Who Says You Can't Go Home?

I apologize for being out of commission on this blog for over a week now. It's because I've returned to my favorite place in the world.... home. It was quite eventful getting here. For those that have seen or spoken with me this week, you know of the traumatic yet hilarious mode of transportation I was provided with to return to Charlottesville from D.C. Deirdre's '98 Accord. Which had recently been broken into. The not-so-generous thief stole the entire stereo system (it was worth $80 in 2001... can you imagine his excitement when he saw that gem just waiting to be pawned?) and he used the window as his means of entering the car. When I first got into the car, the window was down about 5-6 inches. Bearable. I was more upset about having no music for the ride. I tried Pandora on my phone but it sucked up half of the battery before I got through one song. Great. Deirdre had warned me atleast seven times, "Do NOT put the window any further down. It will NOT go back up." Got it. For the first ten minutes of the drive anyways. Let's be honest, you too would try to roll the window UP, just to see if miracles do exist. Only when I went to see, I accidentally rolled the window DOWN another three inches, followed by "&$^@*!" Okay, understandable. Did I learn my lesson? Of course not. Soon after, I pulled into my Nana's apartment complex where there is a gate requiring you to check in with security. I pull up to the gate and as the security officer walks out of his booth, I start to roll my window down... naturally. As you can imagine, another "*%^$&!" The window is now halfway down. I wasn't looking forward to my drive home, but thankful that I got to spend a few hours with Nana before it was time. We had a great visit, enjoyed a delicious lunch, and I was sad to leave. Besides not wanting to leave Nana, I was also sad to leave because it had started raining now. Again, the window was now halfway down. Nana gave me a pair of gloves and a warm cup of coffee, and both I was very thankful for. Let's just say the ride to Richmond and then the ride to Charlottesville the next morning were both memorable road trips for me. I sent several messages to my sisters saying things like, "This would be funnier if I wasn't alone", "I'm wearing my hood... I look like the uni-bomber", "I'm freezing", "I keep going to turn the music up until I realize there is no stereo", etc. It seemed like the only words of encouragement they could muster up were, "HAHAHAHA", "omg", and "LOL." Especially when I sent this picture to them. It was all worth it in the end. When I got off the exit towards Barracks Road and was heading home on Garth, I finally took off my hood and enjoyed the view. Charlottesville in the Fall is beautiful. More to come!

"I went as far as I could, I tried to find a new face
There isn't one of these lines that I would erase
I left a million mile of memories on that road

It doesn't matter where you are, doesn't matter where you go
If it's a million miles away or just a mile up the road
Take it in, take it with you when you go
Who says you can't go home?

Who says you can't go home?
There's only one place that call me one of their own
Just a hometown boy, born a rollin' stone
Who says you can't go home?"

-Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora