I’ve hinted at a big trip and here is the reveal! For my 40th birthday, I joined my forever friend and birthday month buddy, Maggie, on her side of the country for a birthday celebration adventure! Maggie moved to South Carolina a few years ago and it’s been a dream of mine to see her neck of the woods in-person. Our 40th birthdays seemed like the perfect time to celebrate together!
I added three new states to my list on this trip – Texas (I figure 10+ hours at the DFW airport counts), South Carolina, and North Carolina. We even made it to the Tennessee state line, which made four states in one trip (TN wasn’t a new state, but still fun). This was a bucket list trip in so many ways. Getting to see where Maggie lives was such a gift. I love that I can now picture all her places when she tells me what she’s been up to. Winter Storm Fern did decide to crash our party. Due to the weather, we took three days of plans and condensed them into less than two. We saw a lot of country on Friday and Saturday before the storm moved in!
Thursday was my travel day. I was up at 3:30am getting ready at our hotel in Portland. We decided to stay by the airport to avoid the early morning travel. The whole family was awake and we were watching BBC America at 4:00am. It was a bird program. How could we not? Thursday was a long day with a four hour layover at DFW. Once I arrived in Greenville, SC and got my bag, it was almost 10pm. Despite the time change, I was very ready for bed after the early morning and travel day. The hardest part was saying good night to Maggie after such a short time of being together! But we had a whole weekend to catch up and an early morning the next day.
Friday, we were out the door early and off for Ashville, NC. Maggie made plans for us to visit the Biltmore Estate – including lunch at the Stable Café and staying at the Village Hotel. I loved every minute of the self-guided tour of the house. It was beautiful. The library was my favorite room (surprise?) and I couldn’t get over who elaborate the ceilings were in each room. It was quite a novelty to eat lunch in a horse stall and the whole estate was lovely! I loved our time at Biltmore!
We wrapped up our time at the house on Friday afternoon and made a quick trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We were supposed to spend all of Saturday there, but the park was closing at 7:00pm on Friday and not reopening until after the storm. We only had a couple hours to drive around Great Smoky Mountains. We found the famous smoky blue scenic views. They were stunning! I would love to come back to the park when I have more time to explore. It was still a treat to check it off my national park bucket list.
Saturday morning, we at breakfast at the hotel before taking a walk around the Biltmore grounds. It was very chilly, but the greenhouse was open and the perfect place to warm up! After we bid Biltmore adieu, we took off for downtown Greenville, SC. We enjoyed a yummy lunch at The Cheesecake Factory before walking around downtown. The temperature was very cold for our adventures and the big conversation everywhere we went was the weather. Thankfully, the storm didn’t move in until Saturday night. We were able to enjoy most of Saturday out before being homebound.
The rest of the trip was very different than the beginning! Thanks to Winter Storm Fern, we had lots of time to “chill” at Maggie’s house. We watched A Week Away: The Series and The Day After Tomorrow. We walked and talked and just hung out in her living room. It was a nice change from the go-go-go of our adventure days. The only thing we planned that didn’t pan out was visiting Maggie’s church. The gatherings were canceled due to weather. Once the roads cleared, we went to Waffle House (a special place for Maggie’s family) and Bojangles (I wanted to try something new). Maggie told me the Bo-Berry Biscuits at Bojangles are addicting and she was right! Good thing this Carolina chain hasn’t made it’s way to the NW. I’d be in trouble!
My trip was extended (by two days) when the weather led to multiple canceled flights. Maggie was a gracious host. I was so thankful I had a warm place to stay. The extra time with Maggie helped me through the delays. Maggie’s dog, Gus, was my pal over the course of the trip and he was a great emotional support dog as I navigated the big feels of being unable to get home. Overall, the best part of the trip was getting to be alongside my forever friend – whether we were adventuring or walking around her neighborhood or chatting on her couch. Our in-person time is so rare these days. It was definitely worth the trip, despite the weather!
As I mentioned, getting home was a struggle. I finally got a flight to DFW early Wednesday morning. I was in for an eight hour layover, but then my flight got delayed making it over ten hours. I was able to talk to American Airlines and thankfully, I got on an earlier flight out. It was a 21 hour travel day and my body was practically broken by the end of it. My suitcase wasn’t rerouted to my new flight. It arrived in Portland hours after me. It was supposed to be delivered yesterday, but it didn’t arrive… It says it’s out for delivery again today. We’ll see. Until my suitcase arrives, I feel a bit like my wild adventure is still on-going!
And there you have it! My 40th birthday adventure to the Carolinas (with a lot of time at the DFW airport). It was epic and unforgettable! I’m so glad I got to kick off this new decade with my forever friend and birthday month buddy! A big thank you to Maggie for hosting me and being up for anything!!!
Amy Scott's Thoughts 