A Month on the Mainland

After spending almost a month in North Carolina, I made my way back to the Florida Keys this past Monday. It was a long drive coming in just under 14 hours, but it was easy and uneventful.

I had a really great time during my visit to the mainland, and the best part of it was spending time with family. With my Mom and Brother [with Jolene and Maddie] both living in Greensboro, it made it easy to do a lot of things together. We ate many meals at the same table and enjoyed each others company at my brother's house. During the week, with Keith and Jolene both working, I'd try to put us together something decent for dinner. On the weekends, we all wandered around the Piedmont Triad Farmer's Market. With it's huge selection of heirloom tomatoes, peaches, corn, berries, baked goods, grits, and country ham...just to name a small sampling of the wares available...going to the Farmer's Market is certainly one of my favorite things about being in NC. And if you start off with us all gathered for breakfast at the Moose Cafe, I like it even better.

Spending time with my Mom was nice. We played cards, went out for lunch, explored downtown during the Gallery Hop, munched on Brixx Pizza, shopped in Chapel Hill, made lotion, and took Maddie to this cool place called ArtQuest where we painted, played with clay, made bracelets, cut paper and afterward had lunch with my brother at the Center for Creative Leadership where he works as head chef.

The best days were the ones spent with Maddie. We blew bubbles, played in the water, and drew all over the drive-way with sidewalk chalk. We'd have a snack, color, watch Baby Einstein, and start all over again. If I was lucky, we both got a nap. We had our own little outing one day with a stop at Hobby Lobby, the grocery store, and McCallister's for lunch and she was truly an angel. She's a very funny 2-year old and very entertaining. I chuckle to myself whenever I think of some of the silly things she says or her imitation of a butterfly after every bath. I miss her terribly.

While in NC, I also got to spend time with family 2 hours away from Greensboro on the east side of Raleigh: my 19 year old niece, Josie; my 22 year old nephew, Zachary; and their parents, Mark and Anne. My first visit was for a Pool Party Bash in honor of Zachary graduating, having a birthday, and going off to grad school. There was a tent, a keg, and a pig as well as corn hole, horseshoes, and beer pong. Kids of all ages were in the pool and a good time was had by all. I enjoyed catching up with with my [ex] sister-in-law, Genevieve; her husband, Steve; and her 2 children, Jackson and Taylor, who came from Louisville for the big event. The kids have grown up so much since the last time I saw them!
I went back again at the end of my trip and spent the day with Josie going out to lunch and a bit of shopping and then a nice relaxing weekend laying around the pool and tossing corn hole.

I am glad to be back home. I missed Jeff and the dog. I missed my girlfriends. And I missed the water and the island I call HOME...
But, now that I'm here...I miss all the people I left in North Carolina.