After 4 weeks of sulking and practically doing nothing over the weekends (wait, Captain America and Friends with Benefits were NOT "nothing", ok? lol) I finally decided to burn some time and cash going down south to cross a few more states of the east coast. A little over two weeks ago I found out that a good old friend of mine who I have not met for 14 years is currently living in Raleigh, North Carolina which is about 5 hours’ drive from my place in Maryland. If that is not the perfect excuse, I don't know what is.
So I decided to leave early on Friday from work to beat the traffic around DC and Virginia, as per advised by my occasional when-I-don't-bring-food-from-home lunch buddy cum donuts-and-bagels-guy (there, James, I hope you are happy :-p). Well, apparently leaving at 3pm from Columbia, MD going south was NOT nearly early enough! I still got caught in 10 mph-0 mph-10 mph traffic for about 2.5 hours just outside of DC well into the borders of Virginia on the I-95. I wonder at what time US government officers actually get off work to cause such massive jam that early.
Nevertheless, I got to Raleigh, NC in one piece. My old friend looked just like how I remembered him 14 years ago. I know I didn’t. We did the usual eating and talking. I probably talked more than he did, of course, because that’s just how we were; myself the thrash-talking machine gun and him the quiet shock absorber. His wife was around so I guessed I kinda behaved myself properly. At least I thought so.
For them I brought a precious little gem from the great land of Malaysia, a rarity, a luxury item here in the USA that would cost an arm, a leg and significant effort to acquire: a pack of Maggi instant noodles, the all-time favorite Malaysian junk food.
The next day we went on a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It took about 3 hours to get there from his place. Considering that it was the fasting month of Ramadhan, it probably was not a good idea to go to a beach in the USA where, you know there would be “eye candies” all around -_- . Unfortunately that was about the closest attraction crossing the border to SC and I did not have much time to go anywhere further. Plus, his wife was coming along so it couldn’t be that bad (yeah right, and who was it who wanted to watch the mermaids show??? lol).
Basically there were a few obvious things to do at Myrtle Beach. We started by walking on the Boardwalk along the beach, watching a variety of half-naked people of all shapes and sizes, the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, and window shopping for souvenirs. Apparently it was tax free weekend in SC but I didn’t really find anything of interest other than some fridge magnets and keychains. I did the usual load of photos on my trusty Atrix.
There were a few fun rides near the Boardwalk; a slingshot similar to what we have in Malaysia a few years back, (if I remember correctly was called “Reverse Bungy”) which basically shot 2 riders sky-high on cables and then bouncing them up and down; a big Ferris-wheel, and a roller coaster. All costing money that I didn’t want to spend though the slingshot ride was particularly very tempting. Probably wasn’t a good idea to get on it on empty stomach anyway.
We then went to an open-space shopping mall called the Broadway at the Beach where things got interesting. It started to rain. We took refuge in one of the shops but the downpour just kept on going for quite some time so we decided to just walk in the rain. It wasn’t so bad at first but soon we were drenched to our bones. And I absolutely enjoyed it!
Broadway was a beautiful place with beautiful structures around a lake. Aside for the usual shop lots and restaurants, there were castles, an aquarium, IMAX Theater, Ripley’s museums, and one building called the Wonderworks which was designed to look like it was uprooted upside down. I believe it was a restaurant but I’m not sure. Somehow the rain just made everything more… majestic. It was quite an experience walking in the rain without care like that while trying desperately to keep my Atrix and videocam dry.
We decided to call it a day right after that and drove back to NC wet and all, and arrived in time for dinner.
Yesterday morning, right after Sahur I bid farewell to the happy couple and made my way back to Maryland, to the sanctuary of the cold dark suite (read: cave) I call home for another 60 days.
Things learned from this trip. It’s a long long way to Orlando, Florida but that’s where all the action is. Cheesecake enthusiasts like me should check out the Cheesecake Factory. Delaware is a tax-free state (4 months here and I just discovered that. Damn). Turkmenistan is an actual name of a country. I could cross three more states on the north-east within a few hours from New Haven, CT. Painted shells on hermit crabs are beautiful in a creepy way. I really, really need to work on my drowsy driving problem before I really crash sometime somewhere. My friend had NEVER been to Penang and that is a SIN! Most importantly, even if things change for the better or worse, some things will always stay the same.
If I have one word to describe last weekend, it would be AWESOME!
