North Carolina - Day 2

I woke up today a little stiff, but it’s nothing a nice hot shower didn’t cure. We watched a little Mythbusters to start the day. Scattered Thunderstorms were on the docket for the day, and we were waiting one out before heading out the door. At one point, lightning had to have struck someplace really close, because there was a loud crack/boom that caused the cable to go out briefly and the fire alarms to go off. It was quiet impressive.

We headed out and Jeff gave me a tour of his neighborhood. We went around downtown Raleigh and the surrounding area. During this time, we made our way to the Pit, which was the venue for lunch.

The Pit is a BBQ joint - one that Jeff liked, but wasn’t the one he really wanted - that one is closed on Sundays. We arrived at the Pit and were seated right away. We ordered sodas, and I asked the waiter for directions to the Men’s room. I cannot make up what he told me, and this is a direct quote: “Follow the mats to the hogs head.” I….followed the mats to the hogs head. Perfect directions, really.

Lunch was a piece of fried chicken, pulled pork, fries, mashed potatoes and hush puppies. I couldn’t finish it all, and was full for the rest of the day. I’m not even joking. I don’t think I’ll have to eat for a while.

After lunch we headed over to the wine shop where Jeff works. He gave me a tour of it, and I met some of his co-workers. Some cool people work there. We stayed there for a little bit, then headed back out on tour of the area. We stopped at a cigar shop that he knows of to check it out, then headed back to the apartment.

The afternoon consisted of a little baseball, a little hockey, and a nap. Seriously, that’s a fantastic vacation right there. We watched the Blackhawks knock the Sharks out of the playoffs, and then headed to his buddy Ryan’s house for dinner.

Ryan is a former colleague of Jeff’s who is now one of his close friends. His wife Jenny is a peach of a woman and pregnant with their second child. They were very friendly and hospitable. We chatted for a while over a glass of wine and watched their little boy Liam run around and play, showing off for the guests. After Liam went to bed we headed into the kitchen to cook up dinner.

Dinner consisted of burgers inspired by the cuisine of Greece. I was still full from the BBQ lunch and ate as much of the burger as I could before bursting. We chatted for a while, also watching the Mets/Yankees game. It was a very enjoyable evening.

After leaving their place, we headed back to the apartment and watched the Lost retrospective special. It was getting late so we decided to save the Lost Finale for the morning, since it’s probably going to rain anyway.

Now I just have to stay away from the internet so it doesn’t get spoiled for me! I think I’ll just go to bed now.