BENGARLAND!com

So, I’m back from Oregon if you didn’t already know.

Laura and I came back on the 3rd of August. The flight on US Airways should have been unremarkable. Except for the fact that they advertised to us at every possible point in the flight. Ads for Hilton hotels and Bahama vacations on the tv screens — with the audio on over the loudspeaker. Miniature billboards for Verizon plastered on the fold-down tray tables. Flight attendants pushing credit card applications like a crack dealer in the Bronx. Seriously!

So what did I do? I ripped the fucking Verizon ad off of the tray table, wadded it up, and threw it into the pocket of the seat in front of me. Take that, assholes.

Anyway.

One of the first things on our agenda was to eat at Horizons. It’s an upscale vegan restaurant in Philadelphia that L rants and raves about. I found out it was for good reason. Amazing, amazing food. I can’t even put into words how great it was. I just hope that one day I learn to make a seitan steak that tastes even half as good. YUM.

Her parents were awesome. I really like them a lot. L’s mom is a sweetheart and it is so adorable how she misses Laura like crazy. And her dad is about as sarcastic as I am, so we got along well.

I saw and experienced many things: Overpriced (and not great) public transit, 300 year old houses, Rita’s water ice and soft pretzels, dinner with several of L’s friends at Singapore, driving around in the Blazer, drinks with Aunt Nancy (served by her daughter, Alex), cooking brunch for the fam, drinking Strongbows, and eating cakes!

Then we set off for Georgia. Or well, we tried, and found out that our flight was overbooked. So we took the next one, and scored two round-trip tickets in the process. Our arrival into Atlanta was frenetic, as we took the train up to north Atlanta to meet my brother and pick up a tent, then only to turn around and take the train back to the airport to catch the shuttle bus down to Macon (with 2 minutes to spare!).

Whew!

Then it was dinner at Mom’s, lunch at Dad’s, visit with grandparents, and arrival in Athens. We saw my friend Patrick, met up with Kerry for sushi downtown, then went back to Patrick’s to make homemade mango ice cream. A couple hours on the porch were spent enjoying good dessert and good company, then we headed back to town.

On the way back into Athens, my car ran over a piece of metal that instantly slashed a 12″ x 1″ hole in my gas tank. Fortunately we were in front of a gas station when it happened, so we pulled over and surveyed the damage. Patrick was nice enough to pick us up and take us to Kerry’s place, where we stayed the night. Then the next day, Kerry let us drive her car around Athens while I figured out what to do about my car. While we were out, I took Laura to meet my friends Halley and Dani (because I wanted them to meet Laura).

Car troubles aside, we ate dinner at Thai Of Athens, my favorite restaurant in town. The woman that runs the place loves me and always remembers me (even when I’ve been gone for 7 months). So she gave us some complimentary friend tofu. YUM.

The next day, we rented a car and headed up to Lavonia to visit my MeeMa for lunch. After that we drove to Toccoa, where I showed Laura the 50 acres of family land that will be mine one day — we’re planning to live there at some point, yay! Then I took her to Toccoa Falls because it’s the highest freefalling waterfall in the east. We ended up camping an hour away at Amicalola Falls, but didn’t actually end up hiking to the falls (after Toccoa Falls it would have been a disappointment anyway).

Last but not least, we went to visit my brother in Atlanta on Friday. I took Laura record shopping in Little Five Points, and out to lunch (and ice cream) at Soul Vegetarian. For dinner, we went with my brother and his friend Trey to eat at Cafe Sunflower. YUM.

All in all, at different points during the trip to Georgia, Laura got to try sweet tea, creamed corn, fried okra, lima beans, collard greens, pecan pie, and boiled peanuts. And… she liked it!!! I think I’ll keep her after all :D

As I write this post on Friday night, August 17th, I can’t help but be a little sad. This is my first weekend without Laura since we’ve met. I feel like I should be driving to her house now, like I did every Friday. But I’m thousands of miles away.

I guess I’m going to have to get used to it.

But I have a lot to be thankful for, because I couldn’t imagine not having her in my life. And there is lots to look forward to. We’ve already booked our Christmas vacation together and it’s going to be for something like 12 days. Best 12 days of Christmas, ever. So we’re not going to be apart for 2 years, only 4 months. I can do that.

Tomorrow, I’m leaving for North Carolina. My car still isn’t fixed because they can’t locate a replacement gas tank. But my grandpa loaned me his truck for a week, so I’m not totally screwed. It’s all packed up and ready to go.

I had a place lined up in NC to stay, camping in someone’s back yard. But that fell through two days ago. So I’m kinda homeless right now. I do have a second option on where to camp, but I haven’t quite confirmed it yet. All I know is that I’m hitting the road, arriving in Raleigh sometime around 1pm, unloading 90% of my stuff at my office, finding a place to camp, and having dinner at Michelle’s house (the professor with whom I’m working).

Am I nervous? Yeah, a little.

Worried? Nah. Things just seem to always work out.