The Miami Chronicles

The First Signs of Life

This morning at 7 a.m., I rolled out of the shower and into the Jeep and pointed it toward Miami. The British voice from my GPS told me in its gentle British way that my destination was eleven and a half hours away and my arrival time to Brunswick, Georgia would be around 6:30. I will be overnighting there at my friend Luis's house. I spoke with him last night and he's already planning a wonderful dinner, which I am sure will be some sort of Puerto Rican dish that will be to die for. The man can cook!

And so, here I sit, in the car writing this blog entry. It's been six hours since my departure and I have made it through the length of West Virginia, which is my most dreaded part of the trip. It's long, boring, and well to be frank, the people are just a little bit scary. I stopped at a rest area and let's just say that you could really tell that you were in Appalachia! It's like a little piece of gay hell. 

In the blink of an eye, I was through the skinny part of Virginia. It only takes about an hour. I just passed the "Welcome to North Carolina" sign and the temperature shot up to 65 degrees, which after months of the deep freeze in Pittsburgh, feels literally like a breath of fresh air. The most uplifting thing is that the redbuds are starting to come out into leaf and there are signs of spring everywhere. It's a great feeling to know that spring is slowly creeping its way up from the deep south and will soon paint its lush hues all over the gray shrouded city in which I live. My spirits are already lifting. I think that I truly am a warm weather girl as I tend to get very down in the winter time. When the crispness of fall starts to settle in, something in my brain clicks and sets me off into a very long period of winter blahs. The second I see green, and feel the warm humid air I am immediately transformed. My energy levels quadruple and I feel like a totally different person. 

First Signs of Spring!

The care is still rolling and my stomach is rumbling for some good Carolina Barbeque. I just passed a sign for it so I think this will make for a very tasty lunch. For those of you who have not had the real deal, Carolina Barbeque is not the typical smothered in sugary sauce stuff that you are used to having. Carolina barbeque is a vinegar based sauce that is put on slow roasted pork that melts in your mouth and its usually served on, or with a big fat hushpuppy bun and smothered in coleslaw. MMMMMM!

Well, here comes my exit! Ill keep you posted on the progress of spring…and my gastronomique conquests on the rest of my trip. Miami here I come!