We went on a road trip for the Fourth of July and now we need another vacation!

Jul 6

Jul 6 We went on a road trip for the Fourth of July and now we need another vacation!

With the pandemic waning or people giving approximately zero fucks anymore about it, we decided to take advantage of the long weekend to see my family down in Georgia.

I looked up flights and to my horror, flights to Atlanta from any DC area airport would have cost 3 thousand dollars per person. Undeterred, we decided that this weekend was a great time to try out my new car, the Dowager Lady Grantham, on the road even though gas prices had us seriously reconsidering the travel.

We left a little late on Friday because I had flown in that morning from California, and needed a power nap. We set the alarm and said a little prayer before hitting a wall of traffic. We never intended to make it all the way down to Georgia in one go, but we were at least hoping to make it out of Maryland peacefully. Alas, other holiday travelers did the same calculus as us and decided to drive instead of fly, making I-95 a most unpleasant experience.

Deciding that we just couldn’t make a singular(ly) bad decision, we opted to overnight in Florence, South Carolina, my ancestral home and, pragmatically, where I-95 ends and I-20 begins. I had already booked the Hampton Inn and Suites near Magnolia Mall, and was really looking forward to a good nights sleep in a hotel chain known for comfortable beds and a solid breakfast. But this was Florence, a city overflowing with cheap motels - although we paid Hilton prices, we got a Motel 6 experience. My husband, a person with discerning taste, looked at me in horror as we made our way through the mildewy corridors of the motel with carpet that felt wet to the touch and carried the not-so-faint aroma of marijuana. We made it into the room where he immediately and audibly lamented forgetting his shower shoes and then turned pale when he turned down the bed to find hair on the sheets.

We managed to get some rest but skipped the buffet breakfast given the overpacked dining room and the faintest hint of COVID denialism.

Ever onward, we got back on the road for what was, comparably, a smooth ride to my parents house. We greeted my father who just retired and had just finished rebuilding the deck as we walked through the doors. The family excitedly made preparations for the first family cookout since the pandemic.

We freshened up and went to my Godsons fourth birthday party! So, we definitely want children, but watching this little guy run around in circles for 8 hours just tuckered me out.

I mean, he got tired, and so he decided to run faster. Da fuq?!

The next day, my parents hosted a BBQ where we got to see our Godson again. With more energy than even on his birthday, he was excited to see our new car. As a fellow automobile afficionado, I proudly showed him Lady Grantham . . . He took the cue and got into the drivers seat without skipping a beat.

Alas, with a 10+ hour drive back to D.C. ahead of us, we said our goodbyes to our Godson and family, and got back on the road bright and early on July 4th. Thankfully, there was hardly any traffic, and so we had the luxury of stopping at “South of the Border,” a pitiful theme park on the South Carolina / North Carolina border that is better known for its billboards across a 100-mile stretch up and down i-20.

This particular SOB stands for “South of the Border”

Dr. Bae and I made it home safely and in record time, but we were so tired that we barely made it into the apartment before we both collapsed into a sleep that did not last long enough because both of us had to get up early for work the next day.

I don’t know if it would have been easier to fly over the holiday weekend, but it will be a good long while before we drive that distance again.