The day before, getting lost and ice cream...

Friday, May 2, 2008:

After our short night near Nashville, TN, we started back on the road again headed east at 8am. Today would be a much shorter drive than the day before - hopefully only 5-6 hours. We drove out of Tennessee...passed through Kentucky and North Carolina before finally wheeling into the state of South Carolina!

We actually ended up getting in Greenville a little earlier than planned and Dad thought we might have to stall a little before we went to our hotel room since check-in wasn't until 3pm. Well....ummm...stall....that we did! Not exactly the way we planned, but it was well after 3pm by the time we drove into the Courtyard Marriott hotel parking lot.

It shouldn't be that hard driving into Greenville because (1) we had been to the BJU campus and our hotel only a three years ago and (2) we had a printed map with red highlights where we were supposed to go. Right?! Wrong!!

Somehow we took the wrong road into Greenville and ended up driving around for an hour, which was totally hilarious! Dad printed a map that had directions for how to get to the campus and our hotel, but somehow we found ourselves downtown Greenville, for which we did not have a map covering that area. We wondered around for a while and then I took out my computer, trying to pull up a map online to see where we were.

In between our driving around, looking at the printed map, searching the online map, we found ourselves in a residential area and then ended up seeing the same building three times which meant we were driving around in circles. Dad, Jena and I were laughing so hard it wasn't even funny. Good thing traffic was not too heavy cause Dad was chuckling as well.

Jena was sitting in the backseat, typing away at her computer. Dad was driving around, trying to figure out where to find Wade Hampton Ave. I was searching on my computer, trying to figure out where Main Street was on the map since we were on that street. I finally found it and turned my computer upside down so the map was in the direction we were going.

At that point Jena just lost it in the backseat. Dad and I had been talking back and forth about where to go, looking at the map and so forth and Jena was sitting back there totally enjoying laughing at us being lost. She was totally ignorant as to where we were. But the upside down computer just sent her into fits of giggles and then of course I started laughing so hard at her that I couldn't even look at my computer.

Dad just decided to stop and ask for directions. Good idea. Cause we weren't making any progress considering that we passed the same building on the corner three times.

We found Wade Hampton Ave and the BJU campus. Yep, looks the same as three years ago. And our hotel is only down this street and than this street and than this driveway and then we're there. Sure. Our sightseeing tour of Greenville wasn't over yet.

The map I had in my hand said that the hotel was before Haywood Drive, but let me just tell you that is wrong. Cause we found out it is after Haywood Drive after driving around and seeing all the other nice hotels in the area for another 20 minutes.

That little short Courtyard Marriott sign never looked so wonderful to see as we finally turned in the driveway!

We unloaded the van, changed clothes, phoned Krissa and then left to meet her on campus at 6:30 ready to go to her ice cream party she had planned with some friends. Let me just tell you - that girl was so excited to have graduation so near she was literally bouncing from one thing to the next. I think her voice level was about 3x as high as it normally is.

It was fun to see a little of quaint downtown Greenville and spend a little time with Krissa and meet some of her closest friends. Her best friends Caroline and Clare were there and it was so fun to meet them after hearing Krissa talk about them so much!

After our ice cream eating fun, Krissa headed back to her last night in her dorm room and we headed back to our hotel room. Friday is done and over with and there's graduation to look forward to tomorrow!