6 days up North

So I just got back from what was supposed to be a 3 day trip, and I have to say, it was a lot of fun.  I say it was supposed to have been 3 days because we were supposed to leave on Friday and come back on Sunday.  But we decided to leave early and spend the night in Columbus with Nate’s parents.  So we left on Thursday around one and made the 8 1/2 hour drive to Columbus.  On the way there, during my driving time, I had to pee really bad.  So, Nate and I switched seats on the Interstate, I hopped in the back and peed in a bottle.  I was quite proud of myself.  We arrived around 9 and of course Nate began giving me the tour of Columbus.  We got to his house and his parents took us to eat at Tommy’s, an amazing pizza place.  Afterwards, they showed me some more of Columbus, including The Ohio State University.  It was sweet driving by The Shoe, which is the Buckeyes stadium.

So, day 2…  Nate and I got up and went to First Watch, a sweet breakfast, brunch, & lunch place.  I had some french toast loaded with all kinds of fruit.  It was probably the best french toast I’ve ever had.  After that Nate took me and showed me around Cypress Wesleyan Church, which is like one of three Wesleyan churches around Columbus.  That church is huge.  From what Nate told me, they’re doing some great things and they’re quite successful.  Then we went to see Nate’s mom before we left for Indiana.  We were supposed to be in Indiana by 4 and ready for Kevin and Michelle’s wedding rehearsal by 4:30.  Well, we left a little late…  And got to the church at 4:30.  I had gotten changed in the car on the way there and Nate changed in the parking lot.  So while Nate took pictures, I sat and watched.  Afterwards, we went to the rehearsal dinner, which was an hour away.  Nate and I were so tired of driving, and on top of that, we hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast.  The place we had the dinner was incredible.  It was way back in the woods.  Apparently, these people lived in what used to be an old mill.  There was a river that ran behind the house and a sweet dam.  It was beautiful and the food was amazing.  Later I ended up swimming in the river in my blue jeans, while the groomsmen went for a swim in their boxers.

Day 3?  The wedding of course.  The wedding wasn’t actually until 4:30, but Nate had to be at the church at 11:30 and of course, he was my only ride, so I had to tag along.  So I basically sat around and did nothing.  The wedding on the other hand was beautiful.  It was odd seeing Kevin up there, but I know he and Michelle are meant for one another.  I hope that God blesses their marriage abundantly.  So afterwards was my time to shine…  The rehearsal.  Which was oddly long.  Usually couples are ready to get out of their, for obvious reasons, but Kevin and Michelle hung around for a while.  I enjoyed being the Master of Ceremonies, all though at times I felt a bit ridiculous.  After the reception, Nate and I were off to IWU, which was only about 20 minutes away.  When we got there, we hung out with team Ichthus, who we had met at Table Rock camps.  They gave us the tour of the campus which is huge.  Then we just stayed up late talking and what not.  It was a ton of fun.

The next day, Sunday, we went to College Wesleyan, which wasn’t what I expected.  Now that may be because school is out, but who knows, I’ve never been when school was in.  After church we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch, which was amazing.  Then Nate and I were off for Columbus again, so we made the 4 hour drive.  Nate’s parents had reservations for us at Cap City, which was a sweet place.  We ended up eating with some of his cousins and his aunt and uncle as well.  They were Georges, so obviously they were cool.  After dinner, his cousins invited us to a concert.  The Bowerbirds and Bon Iver.  I know what you’re thinking…  WHO??  That’s exactly what I thought, but it was actually pretty sweet.  The Bowerbirds were my favorite.  They were a 3-man band.  A guitar, an accordion, and a bass drum/violin.  And once again I know what you’re thinking.  But it really was good.  The lead singer’s voice was incredible.  I’ve never heard much music where you could understand every single word, but you could understand this guy.  Bon Iver was pretty cool too.  A lot of their music was really chill.  The singing was a little odd, in that it was all falsetto.

Monday and Tuesday were both really fun too.  We just hung out with Nate’s family a lot and did stuff around Columbus.  Columbus is such an awesome city.  I did get to be a model on Tuesday.  Three of Nate’s cousins have their own t-shirt business and they’re just now starting to get a website up and they needed some t-shirt models, so Nate, Thadd and I were there.  When Ray Paul Brands gets their website up, go look for me, maybe I’ll make the cut.  After the shoot we were back on the road.  We got back to Pickens around 2 AM, so I stayed the night at Nate’s house and left Wednesday morning.

All in all, this was an awesome trip.  It was a lot of fun hanging out with Nate.  We ended up driving close to 2000 miles in 6 days.  I love road trips and I look forward to many more.