Back From My Surprise Road Trip To Chapel Hill

It was so exciting to get in the car and only know that I would be away for three days. I had no idea where we were going! I got a big thrill out of seeing which interstate and direction we started off on.

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Memorable details:

• Benjamin stopping for gas at the Dollywood exit to mess with me. Hilarious!
• A surprise visit to my sister in Asheville (that was a surprise to me, not her!). Indian food and desert at Kilwin's candy shop.
• Fending off my sister's roommate's mischievous cat, Stupidface, who was intent on knocking over a lamp and my glass of water! Silly cat... Made me appreciate Gracie.
• Realizing we were headed toward Chapel Hill, home of Superchunk, an old favorite of mine, and a great 90's college rock scene!
• Checking out the cool shops in Chapel Hill and buying Gene Simmons' autobiography, a Serge Gainsbourg biography, a vintage Esprit t-shirt dyed UNC blue, and a Morrissey pin featuring Elvis.

• Eating quesadillas at Spanky's where they gave us free koozies and there were caricatures featuring famous UNC grads. The portrait of Billy Crudup looks just like our friend, P.J.
• Having a pre-show beer at a local hipster dive, where we would later dominate the jukebox after the show.
• 24 oz. tall boy PBR's at every bar and grocery? We're used to 16 oz. tall boys. Benjamin was impressed by this. I drink Miller Lite.
• Buying burritos at a taco truck. A little girl walked past and asked her parents if they could get ice cream, thinking it was an ice cream truck. Cute!
• Knowing we were going to see a band, but not knowing which one until Benjamin handed me my ticket as we walked to the venue. ...Superchunk! Holy shit!
• A graffitied Lemmy flicking us off behind the Cat's Cradle. More koozies!

• Some dude in the opening band saying, "Happy birthday, everyone." Whaaaat? (The trip was a birthday gift from Benjamin to me.)
• Mac saying, "This is practice for us," before launching into a set made up of mostly old Superchunk songs from the first few records. A highlight for me was Water Wings, from my favorite album, Foolish.

* Click to see a video! *

• Jumping up and down with Benjamin--very, very happy!
• Going to a little venue called 506 after the show, where some guy named Charlie Mars played. He's apparently famous as people kept having their photos taken with him and asking for autographs. Benjamin and I bombed a photo. Haha...
• Back to the dive to play Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, Conway Twitty (represent Nashville!), Mission Of Burma, Jawbreaker, Jets To Brazil, and some other stuff.

• Eating at Time Out, a 24-hour barbecue place that was ammmazing! We need one in Nashville.
• Stopping in Whole Foods the next day before heading home to get a friend some local coffee. The cashier referred to Benjamin's King Khan & The Shrines shirt and asked, "Is that a band or a brewery?" Ha! King Khan needs a brewery.
• Listening to a good classic country AM station while driving back through Pigeon Forge.

When Benjamin and I first bonded over our love for Superchunk, I told him a little story about back when I was a freshman in high school. Whenever anyone asked what I wanted for my 15th birthday, I would answer, "I want Superchunk to play my backyard!" Obviously unrealistic pie-in-the-sky--without a doubt it wasn't going to happen--but that was my grand wish, and it was fun to say. All these years later, Benjamin has made my Superchunk wish come true! Close enough, anyway. I got to see Superchunk live in their own backyard instead of mine, but I'll take it.

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Filed in: Life by Annie Spandex.