Barton College

Scariest school yet: Barton College. Wilson, North Carolina is one of the most haunted areas in the country and not to mention in full preparation for Halloween. Here are some spooky events that happened during my visit:

1. Haunted hay ride through a corn field. This is where I came face to face with some of my worst fears like Jason, Pin Head, and that scary guy from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.


2. Legit haunted dorms. One of the rooms that I stayed near had a girl live there that would lock her door every night but a news paper would appear on her bedroom floor every morning... remind you the door was still locked. Yikes.


3. Random opening doors. I would walk into a room, talk with a few people and walk out and all the doors in the hall would be wide open. FACT this happened multiple times. (After the excitement it turns out it was someone tricking us all along, but still scary and made a few people cry.)

Besides the fact that I was pretty much fearful for my life because of ghosts... I had a fantastic time in Wilson. I got to attend multiple Barton College sporting events including volleyball, soccer, and softball. The weather was cool and fall was in full force majority of the time with leaves falling everywhere. I loved getting up in the morning to go for a run and drinking coffee on the balcony when I got back. Paranormal activity or not... Wilson, North Carolina is a fantastic place!

University of North Carolina Wilmington

Going to the beach in the middle of October... Yes please!! The University of North Carolina Wilmington is a beautiful beach side school located just off of Carolina Beach in North Carolina. This huge campus has everything from palm to pine trees giving the school a unique beachy feel with a dash of the North Carolina wilderness.

While visiting Wilmington I got to visit a lot of local hot spots. One of my favorites was Dockside Bar and Grill. This restaurant was right on the water overlooking the bay and had a dock where boats could just drive up, anchor, and come in for something to eat. I enjoyed a great meal while watching the sunset.

I also got to lay out at beautiful Carolina Beach. One day it was 88 degrees with no clouds so I took full advantage of the opportunity to work on my now non-existent tan. It was absolutely beautiful although much different than the white sand beaches I'm used to in Florida.

Finally, I got to visit Audriana's, a local restaurant that had the best lobster and crab cakes I had ever eaten. It was located right off the board walk in downtown Wilmington right near the huge battleship docked in the marina. While eating, Bibis and Black, a local band entertained the crowd during their final show in Wilmington. It was a lovely end to a wonderful trip to a beach town school.

Lenoir-Rhyne University

Lenoir-Rhyne University in quaint Hickory, North Carolina is a small school about this size of my high school. With only about 1,800 students, LR does not have too much going on but still put on a great party for homecoming!

The homecoming festivities began with a huge homecoming parade. Each organization on campus participates and competes to win the best float competition. I am pleased to say that the Delta Zeta's took home 1st place for the 4th year in a row with their "Jimi Hendrix" themed float.

The party continues with a huge barbecue in the parking lot outside of the stadium. With everything from sandwiches to banana pudding, the Lenoir-Rhyne alum come out in full force to support the Bears.

The night ends with a huge firework display at the stadium. I was very impressed with the turn out of fans and had a great time socializing with people from all over, including a family from Huntsville! Even though the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears didn't win that day, the Auburn Tigers did later that night against Kentucky. Thank goodness and War Eagle.

HUNTSVILLE!!!

So I got to go home for about 6 days and it was fantastic. Kevin came up from Auburn to visit and we all just relaxed, watched football, and of coarse went to Rosie's!! Even though I get to travel all over to new and exciting places, home is still where the heart is!

University of Rhode Island

Wow! Rhode Island is beautiful. The water, the trees, the beaches, its all wonderful. Before getting to URI I was a little intimidated thinking that everyone there would be straight out of New York City and own a summer home in the Hampton's; that was only true for half the people I met while visiting. The luxurious life style that some of these people are living is right out of the movies, but it isn't as common as one would think.

Either way the girls living in the sorority house at URI are not hurting in any way. Their personal chef makes grill to order meals from 7am to 1pm and then a buffet dinner at 6pm. I personally enjoyed the egg white omelet and pita pizza a few times...not to mention some of the best lobster cakes, clam pasta, and sushi ever. Yes, I've decided I was made to live a life of luxury in Rhode Island.

While there I also got to visit Newport. A quaint little ocean town with sail boats, bicycles, and oh yeah huge mansions. Try having the Vanderbilt's and Rockefeller's as your neighbors! Everything there was beautiful from the water to the cobblestone streets. Brittany, the girl who was kind enough to be my tour guide, took me to lunch at one of the nicest cafes in town and showed me all the neat shops and piers around Newport. I had the best time. In a couple of years you can send all mail to my new home's address....