Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend kind of snuck up on me. Between my full load of classes and my two jobs, I was caught flat-footed when I was told that I would have a three day weekend. Huh? Days off? In a row?! This morning, I found myself with a true case of cabin fever. Breakfast lasted a matter of minutes (I have gotten into the habit of inhaling my cereal and yogurt in my efforts to be on time for work) and Saturday morning cartoons are pitiful since the invention of let's-sell-a-card-game-who-needs-plot-animation, so by 11 a.m. I was ready to jump in my car and drive until I hit a beach. Unfortunately, like any smart cookie, I realised that I needed a traveling buddy. This is the person who reads the map, helps welcome or deflect attention from the opposite sex, and makes rude gestures to other drivers while my hands are full. (Ten and two!) My previous buddy lives in another state these days. (Well, two states. New York and Wedded Bliss. Both are great, just hard to get to.)
My best candidate for the role of new traveling buddy was pretty booked today. Unlike me, this person was well aware of the looming weekend and had planned accordingly. Instead of going for a random road trip, I was inviting along to run errands and grab some lunch. Did I get snooty and say, "Nay, the open road calls to me and I must answer!" Nope. "Okey-dokey," worked just fine and I had a good time tagging along to a hair salon, a grocery store, and the ever popular Target. Call me simple, but running errands with a friend seemed like a tiny adventure all in itself. I've live in this city for over a year now, but I saw new back roads to take, found where the "arty" movie theater was hidden, found out that the difference between hiking backpacks and school backpacks are about $50, and learned that there is a cheap, but yummy Mexican restaurant within ten minutes of my apartment.
My wander lust for the day was satisfied and I had a lot of fun in the process. Monday, I might make some fancy sandwiches the way my grandmother makes them and see see if my friend would like to get out of Dodge for the day, but for now, I am happy.