My Raleigh Challenge, Day 2

Day 2, Wednesday: Despite the previous long day & a heavy meal and alcohol & a good hotel bed, I struggled to fall asleep without my usual medicine. I finally found myself dreaming strange dreams & eventually awoke with a super fun Charley horse in my left calf. Dumb me forgot to pack my magnesium foam. I may tell myself I’m healed and living my life fully- but truth is Lyme did some damage, maybe long-term, most especially with my muscles & magnesium uptake skills. So I do need to be proactive, & I usually am. Lesson learned. Don’t get cocky. Be confident. But not cocky. And be prepared. Embrace my high maintenance-ness. Packing light is overrated. 
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I wasn’t sure how I wanted to start this day, as I hadn’t planned the tightest itinerary. I contemplated hitting the fitness center but then realized I needed to get out there. Raleigh was in a heat wave, & the day wasn’t getting any cooler. And I wanted to visit the Sunflower fields and the Rose Garden, the first of which turned out to not be in bloom. Still, the butterfly gardens juxtaposed with views of downtown Raleigh were lovely, the shaded hammocks a welcome surprise. I immediately parked myself in the hammock of my choice— I had the whole place to myself for the first ten minutes— and just soaked in the natural beauty around me. Birds of the Raleigh variety sang their songs, crows cawed, bees buzzed, butterflies zipped from aster to zinnia. The heat began to creep up and hit me. I headed back to my rental Cadillac’s amazing AC whilst repeating, “I am healthy and living my life”. This is the brain retraining life. I’ve realized that even though I had arrived, I needed upkeep. My new neural pathways were still babies. I needed to keep growing them. 

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Onto the rose garden, a quick drive back through NC State territory, which put on a show for me indeed. So many roses in bloom, an enormous bouquet of varieties, and I captured them with my camera so I could remember them all. I sat on a memorial bench beneath a tall, draped evergreen & took it all in. Someday there will be a memorial bench for me. I’ve got a few ideas of where. But I like to think I can live on and be a spot of respite for someone who needs a soft place to land.

 

Two gardens in the 95 degree sunshine called for an iced dirty chai latte, so I found the hippest coffee shop just a few minutes away, managed acquiring street parking, feeding the modern meter, and basking in the air conditioning of Global Village. Also needed lunch so I ordered the spinach feta danish, tasty but that spinach stuck to my front two teeth like a Titanic survivor clinging to a raft. Grateful I didn’t smile at anyone before checking my teeth in the unisex bathroom mirror- also noticed my eyebrows had gone haywire in the heat. This is a pitfall of solo day tripping— who is looking out for the spinach in between your teeth or the state of your eyebrows? Time to bring back the compact mirror I guess, although I guess that’s been replaced by the selfie camera. 

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Refreshed, teeth all clear, I reached my car precisely at expiry time- a feat most satisfying- and plugged the next stop into Google maps: NC Museum of Art, where I had planned to meet my long-distance friend Buffy. I haven’t seen her in a couple years, but we picked up right where we left off. Our friendship is of that variety. I value her deeply, as she gives me what I crave: deep, meaningful, thought-provoking conversation and the best, most honest words of affirmation. I tried to balance taking in the art while tending to our conversation. I’m sure I skimped on my fullest attention to the art, but that’s okay. Hours passed so easily. 

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Finally it was time to part. I felt both lighter and fuller having had that time with her. Had it not been so hot and my belly so hungry, I would’ve snagged an available bike to ride the loop of sculptures. Next time. I drove back through rush hour traffic, rested at the room, then ventured to my second solo dinner at a bar, this time at Stir right across the street. I tried to eat blackened fish tacos as gracefully as possible & failed terribly & didn’t care. I was just happy to be in air conditioning, observing the busy hustle of the bartenders, and eating yummy food. I can’t underline enough how hot it was– even though I’m a FL girl. It was cooler back home! Plus, we have the beach to cool off. I learned that I couldn’t swim in any of the local lakes, so I nixed my SUP idea.

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Afterwards, I strolled the North Hills shops on this side by our hotel, photographing more murals. I ambled down to the green (an area of astroturf with a small stage and tiered concrete seating) & honored my inner child by hitting the Kilwin’s chocolate shop. Have I mentioned how hilly Raleigh is? Not San Fran hilly, but definitely hillier than this FL girl is used to, and my Charley horse calf began to ache & remind me of this morning. I made my way back to the hotel to meet Ry and even more colleagues at the rooftop bar. I imbibed one glass of moscato. One. 

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