Back in Greenville

I must say my first impression of coming back was being hit in the face with the thick humidity and then I thought “the airport hasn’t changed”. In Houston you still had to go to that small round terminal for small “express” planes and in Greenville they still had that same ugly carpet in that weird geometrical pattern and that glass partition wall as you go down stairs. My flight was early going into Houston and then it got delayed leaving Houston for Greenville. But that worked out well because Darla had a class and wasn’t sure she would be there to greet me so the delay was nice because she was right there as I got out of the passenger area only. They did make a few changes like a new parking garage but that was all I noticed for the airport on the way into town was another matter. There were more stores and buildings and people learned how to use the merge lanes. I still recall being close getting involved in an accident as people would stop in the merge lane and let traffic pass until it was “clear” to get into the lane. Instead of being an offensive driver like I was used to being from California you had to be defensive. One major change was the front of campus is done and they definitely improved it for the better. Tomorrow Darla and I will wander around campus in the morning and I’ll take plenty of pictures the. I did see the Public Safety people and it made me chuckle.

Darla looked the same and her family was as gracious as ever. We met with Mr. and Mrs. Roue and Galen for dinner at Olive Garden and did the “Italian thing” where we sat around the table and talked over a delicious meal. I had forgotten that here in the South you had an option of sitting in the smoking or non-smoking area. Another reason why living in California has so spoiled me (besides the weather). Smoking inside an eating facility was abolished a few years ago in California. It’s all about that whole “healthy Californians are happy people” thing we have going on. Galen certainly changed from when I last saw him, of course he was still in high-school then. He now has earrings and a goatee. Fortunately Mr. and Mrs. Roue were still the same and they told me about their experience in China. It made me want to go! Darla and I stayed up watching Discovery Atlas: Australia on my computer while trying to figure out how to get to the church for the wedding tomorrow. Finally we gave up and decided to just find a place where we can hook up my laptop to a wireless network and go from there.