Supply & Wilmington, NC

On the second day of our whirlwind tour, we found ourselves in Supply, North Carolina ... a mere three hour drive from Charleston. For those of you wondering what/where Supply is, I was asking the exact same question. Just over the NC/SC border, it was a town in the middle of nowhere (that even my family in Charlotte had never heard of). Of course, the whole reason in going was to attend the wedding of my good friend Kyle. Joining us in this leg of our trip was a car-full of my friends that had driven up the night before. After meeting up with them, the six of us piled into a Honda Accord and made our way to the ceremony ... fashionably late of course.

...and by fashionably late, I mean we walked up as the groom was doing the same. After parking, and re-parking the car (because we were in the bride's path), we finally found some seats scattered indiscriminately throughout the crowd. The ceremony was lovely, and quick (thank God). Then came the (dry) reception. Yes, you read correctly. A dry wedding was the reason for my 11 hour drive the B.F. North Carolina. We survived, having snuck in our own spirits, but just barely. I will spare you of some of the less favorable details -- it was a wedding after all. As soon as my friend caught the bouquet, we took off. Our destination: Wilmington.

After a quick detour at the hotel, in an attempt to freshen up, we were off. The same friend that drove us to the wedding was behind the wheel again for the forty-five minute ride. I was exceptionally excited about the impromptu excursion, since one of my favorite shows -- One Tree Hill -- had been filmed in the town. (Yes, I understand that is probably the least heterosexual thing I have ever said.) Our first step was for the beach bars, a strip of what seemed to be endless establishments. The first place we went to remind me of home ... if the bars back home were actually clean. It was very "hipster-ish", but more upscale than you would expect back home. After a couple games of pool and an ill-chosen couple of hybrid brews, we were onto our next stop.

The adjoining bar was underground, and after my foursquare check-in, I was pleasantly surprised to realize we were now hanging out in the country's oldest pool hall ... if only I could remember its name. Nonetheless, we played more pool and watched my friend (whom's 21st birthday it was) inch her way closer to drunkeness. Our final stop of the night was a rooftop bar, which was $5 and without a working elevator. So, a couple Mr. Lincolns and one cardio workout later, we were there. It was a much more expected scene of Wilmington night life, with a giant square-shaped bar surrounded by dancing patrons and a magnificent view of the city. I was just on my first or second drink (and God knows which number dance) when we noticed my friend -- the brand new twenty-one year-old -- dry heaving near a trashcan. We took that as our queue to head out, as we narrowly avoided another drunk friend getting into a bar scrap.

The drive back was easy enough, since I wasn't driving of course. Half the car slept their night off, including the drunkard birthday girl. Getting to bed was a little more of an ordeal than I would have liked, but I will again spare some harsher details for the sake of my friends. Overall, it was good to know that the birthday girl had a good time ... which I know for a fact was due in large part to us. A few short hours of sleep and we would be making our way west for the next stop in our journey.

See you there: Charlotte, North Carolina.