Our Adventure Has Begun

At one o'clock, my alarm went off. At 1:04 my Dad came into my room and urged me to get up. At 1:08 I was up and dressed. The sky was still dark. My sisters were still asleep. My dog was still snuggled at the foot of my bed, only lifting his head and staring at me in confusion as I rose at such an unfortunate time. I didn’t mind waking up early, I was too overcome with nerves and excitement to feel sleepy. Although I am not looking forward to transferring planes, a few hours in an airport is manageable, but a day in the airport is not.  After checking that I had all my bags, chargers, retainer, and snacks my Mom and I trudged out the door into the cool Bay Area night. 

We arrived at El Cerrito High School bright and early - around 2:00 AM. Kayla and her Mom were already there huddling in the cold, while Don had his table set up ready to give away Tide pods, snacks, and clothing hangers. Once everyone had arrived, not to mention the Vanderbilt cohort arrived on time first, we listened to final instructions, took pictures, and bid farewell to our parents and Don. When the shuttle bus arrived, we loaded our luggage and clomped up the steep steps, and took our seats. It was a rather big bus for 10 people, with many empty seats. But we had a delightful ride, as we cruised down the empty freeway, discussing strange incidents at school with teachers. 

Our cute, sleepy cohort

The airport was surprisingly packed for being such an early day. There were lots of basketball teams, that appeared a bit older than us, who seemed to be traveling for tournaments. Families filled up the lines as well, potentially returning from 4th of July vacations or maybe embarking on a new trip. People from all walks of life stood through the dreaded TSA lines, awkwardly taking off shoes and belts; rummaging through backpacks for liquids and laptops; and piling all our goods in plastic bins. Oh, how glorious airport security is. 

After passing through security, and having the insides of my backpack manhandled by security guards, we walked to our gate and arrived perfectly on time to begin boarding. Luckily, the Vanderbilt and Chicago cohorts would be flying to Chicago together and we even got seats near each other. Audrey and I sat in a row of 3, and were fortunate enough to have one of the seats in the row be empty. The empty seat became our book bearer, leg stretching area, and Audrey’s makeshift bed. As we sat in our seats waiting for the rest of the passengers to board, I suddenly felt a warm object pressing against my leg. To my delight, I looked down to find the most adorable French Bulldog ever, his name is Vino. I had time to pet him, but he soon turned his scrunched up face and waddled away with this owner. 

Soaring above the sea of clouds

As the plane took off Audrey and I witnessed the beauties of natural phenomenon. We were flying above a blanket of white clouds. The sun was rising and glimmered pink and orange across the white blanket. The clouds looked like a sea of cotton candy, a shroud of warm sugary fun, tempting me to jump off the plane and dive into their beauty. Not only were the clouds cotton candy and a warm blanket, but in my mind, the sea of clouds metamorphosed into the back of a sheep, and we, on our small plane, were a flea hopping along the velvety wool, so soft it’s fit for the King. 

During the rest of the plane ride, I alternately slept, woke from discomfort, and read. I’d turn to the rest of my cohort and found then sleeping peacefully, I’d look behind to Chicago and so, too, were they slumbering. 

We got off the plane, entered the portable hallway that connects the plane to the airport to find blistering heat hit us like a ton of bricks. In our jeans and t-shirts and accustomed to Bay Area weather, we all complained and prayed for our savior - air conditioning.

Soon the Chicago and Vanderbilt cohorts parted ways, we waved and wished them the happiest of times, and vice versa, they sauntered off happily to explore the city and reach their hotel. While we were stuck in the dreaded airport for another few hours and would soon be boarding our second plane to reach Nashville. 

Full with airport food, we boarded our second plane of the day, well aware that the flight would only be 57 minutes, a rather short flight compared to our 4-5 hour first flight. However, after Audrey finished a third of her book and  I carved another 100 pages out of mine, we realized that the flight felt much longer than 57 minutes, almost 2 hours maybe even 3. Audrey and I, sitting next to one another again, theorized that we either entered in a time warp or that the pilot released scientifically generated gas that made time pass by at a far faster rate. Hawi agreed with our theories. Either way, we were up in the air for longer than 57 minutes and were ready to get off the dreaded thing. 

Candid photo of Audrey 

After what seemed like years, the plane finally landed. We exited the plane to enter an even hotter hallway, that Audrey noted, felt like a hair dryer was being blown in our face. We got our bags, rental car keys, and headed through the end of the airport and into the parking lot. The second we passed through the automatic doors, a hot blast of air hit our skin, we groaned and complained and saw as the heat gradually got worse and worse as we trudged our suitcases through a hot parking lot. It was far worse than the brief heat we encountered in Chicago, far, far worse. We finally arrived to our minivan, exhausted, sweaty, and sticky. Ready to collapse, we practically dove into the air-conditioned car and our spirits lightened with the cooler and comforting atmosphere. 

We admired the Tennessee landscape as we drove 15 minutes to our hotel, our noses plastered against the windows like little children. We noted strange food chains, beautiful homes, and low gas prices. 

We finally arrived at our hotel, after arriving at one that had the same name and was only 3 blocks from our actual hotel - the Hampton Inn. In our hotel we settled our bags down, and played a round of cards, Anna was the champion, before heading to Target to get a few supplies. 

At 6:45 we realized that Hog Heaven, the restaurant that we intended to go to for dinner, closed at 7. Instead, we went to another barbecue place called Edley's Barbecue. It had a rustic setting with brown wooden seating, decorative barrels, and firewood adorning the wall. I ordered a pulled pork sandwich and a side of macaroni and cheese, the food was great! The cohort decided that at every restaurant that we go to, one of us has to order a side of macaroni and cheese to rate its excellence. Edley’s, in my honest opinion, got a B-, for the dish was not cheesy enough!! Towards the end of the trip we will have a reigning champion for best mac and cheese in Nashville, Tennessee, who will it be?

Anna's picturesque food

After our meal, we needed to indulge our sweet tooth and headed over to a local ice cream shop, Bobbie's. It was located in a cute brightly colored shack, where one approached a friendly worker to order your delicacy - they offered an assortment of ice cream, sundaes, and treats. Of which, when ordering a small sized ice cream cone, be wary it is more like a large. Tori, Audrey, and Hawi were the only ones to order ice cream and all of us were surprised by its enormity. Hilariously, in the hot sun, the too large cones began melting. They melted on the table, on Hawi and Audrey’s faces, and the chocolate began falling away in chunks. Tori, as Anna noted, had a technique which allowed her to finish her ice cream without it dripping everywhere, all the ice cream landed neatly in her mouth. But we did encounter a moment of panic as the ice cream was quite literally everywhere. 

Ice cream, pre- disaster

After ice cream, at the hotel, Hawi, Audrey, and I decided to take a dip in the pool. It was dark enough that we wouldn't get sunburns but still hot enough that the water wouldn’t be cold. After walking around the hotel in search of the entrance, we entered to an almost empty pool. The swimmers left, 5 minutes after we had arrived - the pool was all ours!!! We swam  peacefully in the pool, enjoying the cool water, a temporary escape from the scorching sun. We played a fun game of Marco Polo, had a competition on who can hold their breath the longest, and even did handstands. But after a while, we grew tired and walked back to our hotel rooms to finish our blogs, take a hot shower, and hop into bed. 

It is now time for the latter. Looking out my window, there is a thunderstorm. The lightning lights up the sky, the thunders rumbles, and the rain patters lightly. I sure can’t wait for the new adventures to come.