Road Trippin’ with the Young Adults

Hi everyone! I hope you are all doing wonderful and well. Today’s word of the day is ‘I am TIED’. No, that isn’t a misprint. I wrote “tied” which is the elder folks in NC’s way of saying bone doggone tired. Ya’ll! What a weekend! This past weekend, I was honored to join an opportunity to minister with several young adults from our church’s young adult choir. Our ministry includes young adults aged 18-30 something. In the choir, we minister through song and fellowship. A wonderful opportunity came for us to sing at a couple of services in NC, one of which we’d visited last year. I’d readily agreed remembering the fun and enjoyment of last time. It was just a praise worthy experience. But, ya’ll… I wasn’t pregnant then. I wasn’t HUGE then. I wasn’t occasionally uncomfortable with body images and I didn’t have a bowling ball to sleep on. What was I thinking lol.

We left in the vans at 11:00am on a Saturday morning for a 6 hour drive with two planned stops. I have to be very honest here. I was nervous. I mean really nervous. I hoped I wouldn’t get dehydrated. I hoped the baby wouldn’t become uncomfortable in utero. I worried I would need to ask the driver to stop a couple of times. I was so worried I considered not going. I’m so glad I didn’t do that.

We had a wonderful time! From the time we got on the van(s) until the time we returned, it was a great and wonderful fellowship. I laughed so hard going down to NC that my belly hurt. What a joy it is to travel with people you love and have a genuine friendship with. I’d shared with the trip organizers that I would need to stop at least twice per my doctor’s instructions. It was no problem at all. Our first stop was for lunch at Zaxby’s.

We don’t have a Zaxby’s in our area, so most were really excited to stop here. I’m not much of a chicken eater, but I am so big on cheese curds (don’t judge me lol). So, I ordered one of those for an appetizer and a medium sweet tea. Honey! Yumminess! You hear me?! This particular spot didn’t have enough sitting space for the size of our group, so we politely piled in the van and ate in the parking lot before cleaning the vans and departing (oh and visiting the bathroom once again. I went at least three times in the hour we were there!)

Preggo girl’s best friend. Fried Cheese curds. Mind you, I’d already indulged before I photographed lol

Lunch done, we continued on the road. I tried to get some sleep as I was exhausted, but it wasn’t that easy. Those vans are the standard 15-passenger church vans without recline or extra cushion. I managed to close my eyes for a little while, but not much. I was a bit sore when we arrived at the hotel.

Maybe not the best way to recline, but since we were stopped and no one was in the seat in front of me for the moment, I indulged a bit.

So! Let me tell you about the hotel. It was just a perfect spot to rest from the trip and prepare for the next day’s services. There was one mar that had nothing to do with the hotel and everything to do with a guest and his ignorance. As our van pulled up, an older teen/early twenty young man was walking away from the hotel. He peered into the church vans as they approached and upon seeing the brown faces proceeded to curse us and use the “N” word. That was our welcome into the town. As a testament to the beautiful hearts that I rode with, we actually laughed it off, prayed for his heart, soul, and ignorance, and continued on our day. Love my church choir!

Some of the most comfy beds ever!

Anyway, we stayed at the SpringHill Suites and seriously, the beds were some of the most comfortable I’ve slept in. This is coming from someone who used to business travel about 3 weeks out every month. The staff was so nice. The rooms were clean. The breakfast was hot and yummy. Not trying to give a review, but seriously, if you are ever in the area and need a stop in place for the evening; I recommend them.

The staff was kind enough to give us restaurant suggestions after the long ride and our group decided to go to The StingRay Café for seafood. Oh. My. Word. If this wasn’t some of the BEST seafood I’ve ever had. Oh, this is no exaggeration. I’m a crab cake and hushpuppy aficionado and I had to consciously stop myself from inhaling them! They were so yummy. I managed to stop myself to take a picture of the one remaining crabcake as I’d already eaten the other. It was so yummy and FULL of crab. Several of our group kept commenting about how great everything was. We are supposed to be coming back to the area next year. This will definitely be a repeat stop.

Okay, I’m not used to taking photos of the food. I’ll do better. BEST crabcakes!

Following dinner, we returned home and I went to my room to watch some March Madness before calling it an evening. Sunday, we woke up with great anticipation. We would be singing two services at two separate churches. We downed a yummy breakfast, dressed, and loaded the vans, made it to the first church and sang unto the Lord. It was a great and wonderful experience. The church was kind enough to give us lunch bags with homemade pulled chicken sandwiches (delicious), homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, and a bottle of water. Seriously, it was the best gesture ever since we would not have had time to stop before our next service. The food was amazing and we felt grateful for their concern.

Fast forward to the next church and it was now much later in the afternoon. This is where my little one started acting up. The baby had wedged under my rib and even though is still pretty small, had somehow caused a wave of heartburn and nausea. I couldn’t eat and I was very uncomfortable. I went to the bathroom a couple of times just hoping to move around a bit, but nothing worked. I finally asked one of the members if I could have a pack of Tums. She found Rolaids and after I had one, I felt loads better, that and the baby moved. The second service was equally moving and our own pastor was guest speaker for the evening. He preached an amazing sermon on how even though things are difficult and may not be progressing as you would like them to, faith should be retained because God will make a way. I thought of our infertility journey and drew parallels immediately. It was such a confirmation to me and I am still so thankful for that Word.

Service over, we made sure to take group photos and change into riding clothes for the evening. Let me tell you. After I removed that African print skirt, my entire body said “thank you” lol. It had elastic, but something about maternity attire just makes things so much better lol. Oh, and the maternity shirt I wore from Motherhood Maternity was perfect!! Matched the attire of our choir and gave me room to breathe. So thankful for it.

We finally packed up and made our way home, safe and sound. I walked through the door at 12:05 a.m. Monday morning. I was in bed about ten minutes later. It was a great and wonderful weekend. I would not have traded it for anything in the world. I’m so glad I got to take the trip with everyone.

If anyone is interested in the attire for our trip or hotel or any of that information, please feel free to look below. I’m not affiliated with these companies in anyway and receive no compensation. I just think the links may be helpful for someone else. Have a blessed day, everyone.

I will talk to you again soon.