yes, yes...

...i have returned from the south. we actually got in yesterday around 7pm but i was too tired to blog. So, for all of you who read this, get comfortable on your couch with your laptop or in your computer chair with your desktop as i regale our southern excursion.

we left home around 2pm thursday the 18th. by 10am i was already fidgeting to get on the road so you can probably imagine how excited i was when we finally turned out of our driveway. we drove until we hit VA. there, we stayed at a hampton inn. the room would have been fairly large if it had to house 2 or 3 people. however, with 5, it proved to be somewhat of a challenge. of course i took the pull-out couch, and my brothers shared the one queen bed, while my parents, naturally, shared the other. the next day, we headed to nashville, our first college stop. my mom made a reservation for Embassy Suites. the perk with that was they provided a shuttle from the hotel to Belmont University. my heart soared as my eyes rested on the nashville skyline. in all my years of going to tennessee, i have never visited nashville, so i was very excited to see the city. it's such a contrast between nyc. it's clean, crime rate is LOW, and it's growing day by day. now, dont get me wrong i love me some nyc but nashville is just...different.

anyway...we arrived at Embassy Suites around 3pm. this place was HUGE! 11 stories, 2 fountains, plush couches, comfortable chairs, breakfast bar where the cook will make you anything you want, and a steakhouse restaurant. the lobby and conversation place was gorgeous!! the elevators were the clear kind, the ones where it feels like you're on a rollercoaster because you can see down. amazing fun! however, our room was a bit small. 2 full-sized beds with a pull out couch. i took one of the full-sized and my parents shared the other. that night, however, i tossed and turned. the reason? my dad, only about 4 feet away, was snoring up a storm! so, i retreated to where the boys were sleeping and made a bed out of the plush chair.

The next day was the preview day for Belmont. i was very excited and could not wait to see the campus. basically, we toured the dorms, campus, had a Q&A, then went to our desired classes. i went to the communication's department. there, i was able to speak with the broadcasting teacher and see the equipment for the radio and tv stations. i peeked inside the tv station. the desk was oak, behind it was a green sheet, 2 huge cameras faced the desk; everything looked so professional.

i said, "dad, i want to be behind that desk." i really do...

after the official preview day was over, i stopped in the bookstore to buy a coffee mug and belmont sweatshirt, which is VERY comfortable by the way =). we then went in search for the admission's counselors. there, i met a guy (of course hahaa. it seems like everywhere i go, there's a cute guy. just my luck, huh? haha). His name was Chris and he was so adorable! chin length, razor cut, blonde hair, tall, blue eyes.

"Hey, i'm chris." he held his left hand out.

i fumbled with my papers, trying to get my right hand empty. "hi, i'm amanda."

wow, what a GRIP! so masculine. all the guys out there: you can be the hottest hunk in the world, but if you don't have a nice, rough handshake, i'm sorry, you're out!

surprisingly, my mom allowed him to walk with me to the admission's without her. i still think she was trying to see how he would act. sadly, the admission's office was closed, due to construction.

"no worries. you can just mail it in, no worries." he was so...californian. even though, i know, he wasn't from california. he was from...ohio or somewhere.

he asked me what my intended major was.

"Journalism," i answered with a smile.

"Oh, really? I'm kind of doing that. i'm minoring in photojournalism. hey, maybe we'll end up working together."

i laughed, "yea, maybe. that'd be cool."

by the time i said that, we had made our way to my parents, my dad eyeing the poor boy like he was a young antelope and my dad was a hungry lion. oh well! he spoke to my parents about...something then said bye.

we went back to the hotel and on opening the hotel room door, i immediately curled up in my cushioned chair bed and fell asleep for a good 30 minutes. Afterwards, we went to the steakhouse restaurant for some well-deserved grub. i had the chicken salad with honey mustard. AHH, it was to DIE for. the dessert was a brownie with vanilla icecream and whipped cream on top, the plate adorned with carmel and chocolate syrup. YUMSTERS!

the second day was spent touring the city of nashville in a horse and carriage. some pictures were taken but we mostly just sat and enjoyed the lively atmosphere. we returned to our room, exhausted but happy we spent our evening in the heart of the city. though we didn't get to see Music Row...hmm...oh well! the next day we would be on our way to wilmore, kentucky.

wilmore, ky--it's kind of funny driving from a big city to rolling hills of horse paddocks and estates! yep, that's the kind of area Asbury College is located in. the landscape was amazing, especially since the leaves were changing from green to bursts of red, orange and yellow. we arrived at Asbury College and immediately i sensed peace. a tranquil setting for a small college, very quaint. i toured the campus, went to chapel, and then met with my admission's councelor, josiah. he was so hilarious; he had my parents cracking up! a good hour was spent discussing my major, financial aid, scholarships, all that good stuff. finally, we were served lunch in the cafeteria. it was pretty good, then again, it is the south so everything HAS to taste excellent. we were on our way to lynchburg, virginia at around 4pm.

7pm we arrived in the town next to lynchburg (the name escapes me). my dad pulled into a gas station so my mom could ask directions. an elderly man walked up to the van. turns out, he is part of the choir for thomas road church, which is the church right next to liberty university! he gave my parents directions and we set off. in order to get to lynchburg you have to drive up a mountain, a mountain filled with S-turns. at night, my dad doesn't like to drive with people behind him; his eyes get all screwy. so, he pulled over to allow the vehicle pass. guess who it was? yup, the elderly man! my parents were certain he was taking us to our hotel-the wingate inn (which overlooks liberty). sure enough, he turned into the driveway of the inn. talk about a divine intervention! God is so good!! my dad paid the man but he didn't want money so he decided to put the money in the collection plate at church. (he was so cute! haha).

"well," he said, "i'll tell you one thing. God works in mysterious ways. Turns out i had a meeting at this hotel but i was a little late so i was going to go home. then you folks showed up and i guess God wanted me to go to the meeting!"

we checked into our room and it was larger than the one we stayed in the embassy for about $50 less! talk about a rip-off in nashville!! that night, i had one of the best sleeps i've ever gotten while on the road.

i had a 1:00pm appointment at Liberty University the next day. we chilled in the hotel until our appointment. my dad decided it would be time well spent if we drove around the campus, try to get a feel for the college and such. i'll be honest as soon as we drove up, my heart immediately sank. the architecture was unappealing and i really couldn't see myself attending such a large christian university. however, i wanted to keep the appointment, much to the disagreement of my parents and brothers.

we arrived at the visitor's center and a few minutes later, were ushered into a viewing room, where the liberty promo played. about 30 minutes later a tall guy walks in. he asks all of us (my family, a girl and her mom, and an elderly couple) where we all were from. he introduced himself as travis, a business major, from houston, texas.

I noticed he was tall, blue/grey eyed, blonde haired, and had well-defined arms. i wanted him to take a notice to me but kind of doubted it. that is, until we walked from the computer lab.

"so what major are you interested in?"

"Journalism." i answered as my stomach did flip flops. im sorry but my mind asked, is he really talking to me!?!?!

"Oh, i have a friend in journalism. he likes it. what other colleges are you looking into?"

"Umm..Belmont in nashville and Asbury in ky."

"Belmont...oh yea, my friend is at Belmont. he's majoring in music."

"yea, there's A LOT of music majors at Belmont."

by the time we ended our little conversation, we were outside in the courtyard. there, he and my dad struck up quite a lengthy conversation that lasted the entire tour. basically, he would be my dad's favorite. he loves to hunt and fish, actually he started the hunting club for liberty. my dad was talking to him about the heaven's saints, the motorcycle ministry he's involved in, turns out travis loves to ride. he also adores horses and is really excited about the equestrian program that is planning on starting up next year. =)

glances and words were slightly exchanged between the two of us. one point, we were in the high school affiliated with liberty (oh my word, is it gorgeous!!). again, my dad got caught up in a conversation with a junior in the high school about his motorcycle ministry. travis came up to me and tapped me on the arm. i turned around to find him bent close to my ear.

"i'm taking the others to the van. tell your parents to take their time, don't rush. just want to let you know where we're going."

"okay, thank you." i had a big ol' smile on my face. my mind screamed ahh, he whispered in my EAR!!!

yea i know...giddy school girl. leave me alone!!

so by the end of the tour, travis was asking my dad whole-heartedly for the movie he was in along with some other heaven's saints. we're sending him a copy soon. also, back in the visiting center, travis immediately pulled the heaven's saints website up on his computer and while i was waiting for my admission's councelor, the two were chatting up a storm. so all in all, a great day spent. i came back from the college visit, thinking it was excellent, along with belmont.

the decision needs to be made between the two. i don't think asbury is for me. it's too much like LCA. it's cute but...not for me. tomorrow i go with my class to NYC. should be interesting.

goodnight all!!