Spring Break!

The week leading up to Easter was my first Spring Break as a full-time employee, and let me just say that it arrived in the nick of time.

The closer we got to Spring Break, the crazier my students got, making me even crazier in turn. All of this added up to making Friday the 7th felt more like Friday the 13th. At least until the O's game.

By this time, I was also feeling the itch to travel again--it's true what they say: once the travel bug bites, you're infected for life.

However, being still somewhat broke from my big Euro trip, I decided that a low-budget road trip was in order. I hit the library to stock up on audiobooks and beach reads and plotted a course for a small North Carolina beach town called Kill Devil Hills.

I'd chosen it for its relative lack of popularity, because city beaches are typically far too crowded for my introverted taste. I got up for the sunrise each morning, parked myself in a beach chair, and lounged by the water all day, taking nap breaks in between novels.

What the beach looks like at sunrise.

What I look like at sunrise.

It was a blissfully uneventful four days, and by the time it was over, I was recharged and ready to be around other humans again.

The five-hour drive to Greensboro flew by, and I was soon in the company of one of my favorite dogs (and her human).

We were craving pizza for dinner, and since we'd gone to Sticks & Stones the last time I visited Greensboro, Syd and Brian decided to introduce me to what they insisted was a North Carolina institution: Mellow Mushroom. (It turns out that the chain actually started in Atlanta, and there's even one in Maryland, but that's beside the point.)

The pizza was amazing, the beer was a revelation (it was called Bitter Unicorn Tears, for crying out loud), and the company of Syd's friends--fresh from a spelling bee at a nearby bar--was delightful. (Side note: spelling bees need to be a thing at bars everywhere. I'd totally be down to switch it up from trivia night every once in a while.)

After polishing off the pizza, we moseyed on over to a local brewery called Gibb's, a magical place with $5 brews, friendly bartenders, and Christmas-lit outdoor seating. Our night ended with bad dancing to even worse karaoke.

We laid low on Friday, with aspirations to go for a hike giving way in favor of laying in the sun and drinking coffee. Syd's cousins, Lee and Margs, arrived that evening, and we made a smorgasbord of fajitas (and maybe a blender or two of margaritas to go with).

The sun rose bright and early Saturday morning, and--in spite of our late-night Coldstone run--we weren't too far behind. We got on the road back to Maryland, the boys and Rue in Brian's Hyundai, and me, Syd, and Margs in my car. It was probably best we divided that way; we ladies ended up belting out Taylor Swift for most of the drive.

Except for when that turkey ran in front of the car in Middle-of-Nowhere, VA.

Luckily, no animals were harmed in the making of this blog post. (I braked in time for the turkey.)