Tar Heel Sun-Dee

Sun-Dee morning, day three of my trip to Durham to visit my GG friend Renee and her husband John. John is a professor at the somewhat famous university located in Chapel Hill (the basketball rival of the school in Durham) and graciously offered me a tour of the campus, while Renee relaxed. 

John picked me up at my motel around ten. I decided on a more casual outfit for walking around the campus, plus it was a bit on the chilly side, with rain threatening. I chose a top I like, my black Spanx leggings that my GG friend Michelle reluctantly returned to me after I had loaned them to her while I was away in Australia, and my sandals, to show off my freshly painted toes.

Our first stop on campus was the Old Well, the logo for UNC Chapel Hill. John explained some of the history of the campus, and some of his favorite spots. In the midst of our stroll around campus, it began to rain, so we retreated to his car for a short drive around the campus (including the “Dean Dome”, home to Tar Heel basketball).

I will admit to being a bit conflicted while strolling around the UNC campus. I was at the 2005 NCAA National Championship game in St. Louis when the Tar Heels defeated my Fighting Illini, denying the Orange and Blue the national championship. I felt like I was walking around in enemy territory.

John also gave me a tour of his office building. On the first floor was a mural depicting the local lunch counter protests of the early 1960’s, with portraits stylishly done of the principal players of the protests, another battle for civil rights from the 1960’s. In contrast, John also showed me older paintings of the history of North Carolina, where persons of color were (not) surprisingly missing. Such is the South.

After the office tour, John and I went for a brief walk in a reserve, although our walk was cut short by threats of more rain. We returned to his car and picked up Renee for brunch at a popular breakfast cafe, while I noshed on a frequent choice, a Reuben. After that, we stopped at a grocery store for John and Renee, then Renee and I headed back to the mall for a stop at Nordstrom. Finding no winners for either of us, I dropped Renee at her house and returned to my motel, while Renee set about fixing a quiche for a homemade dinner.

I changed into something more formal for dinner, a halter type floral dress from White House Black Market (friend Ms. Dee-ism’s favorite store) along with black patterned leggings. It’s funny; pantyhose are definitely out these days (except seemingly in the crossdressing community), but I will sometimes see women wearing black patterned tights (or maybe I’m just looking for them to justify my wearing them). 

I packed about half the clothes I took with me into a suitcase to take to Renee’s house, and while we were waiting for the quiche to bake, I did an impromptu fashion show for Renee. She’s seen virtually all of my wardrobe in pictures, but this was live and in person.

We had one more piece of business, besides having a lovely dinner. Renee had requested a Pride t-shirt from Australia, and after some web searching, found a really fun one–and promptly bought ones for Michelle, Ms. Dee-ism, and one for Miss Dee (me), so we all could be “sistas”, as Michelle likes to say. 

For John, I got him a Melbourne University t-shirt as he wanted an Aussie t-shirt too (and I was happy to oblige). In turn, John gave me a t-shirt from his department, and even though it’s in Tar Heel colors, I don’t have PTSD about the 2005 outcome, so boy me will be happy to wear it from time to time. 

In all, a fun day three of my trip, with one more day to come–which you can read about next Sun-Dee. 

Amazon’s Memorial Day Sale!