We have some really brilliant ideas on occasion. Our latest piece of brilliance was an attempt to boondock within the compounds of Scott’s apartment complex. We got 2 nights of free rent before being evicted abruptly. At least the eviction was using our own throttle rather than a tow truck (we’ve been told the towing bill on a 40′ house on wheels is not easy to swallow). I’d say our attempt to live with Scott for a few weeks was a good try, but ultimately, a fail.
Which is how we ended up at a semi-creepy, semi-beautiful, definitely over priced campground on the opposite side of Lake Norman from where Scott resides.
Our eviction, and subsequent planting of Dyna’s levelers into some gravel at ‘the creepy campground’ also conveniently (and unknowingly) placed us within a few miles of Liz Fox. She is a crazy cool long lost college Speech Pathology colleague. She’s also named Liz, which is a super nice name. And, she also enjoys appetizers and mixed drinks for dinner (convenient!) Oh, and conversing at length about the latest Autism and language delay therapies (I miss these conversations!)
Liz Fox offered to play captain and take us out on her parent’s boat – clearly we said yes. Lake Norman is even more beautiful from the water. She also allowed Lucy to aggressively love on her, even though she’s ‘not a cat person’ (yeah, neither was I… but Lucy doesn’t care about your preference towards cats… you WILL love on her).
Liz also left her paring knife, flowery kitchen cloth, and leftover bacon dip (yes, she makes bacon dip) at our place. We’re still using all of these things (thanks Liz, sorry Liz!)
Being semi-close to Scott (now across the lake) made for Wednesday evening dinners at his place (thanks Nicky!) and weekend adventures throughout the area. Also, being close let us have access to Nicky’s homemade pierogies. Short description: joy in my mouth hole. So joyful, in fact, that I felt compelled to take their picture.
Nicky and I also stumbled upon the fact that we have similar taste in fashion (#thebest taste in fashion). We decided it is very adult-like to wear matching dresses (in our defense, we both owned these awesome dresses before we met each other) and make our partners join us in a wine & painting night. Wine and painting was Nicky’s idea – great idea Nicky! We painted incredibly beautiful pictures (#toot-toot), and then Jake & I threw ours in the dumpster because Dyna has no room for such incredible art.
Our beer drinking habits continued into our stay in the Lake Norman area. Luckily, we had a bit more time to spend together in the LakeNorman/Charlotte area, so we didn’t have to rush our consumption.
Scott introduced us to AssClown Brewery. We introduced him to the art of losing at Jenga (ok, let’s be honest – I don’t remember who won or lost, but it was an intense game).
We met up with some of Scott’s local buddies for grilled cheeses and brews at Sycamore Brewing, then moved on to Wooden Robot (‘Goodmorning Vietnam’ – their coffee American blonde ale – is still stuck on my tastebuds). NoDa had an entire selection of GirlScout themed beers. Yes, they were delicious.
Jake and I made a little time to go check out Charlotte without beer involved. There are good Pokémon in Charlotte; Pokémon sometimes distracts us from beer. We worked on becoming Pokémasters for awhile in downtown parks, then hit up 7th Street Market for food. Pokémon has introduced us to some cool little spots in a most all of the places we’ve visited since last July. I’m pro-Pokémon.
On our last full weekend in the area, we left Lucy in charge of Dyna and stayed with Nicky at her place in Winston-Salem. Winston-Salem is very historic, but more importantly, it is home to the original Krispy Kreme donuts. Of course we ate there. Silly question. And nearby Winston-Salem is the world’s largest chest of drawers, a very important stop.
When we weren’t playing with Scott, Nicky, or Liz Fox, we spent time working, walking Lucy, and planning future adventures. We also spent time trying to convince Scott to buy and RV and come caravan around the US with us. I think we’re wearing him down… But, until he commits, we’re headed SouthEast as a party of 3 (Lucy). We stumbled upon a campground ‘sale’ at the State Park in Myrtle Beach. And we love a deal… so, to Myrtle Beach we go.