After getting back from my little road trip, I launched into work and spent a lot of time being really tired and sore. I'm sad to say that I'm out of practice with road tripping; my body did not appreciate 20 hours of sitting in a car, and I spent a lot of time on ibuprofen last week.
The pain of driving notwithstanding, I had a fabulous time on the trip. It was wonderful to see two old friends (Jenn and Nick; Nick is a HS buddy who is currently stationed in TN) and become closer with Dr. Aaron (he's a buddy from Ann Arbor).
I was gratified to see that my friends got along, since Nick came with me to a party thrown in Jenn's honor. Jenn is starting her MSW in the fall, and her friends in Tennessee threw a party to "celebrate the genius of Jenn." The party had a great rule: presents are required, but you may not spend any money. I brought Jenn a little pair of ceramic Dutch shoes that I bought while studying abroad (I have several pairs that I use to decorate the Christmas tree, and I thought she'd like it) and a nifty keychain. At Jenn's party, I met lots of cool Knoxville folks and enjoyed yummy southern barbecue. The next morning, Nick and I indulged in some manufactured Americana by eating at Cracker Barrel.
In Louisville, Aaron and I spent a lot of time exploring the city. He showed me around old town Louisville and the hip Bardstown road neighborhood where he wants to live. We went trail running in the EP Tom Sawyer Park and played frisbee in Cherokee Park (one of the many parks designed by the father of landscape architecture, Olmsted. We ate at Ramsi's Cafe on the World, had delightful pizza at Wick's, and ate somewhere with these delightful little green chili wontons. We had a delightful, fun, nerdy time, and I learned lots of new stuff (a regular occurence when hanging out with smarty-pants Aaron).
As an extra bonus, I knocked an item off my 101 things list:
76. Visit a friend (that I haven’t visited in that state) who lives in a different state than I do