Visiting John's home and his now hometown of Charlotte, NC, provided Don & I opportunities we'd never experienced before. I cannot say enough about the "Southern Hospitality" we experienced while visiting there; even if our stay was only for a brief period of time.
We traveled uptown into Charlotte where experienced wonderful views of what appears a promising city. Unsure of our sense of direction and unknown, uncharted territories, we stopped into the Discovery Place for a few inquiries. There of all places, I met yet another "paper artist", a scrapbooker! A young oriental girl greeted us near the entry door on the third floor. Who besides a scrapbook creates graphic sketches in a sketchbook? Anyways, after talking with her, we were on our way to Concord Mills Mall with a map in hand of Charlotte along with directions to the Mall. Once there we discovered various opportunities to shop and explore. I purchased a new quarter sleeved T-shirt I simply couldn't resist and a few pieces of costume jewelry. It's been a long time since I've actually worn any that I simply needed to refresh my selections with some glitter and glitz. We visited a Nascar Speedway Store, looking for soverniers for my Nascar fanatic family and purchased a few gifts to be given at Christmas. Concords Mill Mall is huge! So, we only visited sections 5 - 7; trust me that = lots of walking and the Mall was packed with people.
Upon leaving the Mall and after refueling, we began our journey back to John's for an evening out. Wouldn't you know it, we can find our way in the dark but give us some daylight and sure enough we'd manage to get lost! LOL! Somewhere along the way we took a right turn vs. a left and ended up on the other side of Charlotte in unfamiliar territory. A quick stop at a BP station and a wonderful atttendant we were on our way once again; this time in the right direction.
Arriving at John's, we had some time to catch up with my brother, my neice, Janelle, a few of John's crew - Drew and Allie, Becky, and couple of the neighbors. John owns his own company in Charlotte - Carolina Deck and Fencing and is currently working through the week with another contractor through the week framing a new house. He's always desired to build a house, so this opportunity provided him with a chance to gain some experience doing so. We got a closer looked at John's handiwork as we explored out on the two tier layered deck on the rear of the house. The covered deck complete with skylights, lighting, ceiling fans, and a nice cozy hot tub surrounded by glass walls provided a perfect party atmosphere complete with big screen TV for watching the Nascar races and Carolina Panther's football games. A smaller series of steps leads to a lower level of the deck surrounding a 15 x 30 foot above ground pool adorned with another covered deck at the opposite end. A wood gate provides security to the pool area where a series of stairs lead you out into the yard where a wood arbor invited you to explore further.
Returning to the kitchen, we knocked back a few cold brews, looked at a scrapbook of John's handiwork and some of the jobs he'd completed. I got a kick out his neighbor's and friend's as they teased him re: his family. I seem to be the only one they've actually met out of the 7 of us, so there was a lot of bantering and gentle ribbing re: believing he'd created some instant ancestors. It was quite a hoot! Feeling the effects of the few beers I'd drunk on an empty stomach, John, Janelle, Don & I headed out for an awesome steak dinner at Chili's. After an enjoyable time we returned to John's where we all seemed to be fallin' out after the days activities.
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