but i know, its my own damn fault

day 8:
the tar heel state
the palmetto state


hello from historic charleston! its fairly fratty here, but beautiful none-the-less. i am staying at a hostel a little outside of the downtown area. its pretty cute and i think i only have to share my room with one other person tonight, so all in all it isn't too bad.

had an amazing breakfast at the dixie grill on market street in downtown wilmington, and then drove mainly on us-17 the entire way from wilmington to charleston.
almost as soon as i crossed the invisible line into south carolina i started seeing small palm trees, and it felt very southern. drove right through myrtle beach which appeared to be a sea of mini golf and seafood restaruants but MASSIVE ones. also huuuuuge stores that sold beach supplies and all said "discount" on the front. stopped into a small thrift store, mostly furniture, in north myrtle beach to use the bathroom and bought a necklace for naomi and two floral wall hangings made from wax. the owner told me they had picked them up from the home of an 86 year old lady who had passed away. she apparently hand made them herself. that just makes them better than i originally thought.

17 went from being congested to being empty and then back to congested. watched my e.t.a. go from 3:11 to 3:15 to 3:20 to 3:35 with each stop light, and then back down to 3:25 when the road went up to 60mph. i ended up arriving around 4 and the hostel didn't open until 5. i drove downtown and searched for parking. had to get change for the meter in a cigar shop where the clerk asked me if i wanted change in pennies. what a joker. had an iced tea at a tea shop called "teavana" consisted of yerba mate and pepermint mixed together with chipped "designer ice" (ice with sugar in it) and served with a bubble tea straw so you could suck up the ice. it was worth the 4 dollars. i might go get another tomorrow. also got a humus sandwich from papa zizi's that had kalmata olives and a delicious yogurt sauce with dill in it. bought a peanut butter cookie from a sweets shop in the historic market and walked to the cooper river.

OH! to enter to charleston you cross over this bridge called the cooper river bridge. IT IS GLORIOUS! i will attach some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

hope you are all well.
tomorrow i might go to an old plantation house and then maybe some thrifting before i head to savannah to stay with the friend of a friend named lashawn. sweet as pie.

much love from the old capital of the south,
B

after i made this video i drove on us-64 through miles and miles of marsh land where i know there were alligators, and i kept seeing signs that said "watch out for bears" farming everywhere i looked. trucks flying past me filled up with pine logs filling the air with piney scent. all roads were named pine this and piney that. bojangles fried chicken (a chain), fresh seafood stands, bait and tackle shops that doubled as filling stations. onto hwy 17 all the way to wilmington. so hard to stay on the road when everything looks so nice around you. i actually cried a few times out of joy. not kidding. i feel so happy. arrived in wilmington at my dumptruck motel (it is NOT super) to a room that smelled like paint and air freshener. left to scope out the downtown and drove down market street under canopies of oaks draped with spanish moss. finally! it was as glorious as i thought it would be. ate a giant ice cream cone and then had a spinach salad and slice of (bad) pizza at slice of life on market street. sat by the cape fear river and watched the sun get low. drove back to this motel and got a room upgrade because the a/c didn't work in my old room. do you know how big a king size bed is??? i do now.
watching idol and feeling very nice. its funny that i didn't know how much i needed this trip until today. i feel so good. so good. today was the best day yet. north carolina is such a beautiful place. today was not so hot that i needed the a/c in the car all day, and when i just had the fan blowing i'd get whiffs of timber burning, wildflowers, barbeque, pines, and just smile. life is certainly good.

i love everyone, even all those people that cut me off,
bianca


p.s. i almost forgot! i drove through a town where there was a big sign "home of pepsi-cola" and then drove past the original bottling plant. the font was super scripty and large. i like north carolina.

i don't need you to worry for me cause i'm alright

day 6:

the old dominion
the tar heel state (the old north state)


left richmond around 10:30 and drove through virginia on i-64 and then into the farmlands of north carolina on 168 and 158. brenda (my gps) took me for a funny detour around currituck, nc, and i tried to be mad but then i drove past this swampland where i saw a toothless man in a canoe, and i couldn't help but be happy. i like to think that maybe he and brenda are old friends and she wanted to see him. drove past miles and miles of farmland that mostly looked like plowed dirt, but i think they were soybean fields.

drove over a long bridge into the outer banks, and only wanted to stare at the water, but couldn't for fear of flying into it! speaking of flying, staying about 350 yards from the actual sight of the first flight. all the license plates here have an airplane on them and say "first in flight" i was thinking "so!? big deal!" but actually, it is a BIG deal. so thanks wright brothers, you did something that is such a big deal it now goes on all the license plates in north carolina!

tomorrow i am going to take my first shower. ha! and then eat my free continental breakfast. and then head to roanoke for a while to see some historic stuff, and then head to wilmington for tomorrow night. i think i am staying at the super 8 where there is free wifi, so you will hear from me again.

lots of love from this big atlantic ocean,
bianca

we're all in this together

day 2:
the keystone state
the old line state

dinner at ben's chilli bowl in washington d.c.
incredible.

vodka sodas at pharmacy bar in adams morgan.

lots of hanging out with my friend tom in his mini apartment inside a mansion. its so beautiful and old and perfect. it has so many bathrooms and really great tiling in the kitchen that reminds me of the kitchen of the dad's ranch in parent trap (original)

time for sleep i am so tired. tomorrow: richmond, va to see my friend jackie that i haven't seen in probably 6 years. i am so excited to be in warm weather and ride on her scooter. not excited for driving on i-95 but i will make the best of it.


day 3:
old line state
the old dominion

arrived in richmond around 2pm, dripping with sweat. i learned on the drive that loretta's ac is broken. excruciating. hung out with jackie at her work for a while, and then at her studio (which is in the same building) visited her house briefly, and then hopped on her scooter "olive" and rode to get sandwiches and then back to the studio for open studio night. scooting is exhilarating! around 9 we decided to go duckpin bowling, and visited "plaza bowl." if i ever visit richmond again, plaza bowl will be on my agenda. everything was manual, including scoring, and you had to press a button to clear the pins. the ball return was just made of wood, and we were the only people inside. i got tips on duckpin bowling (which calls for a totally different form than regular bowling) from a group of old men with no teeth who cheered for me for the rest of the game. went home and passed out.
i write this entry from pence subaru on midlothian turnpike in midlothian, va, where, for $300 they are replacing the o-rings in my ac system and recharging it with freon. let's hope this works because in 5 days i will be in 90 degree weather and its only going to increase from there.

today i day 4, i think i am staying in richmond for the weekend. heading to north carolina on monday. not sure where i'll stop yet. but somewhere with wireless internet and free continental breakfast, for sure. so you'll be hearing from me again soon.


take care,
bianca

day 1

three states today (yesterday)
the empire state
the garden state
the keystone state

spent the night in easton,pa (right next to bethlehem) with josh, a friend from college. went to a bar called the "you're welcome inn" drank budweiser. excellent.

today: off to potomac, maryland to stay with my friend tom in a mansion.


more when i can.
love from the road,
B

live how you want to be loved

hello!!
i truthfully doubt that anyone reads this, BUT nonetheless, here i go again.
i am leaving in 2 days! yikes! ha! should be funny. i am waiting to hear from a friend in pennsylvania to see if i can stay with him on my first night. he lives outside allentown, in a place called bethlehem, pa. and since i currently reside in bethlehem, ny, i think this will be a very fitting first day. i can't wait!

So, that's gonna do it for now. blogger is painful slow right now.i will try to post again before i shove off for good. i am trying to arrange a little christening for loretta-louise on tuesday night with my 2 friends in albany. we'll see how that turns out. if it does happen i'll try to get a picture or two.

OH also today i learned to change a tire and check my oil and ride down a mountain in low gear! wee! i am still covered in dirt, i guess no time like the present to get used to being dirty.

okay, THE END!
love love,
B

no sharks!

so....i officially decided to leave on april 30th. excellent! twelve days from now until then to do all the stupid stuff i have to do. crazy! i haven't begun preparing at all, so i really need to get on the ball and not fall off for the next 5 months basically.

naomi officially decided to meet me in new orleans. so she will be doing that around the 28th of may. can't wait! this way i have some time alone, some time with my family in florida, and lots of time to explore all the rich retirees clothes along the coast of florida with my baby cousin. its something i really can't begin to understand, but i'm sure it will all be revealed soon enough...


anyways, time to get on with my long day full of errands.


xoxo,
Bianca