Road trip!!

NC Colleges, here we come

It's the time of year when a young man's thoughts turn to next year's college choice so,as Susan is back at school, what better opportunity for Sam and me to take a college road trip across North Carolina.  I must admit that part of the plan is for both him and me to find out what the heck the difference is between a $10,000 a year state college and a $40,000 a year private college (other than $30,000 a year - durr).  It also gave him a chance to see what my chemotherapy was all about - I think he had ideas of my being strapped to an operating table and raised to the roof during thunderstorm.  Once that was done, we hopped in the car and hit the road.

Before we went, we had had a discussion and dry run of what to do if the person driving the car passes out.   Not that I am in the habit of doing it but it may come in handy one day.  (Sam is still not allowed to drive as our beloved idiot governor withdrew funding from drivers' education - which is mandatory - which somehow also affected private schools.  So, 7 months after he turned 16, he has still not got behind the wheel of a car on a public road.  But I digress).

Yesterday's main visit was to High Point University (private) which, needless to say, Sam and I both thought was brilliant.  Not only does it have two theatres (one with boxes and a crystal chandelier) but the chemistry department is right next door with a new chemistry department being built 100 yards away.  The cafeteria / student centre forms the third vertex of an equilateral triangle so, despite the campus being hundreds of acres, he probably wouldn't wear out a pair of sneakers walking between buildings in his 4 years. We didn't go on a formal tour but were treated like royalty by the admissions people and our 2 minute chat with the head of the theatre department turned into an hour.

Best of all, they don't have a football team.  Both Sam and I are getting pretty pissed off with how his school is becoming a sports club where lessons sometimes break out.

The afternoon took as through the grounds of Guilford College - not sure if it's run down or has been upgraded on the cheap over the years.  All the signs on the grounds pointed to the the athletic facilities - didn't see any sign of a theatre and when we did eventually find the admissions department, we agreed that we wouldn't bother going in.

Drove into Chapel Hill in the early evening and, having failed to find anywhere to dish us up our longed-for gutful of chicken wings, we settled for a quick drive past campus and Mellow Mushroom (where I had a salad, Susan, and the waiter even offered to write me a not to say I had.)  My voracious appetite didn't desert me and I ate more than I wold have eaten in two meals 3 months ago though there is a bit left in the fridge for elevenses this morning.  Today we'll take a look at NC State in Raleigh before coming back here for a formal tour of UNC Chapel Hill.  I've been up since 4 a.m. so the steroids haven't given me as bad a time as previously.  We had planned to go to the planetarium show at UNCCH but they've got decided kiddie shows on so we need to find something else to do.  Our day will end with the 3 hour drive to Wilmington where we should arrive ready to eat.  Must do a better job of finding somewhere than we did last night.