The light creeped into the room. The alarm clock had been pulled the night before in order to charge up a phone. The A/C in the room was doing its job but making a lot of noise doing so. At this point the time was unknown, by me at least. I had no idea if it was 9am or 2 in the afternoon. After a quick check of the phone realized it was 10am, or approximately that time. My mind was still foggy from the night before. 6 hours of not-so-quality sleep does not put me in the most pleasant of moods as I am sure this would apply to just about anyone. So minimal words were spoken, a few grunts were made, and a couple of showers were taken. A knock came on the door, not shortly after the 2nd shower had been completed. Our two companions from the other room were there to greet with their fair share of what I will call "mimics" of LMC legends from the past.
It was beach day. Our stomachs were growling so we headed out the door and piled into my little Corolla. Which is barely big enough for 3 adults, but 5 were crammed in there on our way to Folly Beach. After a few missed turns, a trip to Wal-Mart, and trying to find somewhere to park (this is important to remember for the future). As you would expect on a major holiday weekend, it was pretty crowded. We found a "clutch" food and drink stand and scarfed down our first meal of the day. The time was around 11:30am but I cannot be sure of this as I had no time piece available and really was not concerning myself with time on this trip. After this, we gathered our gear and located a spot on the sand. Lotions were applied and a trip into the water was in hand. Although I should note that one particular person, I won't mention his name, had to wait a few extra minutes to make sure his lotion had set in before he headed into the water. A soul of caution this lad was and is. We proceeded over the next few hours to hang out in the water, which was a perfect temperature, take a stroll across the beach doing some babe watching if you will, drink some canned beverages and just hang out enjoying each others company. After awhile some dark clouds began to gather and we headed on back to the car. I discovered a yellow ticket on my windshield. A parking violation. Unbeknownst to us all, you are not allowed to have any part of your vehicle hanging out on the road. I had pulled over on a side street and had left 2 wheels on the road. A road that couldn't have been well traveled, but thats neither here nor there. The fine was paid and we were on our way back to North Charleston to clean up and ready ourselves for the nights events.
After everyone had showered and napped (our room of 3 for that matter). Our stomachs growling let us know that it was time to eat again. After a long wait we piled into this lime green cab. And when I say piled in I mean literally we had 4 guys crammed into a made for 3 seat back seat (probably illegal). We had to pull over to a nearby gas station as our cab had smoke coming from its engine. Not sketchy in the least bit. So after about 20 minutes or so we were on our way. The cab driver decided it was a good idea to try and talk on his phone, place a dispatch and try to put one hand on the steering wheel, all the while driving 70 mph on the interstate. Not sketchy at all. We arrived in Charleston and walked over to Wild Wings to settle in for dinner. The place we visited the night before that took it awhile for people to recall that it was indeed the last place we had been. After heartily shoving down some quality greasy food. We decided to walk it off for about an hour through the various streets in the city. After about an hour of continuous walking we settled down at last nights drinking establishment. A cover band was playing, finishing up their set as another band was set to arrive not shortly after. The mood had continued to be positive as we settled in at a table close to where the band was playing. It was a small bar. Minimal lighting with some candles set up at all the tables for effect. It was a cool place. I liked it and I think everyone else did as well as we settled in for what would be about a 5 hour stay. The second played a lot of quality songs, bouncing around various genres and decades of music. They played a fair amount from the 90's as I recall. I remember singing along to plenty but my memory fails me at this moment to the specifics of the songs. I remember being happily content and satisfied, other than having to wait 30 minutes in between drinks. The laughs were plentiful that evening. As were the trips to the bathroom (where the handle stopped working and thus wouldn't flush), long-legged scantily clad females, and the amount of numbers seen on the tabs at the end of the night. After awhile our table would rarely see all 5 people at it once as people be up for various reasons, getting fresh air, going to the bathroom, whatever the case may be. The band continued to play up until the last call. It was noted by several compatriots that some of the speciality beverages were light on substance, if you know what I mean. I stuck with my traditional drink. For those that know me you know what this is.
After last call was made and we ventured out onto the streets. The easy decision was made to hop into an ever-growing line outside the pizza joint that "Texas" and I had ventured to the night before. The line was a little longer, but moved pretty quickly as customers shuffled past us, pizza in hand. Somehow it ended up that a big round of applause was to be given to anyone who came out with a whole pizza box. This was done several times as pizza flowed out of this local establishment. After awhile the food was consumed and out we went back into the streets in search of a cab. It was widely agreed upon that riding in the lime taxi was not going to be an option. "Fedora" made some calls but to no avail. Turns out a majority of taxi cab services in Charleston are private and have to be called in ahead of time. We did this but were not picked up initially. The call was placed again and we were told that it would be 15 minutes. It was probably 2:45 am at this point. We had been waiting a solid 30 minutes for a cab to come pick us up. Not shortly after the last call was placed, we hitched a ride with this taxi cab van along with 2 others with whom we had no association with and needed a ride to a different hotel in downtown Charleston. After they were dropped off, we headed on back. A 2nd and final night completed.
When it came down to it. The decision to go to Charleston, SC was not really a difficult one. We all put aside any travel difficulty and costs and made this trip happen. It was a memorable trip filled with many laughs and new memories that will last a long time. You do not know when you will have the opportunity to do things such as this so you take advantage of them when you can. You try your darnedest to organize things like this and make every effort to get there. You forego the animosity and you become care free.
This was a successful RALLY and one I hope to duplicate soon.
MB
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