That previous day was probably the climax of the trip. But there was still plenty of adventures ahead. The next day was our last full day in Kiawah and we made the most of it by staying at the ocean as long as possible, boogie boarding, kite-flying, tennis playing, and more Frisbee throwing. Towards the end of the day we went souvenir shopping at the stores near the island. These stores mostly cater to yuppies but there are a few of the strictly touristy places too. We went into a shoe store thinking they might have some flip flops on clearance because last year when I went they did. I went to the back of the store to look around and a few seconds later I hear Kelly shout all the way from the front of the store, “These flip flops are over one hundred dollars!” We quickly left that store, with her repeating herself just in case someone missed what she said the first time. Next we proceeded to the clothing store. Even before we in I knew this would cause problems for her, so I asked her to please refrain from commenting on the prices. We went in and immediately I remembered why I never get anything from there. While the clothes are very nice, they are all much too Southernly. They simply wouldn’t look right being worn in farm country. So I went looking for Kelly who I found over in the “sale” department. She said not too quietly, “I need to get out of here, now.” And as we were walking out she said, “If I see anyone leaving from here with a bag I’m hitting them in the face.” Well at least she didn’t directly mention the prices. I was very proud of her.
Kelly is a female of elegance, poise, and high fashion.
But we did pick up some souvenirs from the touristy store for our friends and family, which we added to the ones we picked up the day before when we took a brief stop in downtown Charleston. There we found a library that was throwing out old books. I grabbed a bunch because they had sophisticated sounding titles like, “The Gettysburg Review” and “Pembroke Magazine”. She grabbed some too because nothing is too good for her friends.
The trip home the next day was the first time we came to fighting. We had decided to drive up through the Smokey Mountains, and this time we were going to find a proper camping site. Well we drove right through them alright but never found a good place to camp. All the campsites were full. So we kept driving and driving. During this time we had our usual blast. We got to drive through Maggie’s Valley which was way up high in the mountains despite its valley name, fought over the music, and saw some amazing sites. Eventually we passed right through the Smokey Mountain National Park and came to Gatlinburg. Kelly, who likes all things shiny, immediately needed to pull over, and we wound up going to Ripley’s Aquarium. This was actually really well done, and I felt was in some ways even better than the Charleston Aquarium. One of the neat parts for me was seeing an Amish family walk around. They were very nice and talkative. I noticed the guy who was taking them around too. He was also very friendly but when he talked to me, I got the distinct impression he hadn’t gone beyond 8th grade. I talked to Kelly about this. That I had never met someone that old before be so simple minded. She said being a social worker it is an everyday occurrence for her. But for me, probably the majority of people I talk to have at least a Masters. So it was quite an experience, and we agreed that while he sounded like he had very little education he was probably an expert at farming or some other craft of which I have absolutely no understanding.
It was already dark when we found the aquarium and by the time we left it was dark and late. Kelly had been driving and she was clearly getting tired. We kept driving and found more campsites but they were ones that were meant for trailers. A few hours ago she didn’t want to even consider these, but now she did. I didn’t want to though because her reasons for not wanting to a few hours ago hadn’t changed now. We both didn’t like the idea of people looking in on us in the car as we tried to sleep. We had to sleep in the car because there were no tent sites and we didn’t have a trailer. So we kept driving, and things were getting quieter. No more talking and no more music. Finally she said I’m pulling over at the next rest area. I didn’t like this idea because to me the only difference from the other campsites was that we weren’t allowed to be there, but I could tell she wasn’t about to have a discussion on the matter. So I said that we could stay there, but that I was sleeping in the drivers seat in case some police officer decided to stop on by. Sadly there was to be no snuggling that night. But once I found a comfortable position, a few hours later, I managed to sleep better than the first night we spent in the car.
Nevertheless that sleep was not sufficient. The next day we headed back on the road, this time with me driving. Kelly kept sleeping in the back for about an hour. The drive was nice because I learned how the Smokey’s got their name. The pine trees admit a hydro-carbon that cause a profound smoky fog. Driving along it looked like the mountains were on fire from all the smoke. And in some cases it only covered their bases so some of them looked like islands in the sea. But this entertained me for only so long, and I started day-dreaming and drifting off to sleep. Finally Kelly needed to take the wheel. And from that point on she drove us all the way back.
On the way back we stopped by Mammoth Caves and Abraham Lincolns birthplace.
Finally we made it all the way to her Aunt and Uncle’s house where they took us on their boat over to the marina and treated us to dinner. We then spent an hour going through pictures, and finally I hit the bed and slept for many wakeless hours. And that was the end of our grand road trip.
The trip home the next day was the first time we came to fighting. We had decided to drive up through the Smokey Mountains, and this time we were going to find a proper camping site. Well we drove right through them alright but never found a good place to camp. All the campsites were full. So we kept driving and driving. During this time we had our usual blast. We got to drive through Maggie’s Valley which was way up high in the mountains despite its valley name, fought over the music, and saw some amazing sites. Eventually we passed right through the Smokey Mountain National Park and came to Gatlinburg. Kelly, who likes all things shiny, immediately needed to pull over, and we wound up going to Ripley’s Aquarium. This was actually really well done, and I felt was in some ways even better than the Charleston Aquarium. One of the neat parts for me was seeing an Amish family walk around. They were very nice and talkative. I noticed the guy who was taking them around too. He was also very friendly but when he talked to me, I got the distinct impression he hadn’t gone beyond 8th grade. I talked to Kelly about this. That I had never met someone that old before be so simple minded. She said being a social worker it is an everyday occurrence for her. But for me, probably the majority of people I talk to have at least a Masters. So it was quite an experience, and we agreed that while he sounded like he had very little education he was probably an expert at farming or some other craft of which I have absolutely no understanding.
It was already dark when we found the aquarium and by the time we left it was dark and late. Kelly had been driving and she was clearly getting tired. We kept driving and found more campsites but they were ones that were meant for trailers. A few hours ago she didn’t want to even consider these, but now she did. I didn’t want to though because her reasons for not wanting to a few hours ago hadn’t changed now. We both didn’t like the idea of people looking in on us in the car as we tried to sleep. We had to sleep in the car because there were no tent sites and we didn’t have a trailer. So we kept driving, and things were getting quieter. No more talking and no more music. Finally she said I’m pulling over at the next rest area. I didn’t like this idea because to me the only difference from the other campsites was that we weren’t allowed to be there, but I could tell she wasn’t about to have a discussion on the matter. So I said that we could stay there, but that I was sleeping in the drivers seat in case some police officer decided to stop on by. Sadly there was to be no snuggling that night. But once I found a comfortable position, a few hours later, I managed to sleep better than the first night we spent in the car.
Nevertheless that sleep was not sufficient. The next day we headed back on the road, this time with me driving. Kelly kept sleeping in the back for about an hour. The drive was nice because I learned how the Smokey’s got their name. The pine trees admit a hydro-carbon that cause a profound smoky fog. Driving along it looked like the mountains were on fire from all the smoke. And in some cases it only covered their bases so some of them looked like islands in the sea. But this entertained me for only so long, and I started day-dreaming and drifting off to sleep. Finally Kelly needed to take the wheel. And from that point on she drove us all the way back.
On the way back we stopped by Mammoth Caves and Abraham Lincolns birthplace.
Finally we made it all the way to her Aunt and Uncle’s house where they took us on their boat over to the marina and treated us to dinner. We then spent an hour going through pictures, and finally I hit the bed and slept for many wakeless hours. And that was the end of our grand road trip.
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