It was only this morning when I woke up that I understood how stressed I was last week. I managed to give my kids their finals, pack and mail all my belongings, find a sub-leaser (complete luck), secure all accommodations before Friday’s departure, and say good bye to everyone I wanted to see. Now that I’m on the road, my head is clearer but my heart is a little heavy. The people of Lawrence treated me really good. There will always be a lot of love for that place, even if there is no money to be made there (outside of a university job or starting your own commercial venture).
Nevertheless, the road has been good to me. Even the cab drivers have been hella cool and informative. The Greyhound in Charlotte was filled with some of the most helpful employees I’ve ever encountered at a Greyhound station. I could not believe it. Yesterday’s bus rides gave me plenty of time to think, nap and just look out the windows. Carolina is tremendously natural and pretty, and it was no surprise to find the women in North Carolina to be the same way. OOOOOOOWEEEEEEE!!!!
Asheville itself is an interesting anomaly to the rest of what I saw. The town is nestled in the mountains, and there were times I wasn’t able to tell if I were in Bend, OR, or Boulder, CO, until someone’s jarringly thick accent would give it away. If they ever legalize weed in this state (isn’t North Carolina notorious for its fertile soil and tobacco farming?), you better believe everyone will be flocking to Asheville.
I knew I had come to the right place though when I walked into the Greyhound bus station and heard a couple of the employees (two old ass men) trading ghost stories. My Couchsurfing host greeted me with some beer, sangria and Carolina style ribs. I got nice and drunk and headed into town, drank more beer and of course, got lost on the way back to the house I’m staying. Instead of getting back in half an hour, it took me 2 hours make it back to this dude’s apartment. He was drunk and worried that I got mugged (which is funny because this is a pretty safe town and no one who saw me last night would mistake me for someone with lots of loot), so every 15 minutes he’d text me asking if I was okay (Que Lindo!!!).
It wasn’t an unpleasant detour by any means. Asheville is remote enough that the sky is still visible. The stars looked close enough to touch and the sweet smell of honeysuckle filled my nostrils at every turn. It is a well thought out, well designed city, that possesses a unique charm that hints of so many places I’ve already visited (“Am I in Europe, Oregon, Colorado, Canada, or North Carolina?). Also the water is some of the best city water you’ll drink in your life.
Despite the numerous amount of buskers downtown that I’ve seen and random signs like this one,
I still get the feeling this town isn’t weird enough for me. Or maybe I’m just not straight enough for it here. Either way, it has been an okay time. I’ll be ready to head out to Tobacco Road and lobby for UNC to build a statue to commemorate Danny Green teabagging Greg Paulus. Speaking of Danny Green, tonight I’ll be watching the Spurs take care of business. If you ever want to check out my hoops blog, peep it here.
Go Spurs GO!
Nuclear Polio Vaccination 