Brandon and Daisy Attack the Carolinas 2026, Part II: Free, At Last

 (written between 30 and 5-ish hours before the trip)

My body hurts and my brain aches, but I am free and on vacation until March 29. 

There's still a lot to be done before we're wheels up to North Carolina tomorrow. My to-do list seems short and inconsequential, but in reality, it is full of tasks that will take time to complete. We also need to be able to eat and get some sleep too.

"Thought I would remind you guys," my dad texted us this afternoon, "it's the peak of pollen season now."

Allergies in NC are generally unreal at the best of times. I always make sure to take allergy pills with us when we go, because we almost always need them even in the midst of summer. There's just something about the climate and sea air there that is really irritable to my allergies, and to some extent Daisy's too. I acclimate to it after a couple of days, but ironically we're usually only there for a couple of days, and this time around that's no exception -- we're there for five days, in and out.

The Catsitter came over tonight, picked up her money and the keys, and sat with us and the cats for a bit. I still marvel at how much our cats are put at ease by her. All of them came out to see her, she helped us give them Churus, and all of them hung out with us and got attention from her. Cats can sense good vibes in a person, I think. It's part of why she puts me immediately at ease as well. 

At this point, all of the major stuff is taken care of around the house. Daisy prepped the pans earlier tonight, and I'll finish prepping the extra food for them in the morning. Mail is on hold, travel notices are on my credit cards, the Uber to the airport has been reserved, and Daisy has found her travel pants. 

And of course, I have insomnia. 

It's almost 2am and I can't sleep. I planned to sleep tonight and take care of everything left during the day tomorrow while Daisy worked (yes, she chose to work, get off a little early, finish up everything, sleep, and then essentially jump on a plane) and she was passed out within 20 minutes or getting out of the shower tonight. I am not as lucky; depending on how and when I sleep, I may be up for a very long time trying to get everything done, especially if I don't sleep that well tonight at all. 

Twelve hours later....

So, I have slept. It wasn't a lot, and wasn't enough, but I have slept.

We're checked in for our flights, everything is in its places, and all of the stuff around the house has been done. Daisy and I had a nice, delivered dinner from Veg.Edible, and she took care of a lot of the little things around the house before and during my evening nap. She is in bed now and will awaken an hour before the Uber gets here to do the last few things left.

I remain cautiously optimistic about the TSA situation. I don't think we'll have a lot to worry about there, but I'm also not an optimist overall; I am a realist. I find myself second-guessing whether I should've booked the Uber for 3 or 3:30 instead of the 4:15 trip I actually booked. The flight is wheels up at 7 and boards at 6:30, so theoretically that should be more than enough time, but what if a billion people are flying out of Omaha this morning for some reason?

It's this last few hours before the trip where I question everything and my anxiety flares up. What if the lines are longer than we've ever seen before? What if the vapes I've packed are duds and won't work? What if the nicotine gum is not enough to sustain me while I'm locked in airports? What if we have to wait multiple hours on a rental car?

Those of you who know me well know that I hate long travel trips -- I want to get to my destination as quickly as possible and then just be there and be done. I don't like lines, I don't like waiting, I don't like being around large groups of people, and I certainly do not like delays. There's a possibility I'll have to deal with all of those today, and if not today, then when we return on Wednesday. 

There's also the concept that the anticipation of the trip is more exciting than the trip itself, and the comedown from it once I've returned and no longer have anything to look forward to can be and frequently is devastating.

I don't like leaving the cats. I never do. Realistically I know they will be fine, and they likely would be just fine even if we hadn't gotten the catsitter, but I still do not like leaving them at all. It's psychological for me. They're an emotional support system I won't have while traveling, and I go through this mental pain before every trip I go on. I recognize this, of course. The parents' dogs, while we love them, just isn't the same. 

So, here's the rough plan for the next few hours before we hop in the Uber...

1. I will consume as much caffeine as possible, but also as much liquid as possible since I'd rather not be dehydrated all day. This possibly sounds counter-intuitive to you as we'll be on two different planes today, but I can tell you that trips like this are draining, and for diabetics like me this really is the best option.
2. I will take what I refer to as a "stop pooping" pill -- essentially, an anti-diarrheal that when taken while I don't have diarrhea will "lock up" my digestive system for about 24 hours or so, on purpose. This virtually guarantees I won't have a shit attack in an airport or restaurant bathroom that could jeopardize the trip. You may think that's funny, but last year my stomach attacked me on the way home from visiting my parents, in the airport, and it put the return trip in danger because when it happens, it happens, and it's either shit my pants in full view of the public or be forced to spend 20ish minutes on an airport toilet no matter whether I want to or not. 
3. I will take allergy pills, because apparently...peak of "pollen season" in NC. I've also made sure to put not one, not two, but three packs of travel tissues into my backpack pockets. 
4. I will make sure my phone and vape are both charged fully and completely before stepping out of the house. I won't get a real chance to charge my phone again until we're home on the island, and I'll be using it a fair amount in the 12-15 hours it takes to get from here to there. My vape I won't be able to touch for approximately eight hours between two airports, but believe me, I will need that full charge as soon as I am outdoors. Yes, I have nicotine gum at the ready. 
5. I will, of course, take my daily pills from the bottles I have here at home, not from the travel pill box I'm taking with me, so that in an emergency I will have an extra set of my meds.  
6. I will ready my timecard for work -- this takes about ten minutes or so -- to reflect my vacation. I have already gotten the PTO approved, of course, but I have to make adjustments to the other days on the calendar because my job's timecard operates on a M-F 9a-6p schedule, and my actual work schedule is not that, so I just have to make sure there are 40 hours on the clock for the week no matter what so red flags don't get raised in the system about it. It's stupid, but it is what it is. I've had to do it for every vacation I've ever taken since starting there, and even for some holidays where the system has said that even though it's a holiday and marked as such, I should be putting in the 8 hours to compensate -- by hand. Yeah. It's all dumb.
7. Even though it's warm here (even in the middle of the night) I will be putting on a hoodie as I'll need it while I'm traveling and will not be stuffing it into my backpack. It may be uncomfortable on the planes but I will need the front pocket and I will absolutely need it while on the trip, as it will be slightly cooler there than it will be here while we're gone (go fuckin' figure, right?).
8. I will do a final check of the house to make sure doors are locked and secure, everything that needs to be left on is on and everything that needs to be turned off is turned off, and I will do a physical check/count of the cats to make sure they are all okay, safe, and aren't locked in any rooms. Even though I always do this, it makes me wildly paranoid after I've left the house that somehow, somewhere, I've forgotten something. 

Look, these posts here as I run down through these things in my head are more for me than they are for you, and I realize and recognize that. Leaving for a trip is stressful and exciting all at the same time. I have always had anxiety issues and since the pandemic I've fought harder than ever to rein them in to minimize their impact to my daily life. That becomes very difficult when stressful situations arise and I am forced to deal with that stress whether I want to or not. 

That anxiety is also why I've stacked these posts -- I will never, ever mention my actual travel dates online anywhere until after I have returned safely. Doing so beforehand, and even talking about it on Facebook or someplace similar while we're gone, is wildly stupid -- it's basically a notification with big flashing lights saying "hey, we're not home, come rob us" and yeah, I'd rather not do that. 

Anyway. Skyward.