artwork :( The place was called Mary's Gourmet Diner (http://www.marysgourmetdiner.net/) and was delicious! The decor inside was cute and eclectic, which thrilled my inner hipster.
Afterwards we went to a farmer's market in Greensboro that had very typical farmer's market items- vegetables, homemade soaps and pottery, flowers, and some unique foods. We went home and regrouped afterwards, and then Caitlin took me to her favorite coffee shop where I got a butter beer latte because I'm obsessed with Harry Potter and if you didn't know that already I don't know how we're friends. One of the days I was there I managed to meet up with my cousin, Anne, for a quick lunch date and reconnect with her. I am lucky to have family members that are close enough with me to be able to bond over some tough life experiences.
A majority of Winston-Salem was me resting and napping, and my darling plant, Planty, having play-dates with all of Caitlin's porch plants. He rather enjoyed himself, quite honestly. We did make it over to Salem college for a walk around the cemetery and the campus. It was beautiful there, to say the least. Having tea on the back patio, however, was the highlight of Salem College. I managed to capture some photos of the tea, and the lady who was running the place even helped me position them to be able to get better photos while she was pouring. It was kind of her! I appreciated the artistic endeavor, and moreso appreciated being surrounded by people who encouraged that endeavor for me. Often I feel pressured to hurry up and take my photo and move on. Many people have criticized me for living behind the lense and not living in the moment. What they often don't realize, however, is that the photos are how I feel comfortable engaging in the experience. I may be looking through the lense, but I am seeing the world from a different perspective, remembering the experience through bits and pieces pieced together in a beautiful way. It's easy for me to become overwhelmed by the whole picture at once; photos help me process and remember the parts I see as the most valuable and memorable. I am happy and comfortable behind the camera. I am learning to be more accepting of this trait and no longer allow other's opinions to defer me from this joy.
Caitlin and I also shared a magnificent meal my last night in Winston-Salem. We also watched the first round of presidential debates and baked slice-n-bake sugar cookies. We drank wine and took naps and altogether had a perfectly wonderful time.
After I left Caitlin I made my way north towards my cousin in Baltimore. One true problem with solo road tripping- without a selfie stick, how do you really get the perfect selfie?
I always anticipated that Baltimore would be overwhelming. It is a major city in the north, after all, and I have never been drawn to the busy hustle and bustle of a place with high buildings and an industrial population. I have been to Chicago and New York and never felt a pull to them; when I was in those cities I always felt pressured to be on the go the whole time, there was always something to miss out on if you weren't constantly out and about. Down-time doesn't feel like an option in the city to me, so I knew Baltimore would be an interesting experience.
I ended up loving the experience. My cousin lives a bit outside of the city and Baltimore felt more like Nashville; always an experience to be had, but at a calm and steady pace. There are pockets all around the city that each have their own vibe and feel, but all of them felt relatively safe and relaxing. It also probably helps that my cousin(s) (since I consider my cousin's wife as a relative as well) have a solid group of soccer friends that made me feel welcome and at ease in the area, as if I could easily start again there. I wrote about this earlier, but Sherry and Wes really helped me see that when you move somewhere, the experience will only be what you make of it. They have found ways to get involved in what makes them happy, from soccer to local eats to grocery stores and places to watch the game with friends. That, of course, required them to know what they, themselves, enjoy from life. I am piecing it all together as I go. Some things I know I need are space from the hustle and bustle, an active arts and theatre scene, and things to get involved in that are low-risk but high-reward on the friendship level. Baltimore certainly offered that.
Sherry and Wes treated me to a Korean food court and bakery my first night there with one of Sherry's friends from teaching. As I listened to their classroom conversations I realized how much I do not want to go back to teaching. I had been wavering for a while, but it's confirmed now. It is not my thing. The next day I discovered that cat's aren't really as terrible as I think they are. Their cats Gigi and Fernando are purrrr-ty great, if I do say so. We braved the pre-hurricane rain and went down to Hampden to do some shopping and site-seeing. Again, my inner hipster was thrilled with the main street cute shops and places to eat. I purchased some gifts from the stores and then we headed over to a brewery that Wes and Sherry had never been to before. This particular brewery stands on the former location of the Oriels stadium #5 and has part of the old left field wall still standing. I guess you could say we were out in left field... ha.... ha....
We just went for drinks, but ended up taking a tour run by the owner and his son. I had never been on a brew tour before, and it was an enjoyable experience, to say the least. Our group was small enough that we were all able to laugh and joke about side-topics while hearing about the different brews that were crafted in the back. One of the most interesting parts of this particular brewery is that they only make 1 or 2 beers of their own. The rest are made by other brewers who "rent" space, so to speak, in their brewery.
I had a pint of ale from the Raven brewery in honor of Poe, along with a few other pints. Then it was time to head back to the apt to grab Sherry's car and meet the group for a rousing evening of jousting and jeering at Medieval Times. Sherry put together a huge soccer gathering to celebrate a young lady in the group who was having a birthday, so the celebration occurred there. I had not been to a Medieval Times since I was in 4th grade when the school went to California, so my inner child was thrilled. It is definitely a place that you need to go to with the right people. If they aren't going to boo the other knights or wear their crowns with pride, you need to re-evaluate your friend group. The red knight sucks and the acting is terrible, but it is still one of the funniest experiences ever.
Afterwards the group went out for birthday karaoke. I managed to solidify my bond with people by singing my heart out to things like "Africa" by ToTo and "Bad Touch" by Bloodhound Gang (not my choice- I was signed up for that one, but I killed it because I know that song shamefully well). The next morning we went to grab breakfast back in Hampden at a cafe designed in a 1960's-70's style called Cafe Hon. I highly recommend this for dining. Afterwards we went out to their soccer game and I had a great time taking action photos of the team. The sun finally made its debut and we enjoyed its warmth through the game. We decided that crab cakes were a necessity for my last night in Maryland. I was so happy with this decision, as was my belly. Sherry and Wes took me to a grocery store afterwards called Wegmans, which is an equivalent to Whole Foods and makes my heart just as thrilled as Whole Foods.
All-in-all, both experiences were fantastic and made me thrillingly happy. Thanks to my hosts <3
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