It was to be a cold weekend in Pennsylvania, with snow forecast for Saturday. Thankfully, I was going to North Carolina.
That meant waking up very, very early in the morning Friday, January 17 in order to make my 6 AM flight from Philadelphia airport. It was also my first time traveling solo, my first time traveling in a season besides summer, and my first time having already checked in online for my flight.
Travel Tip: Check in online! Whether you print out your ticket or have it on your phone, it cuts out a major chunk of time and streamlines your flight process by skipping the long lines at the desk.
I was also using my beautiful new, blue carry-on suitcase, with 360 wheels. (The best part? I got it for free at my work banquet!). It definitely made walking through the airport smoother, especially standing in lines.
Of course, it was a tiny plane, so my suitcase got gate-checked, which is pretty handy anyway. What a short flight! There was barely time for the flight attendants to give us snacks. (Ah..water and Cheez-its for breakfast!) Touchdown at RDU (Raleigh-Durham). Where I realized that, without doubt, the most difficult thing about airports is actually finding your way out!
Jaden's little blue hatchback pulled up to the curb and we hugged before tossing my suitcase in the trunk and hopping back in the car, which was filled with music, excited chatter, and heat. Despite the GPS, there were a couple wrong turns on the way back to her house.
As she mixed up some blueberry pancakes for a late breakfast, she described to me that it was made without eggs because "oh, did I tell you, that I'm vegan now? So don't be offended if I feed you weird food." The blueberry pancakes were good, even without the eggs. We migrated to the couch to sip the rest of our tea and chat about life and Jesus.
About 10 AM - was it really only 10 AM? - we went for a walk. Despite the chilly temps for North Carolina and the wind, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.
After our brisk walk, with faces stiff from the cold wind, we drove around for a little tour of her usual destinations. These included the parking lot of the church she works at, where she first lived when she moved there, and a few shopping areas. We stopped at Aldi and Target (which was way bigger than our Target here!) and walked around Hobby Lobby exploring the decor signs.
Lunch was tacos, of a sort. She cooked lentils, added taco seasoning, and worked them into a consistency similar to meat. I cut tomatoes and drained the black beans and she cooked them together. She set out a bag of spinach leaves and tortillas to wrap it all up in. They were surprisingly tasty. (Ah yes, and we snacked on apple slices while the food cooked.)
I took a nap for the rest of the afternoon, since I had been up for a very long time.
Supper was at 7 PM. Avacado toast, baked sweet potato chunks with agave and cinnamon, and smoothies (mine was strawberry banana; Jaden's had stuff with spinach).
We ended on an adventuresome note as we opened Netflix and decided on the movie Defiance.
DAY TWO
I ate an apple as Jaden ate her sweet potato and we layered up to go hiking in the approxamately 36-39 degree weather. Off to Jordan Lake, where we met up with seven of her friends. The hike was five miles and many interesting conversations long.
Famished from our busy morning, Jaden introduced me to Mod pizza, where I got a Dillon James and found a new favorite pizza place. Thankfully, I had a couple slices leftover.
After returning, we drank tea while we did art, listening to music and chatting. It was lovely and relaxing. About 4 PM we headed to Sweet Charlie's for rolled ice cream - before dinner - because we're adults now and can do what we want! Delicious.
The rest of the evening there was a gentle rain and we settled in for the night. We had a long conversation full of deep questions and random leftovers (including my cold pizza, which was even better than the first time around), and were quite happy with our decision to watch Christopher Robin.
DAY THREE
Church. Yes, the church Jaden works at as the director of the children's ministry. During first service I helped in the kindergarten class (which reminded me of why I help with youth back home). Jaden and I attended the second service, where it was a sermon in the serious "Anxious for Nothing."
Lunch was spaghetti with noodles made out of black soybeans, and smoothies again (because why not smoothies?). We talked for two hours.
Downtown Raleigh. I loved their houses; they look so southern and colorful and unique. We walked the streets, searching for a cool stone arch we had glimpsed while driving around before parking, and passed a house where some sort of band group was playing music outside that could be heard for a couple of blocks. It was fun music, semi-jazzy and carousel music. We also passed a weird eatery place that was definitely some kind of car place once upon a time, currently named "Gringo a gogo" and decorated with cacti.
The stone arch turned out to be a large cemetery, which we briefly explored before heading back to downtown. We passed a few museums; one had a giant globe as big as a building outside. We walked to the capitol building and looked at all of the statues surrounding it.
We headed to the train station to pick up her roommate who had been away, and had a relaxed supper and evening of chatter.
DAY FOUR
I slept in, which was lovely. Jaden went to work. I watched a movie, ate lunch, wrote, read, and relaxed.
For dinner we went to the Cheesecake Factory, which has to be one of the most amazing restaurants ever. I had penne pasta with a few strips of grilled chicken; the sauce had extra tomatoes and a few cubes of mozzarella; the dish was drizzled over with pesto. Amazing. Then Jaden was un-vegan and shared a piece of chocolate hazelnut crunch cheesecake with me that had Nutella drizzled on top. We went home with stuffed stomachs and very happy taste buds.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so Tuesday, January 21 found me back at the airport for my flight home. RDU, though, definitely wins as the best US airport that I've experienced thus far. It only took me 19 minutes to get from the front doors to my gate (of course, I did check in online - see, I said it helps!). The flight home was even shorter, with the same water and Cheez-its for breakfast.
That meant waking up very, very early in the morning Friday, January 17 in order to make my 6 AM flight from Philadelphia airport. It was also my first time traveling solo, my first time traveling in a season besides summer, and my first time having already checked in online for my flight.
Travel Tip: Check in online! Whether you print out your ticket or have it on your phone, it cuts out a major chunk of time and streamlines your flight process by skipping the long lines at the desk.
I was also using my beautiful new, blue carry-on suitcase, with 360 wheels. (The best part? I got it for free at my work banquet!). It definitely made walking through the airport smoother, especially standing in lines.
Of course, it was a tiny plane, so my suitcase got gate-checked, which is pretty handy anyway. What a short flight! There was barely time for the flight attendants to give us snacks. (Ah..water and Cheez-its for breakfast!) Touchdown at RDU (Raleigh-Durham). Where I realized that, without doubt, the most difficult thing about airports is actually finding your way out!
Jaden's little blue hatchback pulled up to the curb and we hugged before tossing my suitcase in the trunk and hopping back in the car, which was filled with music, excited chatter, and heat. Despite the GPS, there were a couple wrong turns on the way back to her house.
As she mixed up some blueberry pancakes for a late breakfast, she described to me that it was made without eggs because "oh, did I tell you, that I'm vegan now? So don't be offended if I feed you weird food." The blueberry pancakes were good, even without the eggs. We migrated to the couch to sip the rest of our tea and chat about life and Jesus.
About 10 AM - was it really only 10 AM? - we went for a walk. Despite the chilly temps for North Carolina and the wind, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day.
After our brisk walk, with faces stiff from the cold wind, we drove around for a little tour of her usual destinations. These included the parking lot of the church she works at, where she first lived when she moved there, and a few shopping areas. We stopped at Aldi and Target (which was way bigger than our Target here!) and walked around Hobby Lobby exploring the decor signs.
Lunch was tacos, of a sort. She cooked lentils, added taco seasoning, and worked them into a consistency similar to meat. I cut tomatoes and drained the black beans and she cooked them together. She set out a bag of spinach leaves and tortillas to wrap it all up in. They were surprisingly tasty. (Ah yes, and we snacked on apple slices while the food cooked.)
I took a nap for the rest of the afternoon, since I had been up for a very long time.
Supper was at 7 PM. Avacado toast, baked sweet potato chunks with agave and cinnamon, and smoothies (mine was strawberry banana; Jaden's had stuff with spinach).
We ended on an adventuresome note as we opened Netflix and decided on the movie Defiance.
DAY TWO
I ate an apple as Jaden ate her sweet potato and we layered up to go hiking in the approxamately 36-39 degree weather. Off to Jordan Lake, where we met up with seven of her friends. The hike was five miles and many interesting conversations long.
Famished from our busy morning, Jaden introduced me to Mod pizza, where I got a Dillon James and found a new favorite pizza place. Thankfully, I had a couple slices leftover.
After returning, we drank tea while we did art, listening to music and chatting. It was lovely and relaxing. About 4 PM we headed to Sweet Charlie's for rolled ice cream - before dinner - because we're adults now and can do what we want! Delicious.
The rest of the evening there was a gentle rain and we settled in for the night. We had a long conversation full of deep questions and random leftovers (including my cold pizza, which was even better than the first time around), and were quite happy with our decision to watch Christopher Robin.
DAY THREE
Church. Yes, the church Jaden works at as the director of the children's ministry. During first service I helped in the kindergarten class (which reminded me of why I help with youth back home). Jaden and I attended the second service, where it was a sermon in the serious "Anxious for Nothing."
Lunch was spaghetti with noodles made out of black soybeans, and smoothies again (because why not smoothies?). We talked for two hours.
Downtown Raleigh. I loved their houses; they look so southern and colorful and unique. We walked the streets, searching for a cool stone arch we had glimpsed while driving around before parking, and passed a house where some sort of band group was playing music outside that could be heard for a couple of blocks. It was fun music, semi-jazzy and carousel music. We also passed a weird eatery place that was definitely some kind of car place once upon a time, currently named "Gringo a gogo" and decorated with cacti.
The stone arch turned out to be a large cemetery, which we briefly explored before heading back to downtown. We passed a few museums; one had a giant globe as big as a building outside. We walked to the capitol building and looked at all of the statues surrounding it.
We headed to the train station to pick up her roommate who had been away, and had a relaxed supper and evening of chatter.
DAY FOUR
I slept in, which was lovely. Jaden went to work. I watched a movie, ate lunch, wrote, read, and relaxed.
For dinner we went to the Cheesecake Factory, which has to be one of the most amazing restaurants ever. I had penne pasta with a few strips of grilled chicken; the sauce had extra tomatoes and a few cubes of mozzarella; the dish was drizzled over with pesto. Amazing. Then Jaden was un-vegan and shared a piece of chocolate hazelnut crunch cheesecake with me that had Nutella drizzled on top. We went home with stuffed stomachs and very happy taste buds.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so Tuesday, January 21 found me back at the airport for my flight home. RDU, though, definitely wins as the best US airport that I've experienced thus far. It only took me 19 minutes to get from the front doors to my gate (of course, I did check in online - see, I said it helps!). The flight home was even shorter, with the same water and Cheez-its for breakfast.
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