Trip Recap.

Now that I am home and settled again, I can recap my trip and answer a few questions.

I left South Carolina to stay overnight with some friends just outside of Raleigh. Lesley is a colleague of my father's and I met her and her husband Steve while Dad and I were in Hong Kong. They graciously opened their home to me after not having seen me for three years. I arrived after dark and was greeted by Steve and their enthusiastic Australian shepherd, Clancy. Steve and I grabbed dinner and hung out for a bit, chatting and watching hockey, until Lesley's flight came in. Once Lesley was settled, she and I walked Clancy, while she explained the finer points of cricket to me. The next morning, Steve left before I woke up, but Lesley made me coffee and oatmeal, which she referred to as porridge; I found this charming, which I think is compulsory for Americans, to find Australian and British accents and terms endearing.

I headed up to Maryland, trying to take as much time as possible to give my host time to get home from work before I arrived. I assumed I would be early, but I ended up caught in traffic on 270, which ate up an hour. Maryland would be lovely if I could visit there when it wasn't freezing or raining, I think. While I was there, I sat in on the tail end of my host's band practice, visited some friends I know through the convention scene, went bar-hopping in Baltimore, and got far too little sleep. It was a great visit! Some of my friends and I went to the Wharf Rat in Baltimore, which has been a pub in some capacity since the 1700s, and which serves beer from Oliver Breweries- delicious beer!

I also got to visit my friend Huck, who maintains her blog at Sweet Huckleberry. She invited me to have dinner with her neighbors, her partner Banjo Boy, and her, and we shared a delicious meal of black bean burgers with homemade bread and sauteed mushrooms. One of her neighbors is a sex therapist, Dr. Ruthie, and she is hilarious as well as knowledgeable. Huck sent me home with a bag of dried mushrooms and tomato seedlings, which warmed my heart. I am hoping the seedlings will do okay after their semi-traumatic ride home, though. I also got to meet Huck's hens and see the progress she and Banjo Boy have done on their house; it is a cute little Cape Cod that needed a lot of help, but it has come a long way under their dedicated efforts.

The trip home was long, but uneventful, which was a blessing. I listened to podcasts and a long music mix that a friend made up for me. So, overall, quite an excellent trip.