More proof that it’s a small world coming up.

So, to continue the story from Sunday: following a tasty breakfast (thanks, Mom!) we hit the road at about 10:30. We figured we’d try a shortcut through South Carolina, cutting off the boring stretch of I-85 through Gastonia and Charlotte, to reach Carowinds which is south of Charlotte, on the NC/SC state line. So I’m driving along, about a mile and a half before our exit, when I notice a car in the left lane pass quickly, then suddenly slow down. It takes a moment to register…red Explorer…rainbow paw, cool…Maryland plates…hmmm…”I’d rather be playing pinball” license holder…holy crap, it’s Brophey! I pulled up next to him and waved and he almost drove off the road 🙂 We both pulled off at the next exit and had a nice chat. He was headed from Atlanta to Baltimore, and just happened to pass by right before we left the interstate. It was a pleasant surprise, and kind of livened up the trip.

The shortcut through South Carolina actually was a shortcut – it probably shaved about 15 minutes off the trip, and it was a pretty drive too. Carowinds was fun – we picked up our season passes (since we’ll be driving past Kings Dominion at least twice this summer and the pass is good there, too), and we got to ride Vortex (Arrow), The Hurler (woodie), The Carolina Cyclone (stand-up), Drop Zone (freefall-type ride), and Thunder Road forwards and backwards (their racing coaster). We skipped Top Gun and Ricochet, their new Wild Mouse, because both had too many people in the queue; most every other ride was walk-on.

We left at about 4 PM and decided to try a new way home from Charlotte, by way of Rockingham and Southern Pines. Let’s just say that this is not a short-cut and leave it at that. Bleah.