Back Home in Independence

Linda and I had a wonderful time in Charlotte. The best weather imaginable, good company, good food and lots of fun!

Friday I did buy my rain barrel (just one); they only had two left and I didn't like the way the 2nd one looked, pretty beat up. Getting it into the car for the drive home was no problem. I just used it as a "capsule" and filled the inside with other things. Friday afternoon I picked Aiden up from school and we pretty much just hung out until Fred arrived from Greenville, SC. I fixed dinner of Grilled Grassfed burgers with lots of cheese, tomatoes, onion and salad. It was devine. Of course it was a little bit of a chore keeping Marley the black lab from eating with us also; you can't turn your back on anything or it's gone. Of course Aiden thinks that's great.

Saturday was our big adventure. We rented a 22ft pontoon boat and spent the day on Lake Norman. It was spectacular: hot and sunny with a stiff breeze and crystal blue skies. Boats, personal watercraft and all manner of sailboats were out throughout the day. There was even some sort of sailboat race; very colorful. Aiden had a ball despite being somewhat laid low by a "cold." He loves to swim with the "fishies;" climbing up and jumping off the boat. We ate lunch at the Rusty Rudder in one of the numerous coves and had an adventure getting in and out of our berth; I'm just glad Matt was driving!

We laid low on Sunday. Ate lunch at the Olive Garden and sent Gail and Fred back to SC. I do have a great 2 minute video on my I-Phone of Aiden playing with Marley and a young chocolate lab called "Hershey." I'd like to post it but haven't figured out how to edit it yet.

Monday we drove home: 503.8 miles, 8 hours, average speed 67 mph and 1 speeding ticket (doing 75 in a 55....motorcycle cop knocked it down to 65, don't know the cost yet). No complaints, only 2nd ticket in 39 years!

Now, back to the world...

Back in Charlotte

Linda and I arrived in Charlotte yesterday around lunch-time after an 8 hour drive. Actually it was about 7.5 hrs which was one of the shortest drives we've made to here. We came down I-75 then East on 40 through the mountains to just short of Asheville where turned Southeast toward Charlotte. In the past I've hesitated going this way because of the slow drive from East of Knoxville to Asheville (steep, winding roadway and 60 mph speedlimit). Sun and clear skies the whole way.

When we got to Charlotte we stopped at an upscale grocery store called EarthFare. You know the kind, lot's of organic produce, meats and other products. Expensive. But, the food is excellent. The last time we were here (June) we saw some nice rain barrels but didn't buy them. Now they're available at a $40.00 discount so we're going to buy one and maybe two. I laugh thinking about us driving home with those two barrels taking up the inside of our car.

I brought Aiden a balsa wood airplane and after school we went to the park and played and played. He had a terrific time and wore himself out. That was after his treat of water and blueberry scone from Starbucks.