As our time in NC winds to a close, I wanted to thank the Tar Heel State for being our lovely host for the past two years.  The time we've spent here will never be forgotten and was influential in putting us on the path we are headed.  I'd like to share some final thoughts about our time here below.

First off, I'd like to personally thank the everyone involved at the NC State Fair.  Not only did we attend the fair itself for the last two years, but we also enjoyed various other activities that took place at the fairgrounds such as the Greek Festival, 4th of July, Got to Be NC Festival, coin shows, boat shows, and of course the flea market.  Conveniently located near our apartment, there were (mostly free) events almost every weekend and if we found ourselves in need of something to do we'd first look at the fairgrounds schedule.

As much as traffic is mostly bad on I-40 and I-440, it was nice to finally live in an area where the interstate was accessible.  Back in Kentucky, 3/4 of the city basically had to drive 20 min or more to even get to the on ramp of the closest interstate.  Even out of Cary where we live there were 3 interstate exits within 15 min of each other.  I know this is kind of a silly thing to write about, but it was one of the first things I noticed when I started living here.

No reflection post of mine is complete without mention of food.  The Raleigh/Cary area provided a multitude of restaurants, some I had only seen in far away bigger cities.  My first trip to Ruth's Chris Steak House was in Cary.  We got to enjoy the mostly Canadian based Jack Astor's.  Other restaurants like California Pizza Kitchen and the Cheesecake Factory were so far away back in Kentucky it wasn't worth the drive, but both were basically right down the street here.  I was able to regroup with long lost sandwich shop Jersey Mike's which was based in downtown Lexington when I was in college but closed relatively quick.

Finally and most importantly, we got married in North Carolina.  Sure it wasn't a big wedding with all the fanfare and such but we were married on our dream date of 10/10/10.  Our wedding for $80 at the Wake County Public Safety Center was perfect for us.  It's really about the couple, not the circumstances.  I love my wife Karen and everything about her and couldn't ask for anything more.  It's also going to put a lot less stress on the wedding celebration we're putting on this fall for family and friends to commemorate our first year of marriage.

Our time in NC served as a platform for the future.  As we start our Florida journey in just 2 weeks' time, I couldn't have asked to be in a better position.  I'm slowly learning that life is nothing but a bunch of beginnings, and this could be our biggest one yet.

We'll miss you North Carolina, you really do hold a piece of our heart.