Bohemian Ravine

Events from Wednesday, October 15, 2008:

When I caught up with Skip this day, I pulled off the road onto the nicest patch of grass I could find, so that we could have lunch under the trees. What I failed to realize in doing this was that the patch of grass I had chosen happened to be in front of a federal prison. It was not long before security came out to us and asked us what it was we were doing. I had learned by this point in the trip that it is just better if Skip speak with the authorities, instead of me.

On the road to Chapel Hill I passed a “Waterfowl Impoundment.” Really? Is this somewhere personal waterfowl is taken if people fail to make payments on them, or is this a place stray waterfowl is taken in the hopes that they are adopted by families interested in owning them as pets? I suppose I could Google the answer to that query, but it’s more fun for me to wonder.

It’s nice to be able to come back to Chapel Hill. I knew I loved this place the first time I came here, a decade ago when I traveled with the Harford Community College field hockey team, the Hooters, to play in the UNC tournament. There are only good memories for me here; every time I return I realize just how much I love it all over again.

For the duration of this stay, Skip and I crashed with one of Skip’s oldest friends, P., and P’s girlfriend, S. As soon as I walked up to their door I knew that it was going to be comfortable week. The sign, “Hippies Use Side Door,” was posted in the window of the front door, so I walked around and met P on the side. We chatted for a while, with P telling me that I was in what is affectionately referred to by the court as "Bohemian Ravine," before I let him return to his Ph.D. dissertation work. It wasn’t long before I was at the Open Eye Café in Carrboro catching up on writing of my own. Later that evening all four of us went down to the Southern Rail for the final presidential debate and the Season Finale of Project Runway.