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North Carolina
The first leg of our journey was to Nashville, where we would meet up with Ruth's parents and board another plane for the flight to Raleigh. The Nashville airport is a site to see, empty terminals, few places to eat (none of which were open until right before our flight to Raleigh), etc. There was a slight delay, but overall it wasn't too bad. Luckily, Ruth and I were 3rd & 4th in line for boarding passes, and the wonderful lady behind the counter gave us the boarding passes for Ruth's parents as well. Every seat on the flight to Raleigh was filled, but we were lucky enough to find an empty row for Ruth and her parents while I sat across the isle. After landing in Raleigh we got our bags and headed off to get the rental cars. Again, no major problems. After following Ruth's mom out of the airport Ruth and I headed off on her own to find the hotel. Her parents took a more scenic route to the hotel but we all arrived safely at the Best Western -- University Inn located in Chapel Hill. We followed this up with a quick snack at Elmo's. From there we headed off to visit Ruth's grandparents for cocktails and dinner. When we arrived, we were greeted by her Grandmother and cousin Annah. Her grandfather and Aunt Christie were waiting for us inside. We visited for a while and then headed off to a buffet style dinner. After dinner we visited briefly with her relatives and then headed back to the hotel for the night. Around 11 PM that night, Ruth and I hopped in the car and drove back to the airport to pick up her sister Rose. Rose's flight arrived around 11:55 that night and other than parking a little farther from the terminal than I intended, everything went great. We all returned to the hotel to call it a night. The next morning (Friday) we awoke and headed back to Ruth's grandparents for breakfast. Unfortunately we overslept a little and were only able to visit with her grandparents and Uncle Tom briefly. Afterwards we went on a driving tour of Raleigh following her Mom from place to place. We stopped by to see Ruth's cousin Sherman at the pool where he is a lifeguard and then went on to Tom & Christie's house for a visit. There we met their puppies Peaches, Fritz, and Scout. After that visit we all piled back in the cars and headed off to Clyde Cooper's for some North Carolina BBQ. It is different than Texas BBQ. Not better, not worse, just different. After lunch Ruth's parents and Rose headed off for Figure 8 Island. Ruth and I drove around Raleigh a little more and went by the University Club (formerly the Faculty Club) where Ruth used to swim and swim and swim. From there we stopped by the Wake County Public Library in Garner to check our email, but because of rathre spotty internet connection we didn't do much. After that Ruth and I began the trek to Figure 8. I had a bit of trouble with the whole East/West thing, but eventually I figured it out and we made the trip okay. As we pulled up to the guard both leading into Figure 8, we were joking around about a rumor Ruth's mom had heard the week before. It seems that Al Gore had decided to take a vacation the same week and was rumored to be vacationing at "a private island off the coast of North Carolina." He had vacationed at Figure 8 before, so we were joking he would be back. Of course, we didn't really expect for it to be Figure 8. So, when we noticed this convoy of suburban's leaving the island we were a little surprised. As they drove by I noticed the earpierce of the drivers, and we knew that we were going to be in for a fun vacation. As we turned onto the street where the beach house was, we noticed a guy sitting in a car on the opposite side of the road with the same earpiece. And from there the fun began...
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