Day 153-159: US Pit Stop

When your childhood best friend is getting married in South Carolina and your orthodontist in Baltimore needs to check on your smile, it’s time for a US PIT STOP!

Mary with her passport in hand trained to Berlin to meet with Kieran who trained from Brussels. The cheapest flight to North Carolina was Berlin so we booked American Airlines and British Airline flights home. Of course, President Zelenskyy from Ukraine was visiting Berlin at the same time so all trains were cancelled for security reasons. We met a young woman from Bulgaria who needed to make a wedding as well so we hopped into an Uber together and hit the airport.

It was a long flight to Heathrow London and then to North Carolina. Mary had one more flight to Baltimore. She got in at 11:30pm and snuck into the house of good friends Tom, Emily, and Stella for a snooze. It was awesome to catch up in the morning before heading to the orthodontist and flying to Charleston. She also got to see the beginning of Fleet Week in Baltimore and grab some Towson Hot Bagels (THB). Meanwhile, Kieran’s parents picked him up from the airport and drove home to Granite Falls for the evening.

Next day we converged at the Charleston airport and attended an awesome pre-wedding dinner with the Shirleman Family and many others. Fiancés Alex and Caroline were so gracious with their time by sitting with us and catching up with Kieran. We also got great one on one time with their siblings.

Wedding day we walked around Charleston downtown, got some lunch, and cleaned ourselves up for the wedding. During the wedding we hung out with Alex’s uncle and talked shop regarding the NRO and other fun Navy things. Kieran was lucky because he was placed at the same table as the bride and groom and got to sit next to Alex during the dinner. Wedding was awesome, drinks were strong, and Mary called it quits at 10:30pm from all the jet leg. Kieran and his parents somehow made it to the dualing piano bar until 12:30am.

Next day we ventured to Folly beach with Alex’s sibling Davis, girlfriend Iris, and roommate Flynn. We soaked up the sun and warm water all day while playing jackpot with friends and the bride/groom.

Our final day in America was Father’s Day so we went to IHOP and a delicious Chinese restaurant with Bert and Susan: we got Bert some beer from Bavaria Germany for Father’s Day. After dinner, drove to the airport for a red eye to Heathrow London and took advantage of a credit card perk for free lounge access during our 7 hour layover. We got into Berlin around 8:30pm.

The biggest culture shocks being back in America was hearing English all the time, going into Walmart with guns, and seeing the prices in Charleston ☠️ America is not cheap and Austria is looking pretty affordable right now… Czytaj więcej