8. visit three places i've never been before.

i don't think i mentioned it in the post about the birthday party, but going to the party meant driving to virginia. since i've never been there before, i've got one out of my "three places i've never been before" done for the year. and in case i didn't mention it, it was a fabulous time. my mom made the trip with me, and we didn't tell anyone we were coming. i took a couple days off work and we tag-teamed the 15 hour drive. since the 15 hours included stopping for meals & gas & such, i didn't think that was too bad. and completely surprising the birthday girl's mom was totally worth it. as a bonus, on the way home we drove through louisville, which gave use the opportunity to stop & have dinner with friends of ours there. a very good weekend, even if it was a very quick trip. i want to go back to virginia in the fall, driving through the mountains as the leaves change. it won't count as a place i've never been before... but it's going to be beautiful. and besides, there are good people in virginia. i should see them more often.