Day Twenty-Three, Carolina-bound!

I got up really early this morning, well early for me being 8am, so that I could leave when Ashley left for work this morning. Today was just a driving day and I didn't really have a set plan in terms of where I was going to end up tonight. I just figured I'd drive on the 85N until I got tired of driving and was ready to relax for the remainder of the day.

I didn't have any destinations for the day in terms of fun things to do or see. As fun as it's been seeing all these random things along the way, I think I'm a little tired of driving and stopping and spending all day on the road. I think I'm more in the mode now of just getting to the next town or city and doing a little something while I'm there. However, I do like to make a few pit stops along the way still to get out of the car for a few minutes. Luckily, I was driving through some new states today and stopping at all each visitor center along the highway to take photos in front of the welcome to a new state signs provided the perfect momentary driving breaks along the way.

And that was pretty much the extent of my excitement for the day. I stopped for lunch at Fuddruckers in South Carolina so I could say I spent time there and didn't just drive through. And because I'd gotten up so early this morning, I ended up taking a nap after I checked into the Microtel in Concord, North Carolina, which is about 2 and a half hours away from Wake Forest.

I'm so excited to finally be in North Carolina! Now I have pretty much fulfilled all the goals of my road trip, with the exception of visiting the coastal town of Wilmington, NC, which I hope to take an overnight trip to later this week. For now, I just want to go hang out at my cousins' and play with Connor and just take a little rest for a few days. I think I'm much more exhausted from this 3-week, 24 day roller coaster ride I've been on! I've had a blast and it's been an amazing ride, but I think it's time to get off and take a break for a bit, get some rest and replenish my energy and figure out what my next step should be. I had this idea that I might want to stay on the east coast in North Carolina for a few months and try living in a new place for a while, but now that I'm finally here, I feel more uncertain than ever, which is why I'm grateful that I have family close in North Carolina to stay with for an indefinite amount of time while I figure things out! Thank you! See you tomorrow!