Louie and I woke up from our food comas around 9am. We went to the motels continental breakfast and ate as much as possible before hitting the road for a couple hours. The breakfast was rather mediocre with the exception of the waffle iron.
We weren't sure exactly where we wanted to go next. Our next destination was technically the Smoky Mountains NP, however that was about 10 hours of driving away. Well luckily Louie got in contact with his college buddy Sam Evers (aka Slam the OG), who had moved from NY to NC just 5 days earlier. He lives in an apartment in Rocky Mount, NC which is about an hour outside of Raleigh.
Sam, our gracious host. I've met him before years ago, but this time we had a better chance to get acquainted, what a guy.
Louie couldn't fit his long legs in the tiny back seat of Sam's truck So he had to improvise.
We crammed the civic with our belongings and made our way to Rocky Mount. It was about a 4 hour drive, not bad at all. We arrived around 5pm and were welcomed by Sam with open arms, such a great dude. He drove us in his truck to a local brewery where we indulged in beer and bar food. I had the Banh Mi Tacos, Louie had the nachos with slaw and short rib, and Sammy ordered the mac n cheese. After that we immediately left for Raleigh to see some night life.
We got to Raleigh, walked around a bit, and ended up grabbing a beer at some bar. We were looking for a dive bar for a drink but those were far and few between in Raleigh. Fortunately the classy joint we drank at served $4 beers.
After that we left to find another place to hang out and found ourselves at The Pour House. It's an awesome music venue. We listened to this funky jam band play some originals and some covers. They really surprised us when they played a cover of Big Poppa by Biggie Smalls, it was awesome.
Louie listening to the band. This is before we started busting a move or two.
After that band played the headliner came on, Hustle Soul. They were incredible. They played "Love and Happiness" by Al Green and I squealed like a teenage girl at a Beatles concert. I learned Sam is a big Al Green fan too. I knew I liked him for some reason.
The opener. It was "lit" as the kids say.
The three of us danced our asses off. Drinking PBR tallboys and spinning in circles for an hour or two, I'm surprised we didn't get sick. Louie and I danced with these girls who described our dance moves in a way I'd never heard before. They compared us to the elemental warriors of the popular anime, Avatar. Louie exhibited a "fire and water style" of dance and I was an "air dancer" which they told me was rare (yeah, i'm pretty god damn rare). They said I had a way of driving the dance, which I imagine means "your legs bend like twizzlers".
My 7 letters at the beginning of the game. Sadly I wasn't first to play so I didn't get to put down this word. It wouldv'e won the game for me.... maybe...
After showing Raleigh how New Yorkers dance, we made our way back to Rocky Mount to crash at Sam's. At around 2:30am, before hitting the hay, we put Nas' Illmatic on the record player and played a game of scrabble. Sam is actually a scrabble king and wiped the floor with us, well at least with me...
The next morning Louie and I woke up on the futon mattress that we had put on the living room floor. Compared to sleeping in the the drivers seat of the civic, it was luxurious. We decided the night before that we would get breakfast at a Waffle House, which none of us had ever been to before. It was soooooo good! Our server JoJo was so sweet. She facilitated the stuffing of waffles and smothered hashbrowns into our faces. The best part of the meal... THE BILL! I only paid $7 to feel like I've been eating for hours.
A sight to behold. If you get the chance, go to a Waffle House. You'll die happier that way.
After breakfast we chilled at the apartment for a little longer before parting ways. It was such a nice time in NC with Sam. I'd 100% go back.
Sam, myself, and Louie at Sam's apartment.
We hit the road for another 6 hours. We were now Tennessee bound. Newport to be exact. This was the closest Walmart location to the Great Smoky Mountains that allowed overnight parking. After finishing the drive listening to Norm MacDonald stand up, we were ready to start getting settled for a nights sleep. We arrived at Walmart around 10pm and got Taco Bell for dinner.
Pullin over to pee somewhere in the mountains bordering NC and TN.
I haven't had that crap in years, and boy was it crap. I gotta admit though, $3 crunchwraps are a god send when you are doing what Louie and I are doing. Louie removed all of his luggage from the car and laid it all out on the ground to reorganize his pack. This caught the attention of a a cop so he stopped by our car to ask if we were alright. We had some friendly conversation with the officer and he wished us well on our trip. Once Louie was done organizing, we got comfy and passed out in the car around 2am. Next stop, the mountains for some camping. I won't have wifi for a couple days (OH THE HUMANITY!!) so I'll be posting when we return. Toodles.