It's Official

Well, I finally told my boss that I am taking time off for my trip from Gainesville, Florida to Longmeadow, Massachusetts. My family and friends are so excited to finally see me for more than a few hours. I got to go home for Memorial Day weekend, but I was in my cousin Jill's wedding so I only got to see Jason and Amanda for a few hours (pre-gaming and bar-hopping around Springfield, of course). Andrew and I got to spend a day and night in Boston with Juls, but that's never enough time with the bftf or in the greatest American city! And I only stayed with my parents one night out of the whole weekend and saw them for about three hours when they took us out for a Maine lobster dinner.

So needless to say, I'm ready for some quality time back home. I figured what better time to do it than while most of my Gainesville friends have left town for the summer (Andrew to Madrid, Christina to Baton Rouge, Stef to Ohio) and while the Florida heat is taking its toll on my hair and on my energy level.

Rags and I will be making the 2760ish-mile trek together in my 1997 Cavalier, sans air conditioning. Yeah, it'll be brutal. But if I can survive driving with the windows down in Gainesville bumper-to-bumper traffic every day, I think I can handle driving on interstates going 70mph.

We are leaving on Friday, June 27th around four in the morning. I don't want to drive at night or during rush hour, so hopefully we can drive all day, making plenty of pit stops to get out and stretch. I'm packing food, treats, water, and plenty of iced coffee and Red Bull, so hopefully all I will need to buy on the way is gas.I am hoping to arrive in Beech Mountain, North Carolina around dinner time. Mapquest predicts it'll take about ten hours to get there, but we have to add time for rest breaks. I have never driven more than three hours by myself, so this oughta be interesting. Beech is where Andrew's parents live from June-November and I hear it's a gorgeous area in the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside Boone, where the Appalachian State campus is. I'll stay there for a night or two before getting in the car for another 12+ hour drive to Massachusetts. That is the leg that I probably won't be able to do in one attempt - I'll probably have to get a hotel or at least pull into a rest stop during the day and take a nap.

I am so excited and cannot wait to get in the car and go! I still have one more day of class, one 10-page paper to write, and four more days of work to get through, but it'll make my trip that much more worth it!