May 2022 - TC Turns THIRTY!!
- Samantha Kate Cleary
- Oct 13, 2022
- 8 min read
May 2022 — TC Turns THIRTY!
May 2022 was filled with weddings, family, best friends and one VERY special birthday!
When we left in March, we knew there were some things we would need to finish on the build of the van. So the beginning of May was spent at our parent’s houses making modifications. One of the first things we did was add a second fan over the bed. We had one already, and we were cool for the most part, but we knew we would need some extra help through the summer. The second van helps the air flow better. It also acts well as a white noise machine, so even if we don’t need it for the air, we still run it to drown out the noises of Walmart parking lots. :)
TC’s mom has a covered RV spot at her house from the previous owners. It has lights and power. There was rain in the forecast so we parked there for a couple days to install the fan and work on the leaks. We were very thankful for that spot! Scott, his stepdad, even let us use his saw horses. That is the first time during the entire build we actually used saw horses instead of tables and sidewalk curbs. We felt like we were working in luxury! Mom's house also has a hot tub, so I enjoyed some coffee in the hot tub before work one morning. It was perfectly peaceful!
Another big modification that we made was redoing the bed. The bed has been a huge debate through the build and we have changed it many times! After a few weeks on the road, we realized that the direction of the bed wasn’t working. I was having to crawl over T during the night to go to the bathroom which wasn’t feasible. We decided to keep the mattress the same direction, but build an extension to the bed platform. The bed platform now extends into the back windows. We bought another mattress that we cut to fit the perfect outline of the windows. The mattress is cut into five layers and covered with a sheet. Now, our heads are right at the windows. Our feet sometimes hang off the end, but we don’t mind it. This modification has been huge for us to get a good nights rest.
In the third picture below, you can see the bed extension and the indention of where the doors perfectly close.
After many, many failed attempts to get the sink working, we finally were able to put water in the tank! We lost a piece during the moving and shuffling. When we tried to get a replacement piece, the company sent us the wrong part 4 times and sent it to the wrong state once. We finally made the parts we had work.
While at TC’s dad’s house we were able to show TC’s PaPaw the van. He was so excited to get to see our home and was impressed with all the places we had been!
After most of the work was done, we headed to Raleigh! Our first stop was to our old neighborhood! We became great friends with our neighbors during the pandemic and we missed them so much!! We brought pizza and sat outside our house in our lawn chairs. It was the most perfect evening! We knew our tenants were moving into the house a few days later. Our tenants moving in made the van living even more real. We were glad to get one last night in our front yard with our neighbor friends!
Our first wedding of the month was in Graham, NC. After the rehearsal, we headed to Saxapahaw to the Haw River for the evening! We were feeling exhausted from the late nights of working on the van so being back in the outdoors was exactly what we needed. We watched the sunset over the river and made dinner in the parking lot of the trail head. It was the perfect, peaceful evening before a big wedding day!!
The next weekend, we had another wedding! TC’s Dad married sweet Debbie at the cabin in Laurel Springs, NC. It was a beautiful weekend filled with so much love and the most beautiful sunset! After the wedding, T and I went down to put our feet in the river. PaPaw was very concerned about us getting in the water in our wedding clothes. He’s the cutest!
Charleston + Savannah
TC decided for his birthday he wanted to go to Savannah. We’d never been and were very excited! On our way to Savannah, we stopped in Charleston for a couple days! We absolutely love Charleston!! It is the first place we took The Canoe a couple weeks after we bought it. We were so excited to be back!
While driving to Charleston, the Flex Seal Tape on our solar panels started flapping in the wind. We were worried about the van leaking and were about to go into several rainy days. (This would have been a different leak than our usual leaks ;) ) We quickly got in touch with one of my MooMoo's besties that lives right outside of Charleston to ask if we could borrow a ladder for a few minutes. She said absolutely! We headed to their house after work to inspect the damage. Thankfully, there wasn't any damage to the solar panels or the roof. We were able to put some extra sealant on and we were on our way! Before we left, they invited us to stay for pizza and ice cream! We were so thankful for their hospitality when we were in a pinch!! (SO much gratitude to Steve and Linda!!!)
On Wednesday night, I needed to get some more steps in order to reach my 10,000 step goal so we took off after work and just started walking. We ended up at the Dueling Piano Bar. T and I LOVE a piano bar. We went to Rum Runners of Raleigh, a dueling piano bar, on our first date. And many dates after that until it closed down. (RIP) We had no intention of going to a bar, but we couldn’t resist. When we heard the familiar sound, we sprinted inside! We didn’t stay too long, but we stayed long enough to hear my favorite dueling piano song! It was the best evening! Every piano bar I go in reminds me of the night we met and started our journey together. While walking back to the van, we reminisced about that night in 2015. Two strangers connected by their love of a dance floor and a good time. We are SO thankful
for that night all those years ago and look forward to all the piano bars we will discover in the years to come!
TC’S BIRTHDAY SURPRISE!!!
I had some tricks up my sleeve for TC’s 30th birthday! He knew we were going to Savannah, and he knew we had an Airbnb to stay in, but that’s all he knew. When we arrived on Thursday, I dropped him off at a coffee shop so I could run some errands. I take birthdays VERY seriously. There is nothing I love more than some good birthday festivities!
When I moved in with the boys, I started a couple birthday traditions. There is always a birthday banner hanging in the house when the birthday boy wakes up. I would either hang it in the kitchen or on their door. I also would blow up several birthday balloons and scatter them in front of their bedroom door. I would wake up extra early on birthday mornings to be sure everyone felt special on their big day!! After work, we always had key lime pie, complete with a birthday hat and birthday candles. I made sure to hide the pie in the fridge so the birthday boy wouldn’t see it, even though they knew the tradition was to have pie. Key Lime Pie is all four of our favorite desserts, so it is a celebration staple. I am so thankful for all the times the boys went along with my shenanigans!
In January 2021, T and I went to a surprise 30th birthday party. He asked me on the way home if I would ever want a surprise party. I said no. lol A surprise social function isn’t my thing, but he said he would love one! I thought 30 was a little obvious since we had just gone to one, but I figured a surprise 30th party on the road - he would never expect that! Fast forward to January 2022, I started putting a bug in the roomie’s ears about meeting up on the road. T finally finalized the location of Savannah so I got to work with making plans. The boys and our friends Sam and Casey were going to join us for the weekend! T had no idea!
On Thursday, while T was at the coffee shop, I went to the Airbnb and decorated. Birthday banner, birthday balloons, birthday hats, check check check! We were ready for a party!! Sam and Casey were arriving Thursday evening. After I picked T up from the coffee shop, we ran to the store to grab some groceries. When we arrived at the AirBnB Sam and Casey came around the corner with a beer in hand to give to T. He was so surprised!!! It was the best surprise, but I wasn’t quite done :)
Joey & Andy couldn’t make it until Friday afternoon after work. T looked all through the house for them on Thursday evening. There were three bedrooms in the AirBnB, so he just knew they were going to pop out as well. I told him that J+A couldn’t make it. I asked them, but they already had plans. He was bummed. He said he looked up Joey’s location earlier in the day and he was in fact in Raleigh. I then had to call Joey and tell him to turn off his location!! Haha Joey went a step further. He had his brother sign into his snap account on Friday morning and post a picture from Indiana on his way to the Indie 500. It totally threw TC off.
Friday morning, we woke up and had sprinkle pancakes with candles and a birthday hat-another birthday essential.
We then set-off to explore Savannah. It was a rainy day, so we looked for indoor activities and found a bar with duckpin bowling. I had never heard of duckpin bowling. It was super fun! It has miniature pins and bowls. You also have to set the pins back up yourself. In one of the best moments of Trent Cleary’s life, he bowled a strike, turned around while giving a big fist pump and there stood Joey and Andy!! He was so happy!!
After bowling, we went to a bar in a hotel. You had to have a room key to get to the bar, but we’d heard it was super cool, so we decided to hitch a ride with someone else. We went up in shifts. T, Joey, and I got on one elevator with this other couple. The doors closed and we all stood there. They were waiting for us to scan our room key, and we were waiting on them to scan theirs. Once we realized what was happening, we all started heehawing! We got off the elevator as a unit and waited until the next person got on with a room key. We eventually made it up to the bar. It had a slide and was definitely a fun vibe!
The next day, we had a trolley pub planned. A trolley pub is a great way to learn a city! We had so much fun! We played beer pong and pool along the way! That evening, we found a dueling piano bar, so obviously we had to go in! It was the best day spent exploring the city with our besties!
On Sunday, we decided to take a little drive to Tybee Island for a beach day! We loaded everyone up in the van and headed out! It was the perfect day to be on the beach! We played more beer pong and relaxed in the sun. Overall, TC’s 30th birthday could not have been a better experience! He was so happy and we all had the best time! Thankful for friends that are willing to travel to see us!
After we left Savannah, we headed back to Raleigh to prep for another wedding. It was a super hot day, so we started researching water holes on our way back. (There’s an app for that, of course!) We found Edisto River in SC for a quick dip before heading on. Our last exciting stop of TC’s birthday weekend was the new Buc-ee’s in SC. TC absolutely LOVES Buc-ee’s! So it was the perfect end to the best birthday weekend!
Additional random photos, there are a lot:
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