Friday afternoon I headed out to Wrightsville Beach with a friend- a group of us were spending the weekend out there. The best part of the weekend? Kayaking. We did the marshlands paddle. Didn't see much wildlife, but that's to be expected when your do a tour from 1100 to 1300. Not the best wildlife viewing time. (We did see some cool spiders on a dredge island. Cannot remember what they are called.)

For the second time this year, I went on a trip with a large group of people, didn't bring my car, and ended up feeling trapped and chained to people. I will bring my car the next time! That way, when it's decided that trying to go to dinner on a Saturday night in a group of 16 is a good idea, I can say, "No, thank you," and go find a Subway or something, so that when we end up back at the hotel at 8 PM and still have not been served by 8:50 (we were seated right away. I still did not have silverware 50 minutes later.) I don't have to walk out of the restaurant and go have a ham sandwich upstairs, because otherwise I am going to start breaking things.

So, rules: 1. Always bring your own car. 2. Never go out to dinner in a group of 16. (Max group size: 6. Can't really have a conversation with more than that many people anyway.) 3. Do not let your roommates talk you into letting two more people stay in your room. 6 people is too many in a room with only one shower.

I don't think the fact that I'd spent the week out of town helped the situation any.