In a way, it was all just a blur: three days here; two days there; three days back here. The longest I was in one place was the week I spent with my family in Littleton (The Small Town With the Big Heart, Gateway to Beautiful Lake Gaston). But even then I didn’t put my clothes into the dresser like I should have; I just kept living out of my suitcase.
After I got used to the time difference (for the most part), I went shopping! My mom took me to Hanes Mall for makeup, the Kernersville Salvage Store for salvage (), Old Navy and Gap for clothes, and Target for school supplies and everything else. I actually bought so much at Target to justify buying stock in it, I think. Being able to recognize brand names and read labels is so amazing! And I found a ton of stuff for school everywhere I went: lined manuscript tablets, vocabulary flashcards, reward pencils, $30.00 worth of paper-correcting stickers, and more, which I packed up and mailed to myself at school.
After a few days at my mom’s house, I went to my dad’s. I had been dying to go for a swim ever since the students started swimming in June, so I spent most of the first day in his pool. My second day, though, I walked outside at 8:30 in the morning to hang my bathing suit up to dry in the sun. But when I went to open the door to go back inside, I realized it was locked. So I spent the next four hours (while dad was at work) trying and failing to break into his house, sobbing in frustration that all my morning plans were shot, reading old copies of the Littleton Observer that I found on the porch, playing with Mangle (my cat), swimming, and being thirsty. Lucky I had my bathing suit, though, huh. And Mangle and I were due for a little quality human-cat time. It was a pretty rotten morning but eventually turned into a nice day of accompanying Dad to Warren County for an afternoon of work. (Honestly, it was fun!)
Back in Greensboro, I had dinner with a big group of friends and a drink with a small group of friends. I was supposed to have a party with my old CNNC clients on Saturday, but the message didn't get around in time so it was cancelled. Instead, I just stopped by Dolores’s and Maria’s houses for a quick visit. It was fun, but I didn’t get to eat any home-cooked Mexican food! Maria did give Eddie and me a slice of cake, which was the size of the paper plate she served it on. It was delicious but hard to finish!
I spent the week of July 31 to August 5 at Stonehouse Timber Lodge in Littleton. It was so funny to be vacationing just three miles from where I grew up! There has always been a bit of tension between the locals and the “lake people” who just come on vacation, and here we were converted into them! It was really lovely though to spend a week with my brother and his family, my sister and her family, Mom, Rusty, and Duchess (the dog), after such a long time away. The whole week was spent swimming, boating, reading, relaxing, playing Bananagrams, eating delicious food, cracking jokes about the quantity of snakes in the lake, and spending time with my niece and nephews. It was definitely the best part of being home. Fambly.
BBQ at Grandpa's BarbequeSunset on Lake Gaston
You remember my long list of things I wanted to eat. Well, I got through almost everything on my list! (Not everything, but almost everything.) Sometimes it was just a bite (like of Jonathan’s biscuits and gravy) and sometimes it was more than I could eat (like that 16-ounce steak), but it was divine to savor so many exquisite tastes! I also enjoyed a different microbrewed beer with almost every restaurant meal I had! The only things I still have a hankering for are sliced dill pickles (not hamburger chips), spiced apple rings, and baklava (thank you very much for sending those through the mail).
On a final note, I’d like to ask you all to boycott Budget Rental Cars for me, please. I had reserved a car online for $350.00, but the price shot up to $600 when I added insurance at the desk at pick-up time. (“But don’t worry,” the lady behind the counter told me. “$200 of that is just a hold on your credit card; it’s really just $450.00.”) When I went to drop off the car (two days early, might I add), I was told I would receive no discount for dropping it off early, that my new total was $903.00, and that I still had to pay a balance of about $500.00.
“No,” I told them as politely as I could. “I signed for $600. I’m not going to pay more.” (Breach of contract, or something like that.) After a civil conversation with the incompetent soul behind the counter, the manager was finally summoned. It seems that I had been charged for extra services I didn’t receive (like satellite radio or GPS). The issue was finally resolved and I “only” paid $600.00, but I’m still furious about the whole thing because it was supposed to be just $350.00, so I thought. I’m also disappointed with the incompetence of people, who can only stare dumbly at the computer screen before them and not have a word of explanation for the politely irate customer in front of them.
All in all, though, I had a wonderful time, and I’m happy I was able to go back home! Now I just need to think about what to do next year.
Sounds like a great vacation!
ReplyDeletelovely summary of a lovely time!
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