Brandon and Daisy Attack the Carolinas 2026, Part III: Overblown

We have gone to, and returned from, North Carolina safe and sound. We're fine, the cats are fine, and all is as it should be. 

So, let's tell the story.

The Uber picked us up normally and we got to the airport without issue, bracing for long security lines, to find....nothing. We had zero wait, we got our suitcases checked and got through security without issue, even though one of the TSA ladies was a bit snippy with Daisy. We arrived at our gate with plenty of time to spare. 

I should just come out and address this now, because otherwise you folks may think that it's going to hang over our heads throughout the entire story of this trip -- there were no TSA problems anywhere we flew through when traveling, neither there nor on the way back. It was one of the smoothest traveling experiences of our lives, and easily the fastest trip down to NC (and back) that we've ever had when it comes to the airports. Even in Chicago, which was being hyped as a nutty airport for security screenings and TSA agents (and one of the few airports that had ICE move in on Monday) -- nothing. I will repeat that for the record here: nothing. Zero issues. The way that O'Hare is built, you will walk past security on the other side of the gates a lot, and I saw zero lines and zero ICE agents. Nothing. 

And then you watch the news and it's hyped up about how people are having six-hour-plus security delays, and there's video of long lines at airports and reports of half of the TSA workers calling in sick or quitting and...folks, it's really overblown. I've read hundreds of comments on these news stories online that are voicing similar experiences to ours -- it's all media hype. Nobody is having any issues, and in fact a lot of the comments are that the TSA folks are there in abundance and being cheerful and helpful as always. Which -- aside from the one rude TSA lady here in Omaha -- was exactly what we experienced. They were all awesome folks. No waiting, nobody yelling, no problems seen or found. 

I'm not saying the news reports aren't accurate for certain places and certain airports -- I can't tell you one way or the other on that -- but I can tell you that we saw nothing of the chaos that's being portrayed daily on your television screens, so...take your news reporting with a grain of salt, please. It's nowhere near as bad as the media is making it sound.

I looked damn good while traveling, though.

Anyway.

We arrived in Wilmington with no issue, picked up our rental car (another Chevy Malibu) with no issue, went to Sealevel City Vegan Diner for lunch and picked up some light groceries at Whole Foods after, and were at the house on the island well before dark, for once. We sat up with my parents for a bit and eventually all of us went to bed at varying times. 

And that was a week ago today now, last Friday. 

When we awoke Saturday morning, we started making plans with my parents what we'd be doing for the week. Both of us were fairly groggy -- not jet lagged, just tired from traveling so long the day before -- and as such, were more agreeable than I'd normally care to be. My mother wanted us to go to something called the "Spring Fling" on the island's fairgrounds/park area, the same place that they always do the farmer's market and craft fairs in the summer and fall. 

"What is it?" I asked.

"They have a bunch of vendors and food and live music," my mother said.

"Sure," I replied. Aside from the live music, it sounded like pretty much any other farmer's market/craft fair we'd been to there over the years, except it was being done on a Saturday and not a Monday. 

Now mind you, as I'd mentioned before, I had pulled out a fair amount of cash for this trip, much like I do for other trips. Walkin' around money, basically. It was for stuff like this -- places I knew either wouldn't take anything but cash or where cash would just be easier and with less hassle. So, we went.

It didn't take long before we found a booth selling really gorgeous, professionally-done tie-dye for...well, not expensive prices. When I say "not expensive," I mean that if I were to buy tie-dye stuff off Amazon, it would easily run me $30 or so for a shirt that I would know, for a fact, would shrink if I washed/dried it on too warm of a setting. These folks were selling shirts starting at $10, and they were shirts worth buying. 

Now, I will tell you, I don't need more tie-dyed clothing. Ever, likely for the rest of my life. What I have now is adequate and will last me many years, and I am happy with it. I have too much clothing as it is. But it was there, and we had cash, and Daisy found a tie-dyed shawl/wrap that was gorgeous and gorgeous on her, for $25 or so. I told her I'd get it for her. And then, in the back of the rack, I found the holy grail I'd been looking for for many years.

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted a rainbow spiral tie-die hoodie. I could not make one myself; it would be prohibitively expensive and if I screwed it up and the colors came out wrong, it would be really hard to bleach back to white without destroying it. It was one of those projects I was never able to tackle and thus never tried to do. And on the back of that rack, in my size, was a rainbow spiral tie-dyed hoodie. For $45. 

I'd seen similar hoodies online sell for $60 or more, usually higher. And yet, here was one that was not only affordable, but I will stress, in my size, which...well, the odds of that happening are generally astronomically against me. I immediately purchased it, and it is proudly hanging in my closet in our master bedroom now. I have not yet worn it, but I have washed it to make sure it's not going to bleed or shrink. No, I don't have pictures.

So, the "Spring Fling" was a success. We returned home and ate lunch, and I believe both of us passed out again in the mid afternoon/evening hours. And that was our first day there.

We'd made preliminary plans for the entire trip, but they were loose plans at best. I'd spoken with my mother and asked when she wanted to do stuff with us, and we'd made a sort of mental calendar for it. This is what that calendar consisted of:

Friday: Arrive
Saturday: Spring Fling
Sunday: Lunch at the parents' favorite Mexican place, then live music in the evening at American Fish Company

Monday: Trip to Wilmington, to Gabe's
Tuesday: Trip to Wilmington to go to Sealevel City again and pick up bagels from Seaside Bagel for us and Daisy's parents to bring home
Wednesday: Return to Omaha

It was a six day trip with two of those days being travel days, and with not a lot to do that didn't include the parents while we were there. Which, honestly, was the overall plan. My goal for the trip was to relax and detach myself from responsibilities and from the daily grind -- to sleep when I needed to, eat some good food here and there, and to not think or worry so much about anything going on at home. 

Well, we got to accomplish some of those things....