The drive from North Carolina to South Carolina was filled with both curvy roads and a few straight sections, but good all around. I left Caleb and his family early this morning to a crisp Carolina morning with the occasional patch of fog hovering in a valley. Culverts steamed with residual heat as I rode southeast back towards the coast.
I stopped in Myrtle Beach to see what the draw was. At 7AM, it seems to be worn with the years. I am sure the life that tourism breathes through it, fills a void for many. However, for me, I will stick with Okaloosa Island and Navarre Beach.
I made it to Patrick's house just outside of Charleston early in the day, which is good, as we had about 18 years of catching up to do.
This is us in Aug-Sep 1998. We drove our vehicles from Biloxi, MS to our homes in Texas and Ohio, met back up in Great Falls, and then drove the ALCAN Highway to Alaska where we split up at Tok and went our separate ways. We saw each other again about 6 months later for the last time in 18 years.
Here we are today, one less hairy, the other much more hairy. We are both still into cars and both still build things with our hands. Actually our lives/careers had quite a few parallels in it and we both ended our careers happy about where we are.
Without Patrick, I am unsure if I would have made it to Alaska on my own. I barely knew how to be a person then and didn't grasp how to be me for many years after. I hope I left a positive impression with Patrick 18 years ago. I hope I leave an even more positive impression with him and others as long as I live.
Tomorrow I head towards Jacksonville for my final stop before heading home. Yes, I said final. I am skipping Tallahassee as the family I was supposed to meet up with there was not prepared for me to be ahead of schedule. That is ok. Tallahassee is only 3 hours away and I am freaking retired.