Brainy Bird and I arrived in Augusta just a bit ago. In ten minutes the time will be ten o’clock in the evening. I am sitting at the hotel bar enjoying some me time. Brainy Bird is getting ready for bed. The drive flew by for me today. I am listening to an Audible, and I should have tuned into one for the first day of our drive, while Brainy Bird slept all day, and I was bored out of my mind.
Tomorrow, we will arrive in Columbia, South Carolina. Brainy Bird frowns upon my desire to get up early so that we can get to the Soda City Market right when it opens. My perspective, I drove us more than fifteen hours to get to Columbia. When we get there we will first do what I want to do.
After I get my local shopping fix in, we will dine at our current favorite restaurant in Columbia, Halls Chophouse. We happened into Halls for lunch during our orientation trip, and WOW! Halls is a high end steakhouse in the heart of downtown Columbia. I love everything about it. I especially like the lunch menu that is a fraction of the cost of the dinner menu. We will be enjoying the steak and frites for lunch again. This time, we may splurge and each get our own. We were both definitely eying the pig slice the last time that we visited.
Our original itinerary for tomorrow has us doing last minute dorm shopping after lunch. At this point, we have everything we need, so we will have some time to walk around campus and the city. Brainy Bird agreed to indulge me with the walking of his class schedule. I love walking around the campus.
Brainy Bird either took me seriously when I told him to make a friend that lives close by in case he ever needs a home to go to, or he coincidentally already made friends with a kid that lives in Columbia. Given this, he may already have plans without me tomorrow evening. I do not mind at all. I could use sometime to unwind and catch up on work and my writing. Honestly, I wasn’t really joking when I told him to make a local friend, and I am all for him furthering the friendship.
At some point during the drive today, the realization that Brainy Bird is off to college finally hit me. One might wonder how this is possible as much as I write about it in my blog. I tend to take a little time to fully absorb things. Deep breath! I’ve got this! I mean Brainy Bird’s got this; he is the one going off to college. That said, I do reserve the right to cry a few happy tears. I know what it took for Brainy Bird to get where he will be by the end of this weekend, and I want this weekend of moving into his first home away from home to be a happy and special time for him.