It was a two and a half hour drive from Charlotte to Chapel Hill and on to Raleigh, North Carolina. We saw the University of North Carolina first. The campus is like something out of a picturesque movie of a college students life. The campus is adored with beautiful historical buildings and the campus had a warm, peaceful feeling despite the brisk, cold weather. The hills overlooking the football stadium are an amazing view. I like the uniqueness of the Tar Heels mascot and powder blue colors of the school.
On to our next stop, The Melting Pot! Little Chirp loved his lunch. His favorite course was the cheese fondue. Going to The Melting Pot on vacation is an odd family tradition for people that love locally owned dining experiences, but we love our Melting Pot tradition as well. We were stuffed after lunch.
We headed to North Carolina State to walk off our lunch, and see what the campus is like. The campus of NC State is an adventure in itself. It covers a vast amount of land, and there are tunnels and bridges and lots of stairs. We all enjoyed our exploration of the campus. Brainy Bird and I wished we were able to go on an actual tour of the campus. Both the schools we visited today are closed for formal visits, until further notice because of Covid.
For what was possibly the first time ever, I was the one that remembered our way back to the car. I was certain of the direction that we needed to go. Both boys has their doubts, but they indulged me. I had my doubts too. We were all so happy when we found we were back at the tunnel where we had crossed underneath the railroad tracks. We got back to our car, and then proceeded to drive back to Charlotte.
Little Chirp wanted to go to Dave and Busters, so Brainy Bird took him to play some games while I relaxed for a bit. The day felt perfect, and it could not get any better. The boys messaged me that they were done at Dave and Busters, and I went to pick them up.
In the passenger seat with time to kill while we drove back to the hotel, Brainy Bird decided to check his email. This is where he found his acceptance letter to the University of Virginia along with his acceptance into their Rodman Scholars program for engineering. I could not believe it.
This week alone, we received word of his selection to the Top Scholars at the University of South Carolina, where he is one of just 45 students selected out of more than 41,000 applicants, and then we celebrated his 18th birthday, and then we found out he is not only accepted into the University of Virginia’s engineering program, he is also selected to their Rodman Scholars program.
We got back to the hotel, and Little Chirp declared it brother time. They went up to the room to watch some out there sci-fi movie that Mom probably would not have signed off on. I went to the hotel bar to unwind, and reflect on the incredible weekend, and the excitement of the days ahead.