North Carolina Adventure Post 1

Border Crossing – no ripped passport this time, but Todd did have to give up his keys and have the truck bed checked….really? Do we look like the “innocent” type to be illegally transporting across the border???

Pic 01

Amazing views along the way – through the mountains in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

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…So nice to see full out green grass and leaves on the trees once we hit North Carolina….somewhere there is spring…..(wearing long sleeves, and sweating).

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The first 4 days in Charlotte have been pretty uneventful….lots of exercising, lots of walking, lots of reading and lots of enjoying the local pints… Weather has been great – mid 20s every day and supposed to hit high 20s on the weekend.

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Each night from Monday to Thursday, the hotel (Homewood Suites in Ayrsley/Charlotte) offers free beer and wine plus a dinner between 5 and 7. The one night was bbq’d chicken, salad, and mac ‘n cheese – pretty tasty. Another night was bbq’d burgers, but let’s just say, they weren’t cooked the way we like them (water sprayed to control the flames ….and dampen the burgers….). At one point after coming out on the patio with my beer, I glanced over to the bbq and saw black smoke billowing from it, so I rushed to the kitchen and said that they might want to take a look at it. We ate burgers that night, but not at the hotel….

Harry’s Grille and Tavern is within walking distance of the hotel and is a great pub – huge selection of craft beers (and tasty, huge burgers). I now know what to do with all the corks we have collected over the years….. “RONALD”.

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On Thursday night we decided on Mexican. Todd asked the young server how much the Margaritas were; he (the server) proceeded to flip through his pad, then described some of the Margaritas in broken English. The server apologized for his lack of English and said he was new (new to the States??). Todd again asked the cost (changed the wording slightly) and again got some sort of descriptions. Finally Todd asked what language he spoke and upon the answer of Spanish, asked “cuánto cuesta”. Immediately, he got his answer…. (thought I was going to burst….). But when his drink came it was straight tequilla on the rocks, not a Margarita….so it was sent back…..

Funny things (to us) in Charlotte:

-Every time we eat out, we are asked if the checks (not the bills) are separate.

-We have eaten at a couple of BBQ restaurants and each time we were offered Banana Pudding as a dessert – guess it’s a “thing” here (haven’t tried it yet….).