Road Trip Recap

What a trip. First off, the girls and weather couldn't have cooperated more. Sunny, warm and no whining. (I know - I can't believe it, either.)

When we got to Clemson, the older girls met a friend of the male persuasion for lunch before their tour. When I caught up with them for the tour, Prep asked a telling question. "Just where is this town they keep talking about?" We were in the heart of downtown Clemson. I should have just packed them up and moved on. Where is the town? Clemson reminded me of my own university and I got claustrophobic when I went into the dorm. I should have packed them up and moved on after they saw those, too.

Next stop, University of South Carolina. As soon as they pulled into Columbia, they became different girls. Woo, woo!! Partytown!! Oh, hell. And when they saw the stadium, I knew I was lost. "I could see myself going to school here," was the comment I heard over and over again at places that had nothing to do with the school but everything to do with fraternity row and football. I should have just packed them up and moved on. But we went to the bookstore to buy college t-shirts. Of course, when your mascot is a gamecock, you've got nothing but trouble on your hands. All four of them had shirts in their hands with COCKS emblazened across the front.


Oh. Hell to the no. Not on my watch. Put them down and regroup. Even BrownBear was whooping it up and she said to me, "But you think it's funny." I might think it' s funny, but you're not strutting around with that emblazened across your chest. Trust me.

Stop three: College of Charleston. God's own college - a perfect day in a perfect city. I have never seen Charleston on a more beautiful day. All three college searchers fell in love. Beautiful city, beautiful college, beautiful dorms, beautiful cafeterias. Only drawback? No football team. Damn.

As we hurtled ourselves toward St. Augustine, we stoppped for ice cream at the truck stop on the I-26 / I-95 intersection. We were 95 miles north of Savannah and four hours away from the beach. And our car broke. We had a flat tire, a cracked rim, and something about broken calipers. Did I mention we were in the middle of nowhere? The only thing at this truck stop was a Dairy Queen/Wendys, a hotel (the Peach Tree Inn) and Billy's Tires and Towing. While we had to spend the night, the hotel was fine and Billy and his workers had us fixed and on the road by 10:30 the next morning. While it wasn't perfect, it was far from the disaster it could have been.

I had to be back at school Monday morning like the rest of the girls and I was exhausted. And the topper? I had forgotten that I had to tutor Monday afternoon.

LawyerBoy is doing the Tennessee colleges. He's in for an eye-opener.