So what's been going on?
Let's see, we'll have to go back to the last post which was...holy crap - April 17. That's over a month ago. Since my calendar is not at my fingertips, I have to scroll back through the photos on my camera to see what I was up to in April and May, because a lot has happened in the past 2 (alomst 3)months...
In early April Gary and I accompanied his middle daughter to a cheerleading competition at the beach. It was our second attempt at one of these. Suffice to say we are not exactly the best "cheer parents". Finding ourselves in the wrong auditorium on day 1 and missing her group altogether, yet watching HUNDREDS of other kids to deafening music and horrendous acoustics. When we finally realized we were in the wrong auditorium we made a bit of a scene with the organizers demanding our money back due to their lack of decent signage and missing seeing her performance.
Day 2 wasn't much better. We sat through numerous performances with the same eardrum bursting music, waded through hundreds of tiny girls decked out in day-glow glitter, barely there short skirts and big bows tied in their hair - and G's daughter's group only got like fifth place, and she cried and sulked the entire ride home. What fun!
Next up was a trip to North Georgia for an ice delivery I went on with Gary. The resort we delivered to is called Brasstown Valley. It's about a 4 hour drive from Charlotte, so I went along to keep G company. After making the drop, we drove on another half-hour to a touristy mountain town called Helen, Georgia. The town is like a Gatlinburg, but not quite as commercial and has a more homogeneous look with all the buildings made to look like a German (Austrian?) village.
It was cute enough, and we walked around, had a decent but expensive-for-what-it-was lunch at this German eatery, and sat on the balcony in the brisk spring air. It was a pretty day and I did get a souvenir cream pitcher in the shape of a cow with delicate blue detailing on her face and sides. I've always wanted one.
Next was a weekend visit from my dear friends Vickie and Walt from Baltimore! Vickie and I were on the Baltimore NACE board together, and her husband (of 25 years) Walt came to lots of NACE functions and we got to know each other over the 4 years I was there. They are the GREATEST! They were on their way south, driving to Florida from Baltimore and Charlotte was a good mid-point. Sooooooo nice to have old friends visit!
We had a great dinner at Zink in downtown Charlotte, then walked over to Charlotte's see-and-be-seen-wannabe bar Mez, which we found to be very crowded, but found some cozy sofa seating outside on the balcony at a table with a fire pit in the center to keep our extremities warm.
We took pedi-cabs on the way back to the hotel where Vickie & Walt were staying (my old Marriott City Center). We squealed like little kids that the drivers RACE - so these poor guys pedalled their hearts out. In the end, Walt jumped out of their cab and pushed it up Trade Street between College and Tryon. So not only were the drivers about to pass out from the exersion, I was afraid that had done Walt in - but he was impressive!!! Here's Walt running on the sidewalk trying to catch up with the pedi-cab he had just pushed up the hill...
And here's Vickie and her driver at the finish line!
Our poor driver, who pedalled SO HARD bless his heart on the skinniest legs I've just about ever seen - I swear looked like he was about to have a stroke when he let us out. I didn't get a picture of him (or us) but I'm sure he'd run the other way if he ever saw us again!
The next day was Easter Sunday, and we went to the most wacked-out Easter service I've ever been to. Along with the three daughters, the ex-wife, her husband, and Grandma, we went to Verizon Amphitheater for the girls' mega-church's service. It was basically a 2-hour Christian Rock concert (a type of music which I loathe) with a 20 minute sermon in the middle.
Admittedly, the sermon was good - but I just don't *get* the whole "casual church" thing. The minister looked like he was going bowling after. I haven't attended church regularly in some time - I am someone who doesn't believe you have to be inside a church to feel divine presence - but if I'm going to go to church, I want to see everyone in their Sunday best, respectful of the institution. Call me old fashioned, narrow minded, whatever. I don't care. I feel like the "casual church" is filled with more propaganda than any other. It's like they use the casual dress to lure you into their cult, then bombard you with all these modern messages through their "rock" music and make it "cool" to be at church. Church isn't supposed to be "cool". Church is supposed to be church. Anyway, I won't be doing that again.
Right about then the yard peaked with all the Azaleas and dogwoods.
This gargantuan bush exploded with white blossoms and looked like a giant snowball!!
Shortly after Easter we were paid a visit by our good friend Aaron from Ohio. Aaron's wife Sarah couldn't make the trip due to her INSANE schedule at home. We missed her something terrible!! - but we did manage to have a good time with the solo-flying Aaron. He's in the ice business and competes globally. He won the gold medal for Ice Sculpting at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. It's not a sporting event, but at each Winter Olympics they have the "Olympic Arts" competition.
Aaron's a really cool cat and he and Gary really are a lot alike in so many ways, but especially in the way they think about things. They are constantly bouncing ideas off each other with only the smallest amount of ego getting in here and there. He stayed with us while he attended the American Culinary Federation's southeast regional conference, then we took a few days to go down to the boat, then back to Charlotte where he gave a great seminar to about 2o folks at the shop.
Down at the beach Aaron and Gary did a bunch of jet skiing. I got in a little riding, but it wasn't nearly as high on priority list as it was theirs. Getting the jet skis in the water at the boat is a royal PAIN because the marina doesn't have a ramp. We have to drive about 8 miles (in either direction) to put in at various public ramps. They are usually located under highway overpasses. This one is down at Socastee - I kinda like the perspective.
On one of their jet ski jaunts, they came across a large alligator in the waterway. It was a pretty exciting spotting for Aaron, who hadn't seen an alligator close up on jet skis before! So on the last day before heading back to Charlotte we stopped at a Myrtle Beach attraction that I've never been to, but Gary insisted we get a little more alligator spotting under our belts.
We saw all sorts of alligators, including this one which is about the same age as Gary! He was HUGE!!! A magnificent creature indeed!
We watched a feeding frenzy, as the handlers flung cut up raw chicken out for the gators to gobble up. We also saw a pair of rare albino gators imported (rescued)from Thailand I believe. They have to stay out of direct sunlight because of their sensitive skin.
As for me, I had a great time just hanging out with "the guys".
All in all, seems like quite a lot happened in April! More to come with the May update...
No comments:
Post a Comment