Andy and I were totally exhausted this morning. It was nearly five in the morning by the time that we had finally managed to get to bed last night in Anderson, South Carolina. So we decided that the best plan this morning was to sleep in as much as possible.
Joe called us around nine in the morning to see where we were and we told him that we were pretty tired and that we weren’t going to be meeting anyone for a while because we needed some more sleep. Joe is busy during the day today anyway so it isn’t like we could have hung out.
We went back to sleep (at least I did, I am not sure if Andy ever woke up at all) and slept until about eleven thirty. It wasn’t a full eight hours of sleep but it was a reasonable amount and we felt pretty good.
We got ready and then went out to Waffle House again to get some breakfast before getting started with the day. I am enjoying my chance to get some southern diner food while I am here.
After Waffle House we drove back out on the highway and up around town and down on route 81 into town from the north and met up with someone at the health campus where Andy had some work to do before we could relax for the weekend. The facility is practically a ghost town on the weekends and you really get a chance to see the campus without people being all over it. It is a really impressive facility and very beautiful.
It is a really hot day here in Anderson but luckily not nearly as hot as it has been for the past three days. For the past three days temperatures have been in the low 100s and breaking all kinds of records for the region. Today wasn’t quite that bad but was in the high 90s and still very hot. In the shade with a breeze it was okay but once you got out in the blazing sun it was unbearable.
Andy’s work went really smoothly and quickly. We couldn’t have asked for a better processes. He was done in no time and we were able to drive down to the hospital so that he could wrap up there. That only took about an hour and we had plenty of time to just visit there before leaving for dinner at five thirty.
We didn’t know what we wanted to eat so just ended up going to Appleby’s since it was fast and easy. We had both felt like getting food at Red Lobster but when we stopped in there apparently everyone else in town had had the same idea and the place was totally packed and we didn’t feel like waiting that long just to get some food so we bypassed that options. We hadn’t expected Andy to have so little to do this weekend so we are quite pleasantly surprised.
After dinner, around seven thirty, we went back to the Comfort Suites and relaxed for a little bit – we both ate way too much and needed to just relax a little to give ourselves a chance to do some digesting.
Joe called us around eight and said that he could meet us at Hooters at eight thirty so we walked on over there (it is right next door to the hotel) and got a table and a pitcher. Joe and his friend Wayne arrived as Andy and I were just getting into our first beers and we all had a really good time hanging out until midnight when the Anderson County Blue Law kicked in and closed down all of the establishments (other than private clubs) in town. Having the drinking stop at midnight is a sure way to guarantee a sleepy town with a lifeless Saturday night.
We had a really good time visiting, though, and Andy and I really enjoyed the rare opportunity to just relax and hang out which we have not had a chance to do in a really long time. Andy and I saw each other for about an hour two weeks ago but that is the first time that we have really seen each other, other than Bob and Lisa’s wedding, since Dominica and I moved away from the Rochester area. Andy hasn’t had a chance to come down to Newark to visit yet either.
After Hooters Andy wanted to go for a walk and so we walked for about half an hour or more around the shopping complex near the expressway where we are staying. It was about one in the morning before we finally got back to the hotel and got to bed.