Kind of a quiet week. Only 1 9-hole golf scramble on Wednesday. Three ladies from Wayne came over to play with me in the tournament. My partner, Nancy and I played real well. Low score was 35 we shot 36 which is par. Our disappointment was that we lost placing in a scorecard playoff. Next week will be really messed up with the holiday right in the middle. I guess that won't bother Ladawn since I doubt the English celebrate our Independence Day. lol
Been kind of lonely in my office today. There are only 3 people in this department. One took the day off and the other has been out running errands most of the day.
Nothing special planned for the weekend so will try to get some of the things on my "list" done.
Sue
Friday, June 29, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
5 favorite things of summer
5. Kids splashing and laughing in the swimming pool down the street.
4. Will ditto the clean sheets from the clothes line.
3. Planting flowers and watching them grow and bloom.
2. Picnics and reunions.
1. Golf (like this is a surprise).
I might also add, no snow, no cold, no coats, gloves and boots.
4. Will ditto the clean sheets from the clothes line.
3. Planting flowers and watching them grow and bloom.
2. Picnics and reunions.
1. Golf (like this is a surprise).
I might also add, no snow, no cold, no coats, gloves and boots.
Monday, June 25, 2007
6/25/07
Kind of an ordinary summer weekend. At our golf course, Fairplay, every other Friday there is a couples outing with pot luck. Different formats are played and the grills are lit for whatever meat each couple wants to bring along with some other dish. My specialty seems to be peanut butter bars. Everyone that likes peanut butter loves them. There are usually a lot of different salads and someone usually makes cheesy potatoes. One unmarried guy always brings a jar of pickles. The cost is $5.00 per couple and the payback depends on how may couples participate. Usually $20.00 for first and $10.00 for second. If there are enough couples $5.00 for third. There are usually enough for 2 or three flights. It is one of the fun things we do at Fairplay. This week we played bad enough to be in the 2nd flight and good enough to get 2nd place.
Saturday was laundry, cleaning what needed it the most (this time the bathroom) and grocery shopping before we headed out for our usual Saturday 18 hole golf round. Then supper at one of our favorite places, Bailey's. I am real excited about an announcement just made by the management of this eating establishment. They are going SMOKE FREE. They said they were waiting for it to become a law, but the legislature can't seem to get a decent bill formed on this issue.
Sunday Marti, Donna & I played in a 3-women scramble in Madison. This is a nine-hole course and we played 18 holes. What should usually take maybe 5 hours takes about 7. Then you have to take into consideration that there are some women who are there for the beer. There was one lady that the rescue squad was called for when she seemed to be overheated. My opinion is that she had too much to drink. It was kind of hot, I think in the 80's, but the wind was blowing and I really didn't think it was dangerously hot. We played with 3 other ladies that did not indulge while we were playing and really had a great time. These two teams came in first and second. Surprised?
After golf it was home to the usual Sunday mowing, watering flowers and pulling a few weeds.
I had washed sheets before I left so had beds to make, too. I decided it had been too long since I had just done nothing, so I picked up the Sunday crossword puzzle and watched reruns of Cold Case and Without a Trace. They ended up the same as the last time I watched them. lol
Sometimes we have to go back to work to rest up.
Sue
Saturday was laundry, cleaning what needed it the most (this time the bathroom) and grocery shopping before we headed out for our usual Saturday 18 hole golf round. Then supper at one of our favorite places, Bailey's. I am real excited about an announcement just made by the management of this eating establishment. They are going SMOKE FREE. They said they were waiting for it to become a law, but the legislature can't seem to get a decent bill formed on this issue.
Sunday Marti, Donna & I played in a 3-women scramble in Madison. This is a nine-hole course and we played 18 holes. What should usually take maybe 5 hours takes about 7. Then you have to take into consideration that there are some women who are there for the beer. There was one lady that the rescue squad was called for when she seemed to be overheated. My opinion is that she had too much to drink. It was kind of hot, I think in the 80's, but the wind was blowing and I really didn't think it was dangerously hot. We played with 3 other ladies that did not indulge while we were playing and really had a great time. These two teams came in first and second. Surprised?
After golf it was home to the usual Sunday mowing, watering flowers and pulling a few weeds.
I had washed sheets before I left so had beds to make, too. I decided it had been too long since I had just done nothing, so I picked up the Sunday crossword puzzle and watched reruns of Cold Case and Without a Trace. They ended up the same as the last time I watched them. lol
Sometimes we have to go back to work to rest up.
Sue
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
6/20/07
Busy, busy, busy. Cookout at Janell's on Saturday. What a great day for young and not so young. Most of us are still young-at-heart. Bubba is the greatest horse for teaching kids to ride.
Both Janell and he are really patient. The food was great and the fun and laughter while sitting in a circle in the shade outdoors was as much fun as I have had in a long time. I really hated to leave. Oh, yes, the food was great too.
Sunday it was nice to see the extended family and catch up on what is going on in their lives. There was swimming, paddle boating, hiking, fishing and I don't know what else everyone found to do in the great outdoors. Eating and Bingo were the sports of choice indoors. Of course when the Gatewood family gets together there are the masses of cameras and pictures to be taken.
Monday, it was back to Ashland for my friend Donna & I. We played Monday and Tuesday in the NWAGA eastern stroke play. Ashland is a pretty tough course. I was not totally unhappy with the way I played even though it wasn't good enough to win anything. We had signed up to play a ladies scramble in Stanton Tuesday night. We got back there with time to spare and visit with some other early arrivers. Donna & I shot 39 which was good enough for 2nd place. I had some really fun people to play with all three days.
One more golf tournament this week. The Norfolk Country Club is hosting their annual open today. Will be leaving work early to play in this tournament. Whew. June is always a busy month for tournaments. One reason is the extended daylight hours in the evenings. A lot of ladies outings are for only nine holes and are scheduled in the evenings.
The worse thing about the last few days was our motel. It was probably one of the worst places I have ever stayed. I it was called the Big Inn. Right along I-80 at the Ashland exit. It was probably a converted Super 8 or some other chain. There was no coffee, no shampoo, no drinking glasses, no Kleenex and no breakfast. ( We were really desperate for a place close buy to stay). The tub was clean but really worn from too many abrasive cleaners. The TV did work.
The motel was probably 40 years old and I think the towels were probably original. We tried all the standbys in West Omaha but everything that was available was doubled in price because of the College World Series. Our other choice was Lincoln, but we really wanted something close.
I don't think there were any bedbugs. I don't have any rash or itching today. All the rooms had outside entries and there is nothing like a Diesel truck starting up at 6 am for an alarm clock. Next time this tournament is in a small town, we will get reservations as soon as the schedule comes out.
Sue
Both Janell and he are really patient. The food was great and the fun and laughter while sitting in a circle in the shade outdoors was as much fun as I have had in a long time. I really hated to leave. Oh, yes, the food was great too.
Sunday it was nice to see the extended family and catch up on what is going on in their lives. There was swimming, paddle boating, hiking, fishing and I don't know what else everyone found to do in the great outdoors. Eating and Bingo were the sports of choice indoors. Of course when the Gatewood family gets together there are the masses of cameras and pictures to be taken.
Monday, it was back to Ashland for my friend Donna & I. We played Monday and Tuesday in the NWAGA eastern stroke play. Ashland is a pretty tough course. I was not totally unhappy with the way I played even though it wasn't good enough to win anything. We had signed up to play a ladies scramble in Stanton Tuesday night. We got back there with time to spare and visit with some other early arrivers. Donna & I shot 39 which was good enough for 2nd place. I had some really fun people to play with all three days.
One more golf tournament this week. The Norfolk Country Club is hosting their annual open today. Will be leaving work early to play in this tournament. Whew. June is always a busy month for tournaments. One reason is the extended daylight hours in the evenings. A lot of ladies outings are for only nine holes and are scheduled in the evenings.
The worse thing about the last few days was our motel. It was probably one of the worst places I have ever stayed. I it was called the Big Inn. Right along I-80 at the Ashland exit. It was probably a converted Super 8 or some other chain. There was no coffee, no shampoo, no drinking glasses, no Kleenex and no breakfast. ( We were really desperate for a place close buy to stay). The tub was clean but really worn from too many abrasive cleaners. The TV did work.
The motel was probably 40 years old and I think the towels were probably original. We tried all the standbys in West Omaha but everything that was available was doubled in price because of the College World Series. Our other choice was Lincoln, but we really wanted something close.
I don't think there were any bedbugs. I don't have any rash or itching today. All the rooms had outside entries and there is nothing like a Diesel truck starting up at 6 am for an alarm clock. Next time this tournament is in a small town, we will get reservations as soon as the schedule comes out.
Sue
Friday, June 15, 2007
6/15/07
Nothing much to blog this week so will just ramble. I had tried to start some zinias from seed, but I think the rabbits must have eaten them as fast as they came up. I only saw a couple of shoots coming up before I went on vacation. When I came back there was nothing. As a result, I bought some plants. Also some portulaca or moss roses for another bed. I should not be let loose in the plant shops. I seem to find all kinds of things I want to try. Don't even know the names of most of them.
Golf was rained out on Wednesday so got a little extra cleaning time. The problem with cleaning hit & miss is that your house is never all nice and clean at once. While growing up, cleaning day was Saturday. Furniture was dusted, floors were swept and scrubbed if necessary. We had no carpeting so no vaccuumming. I kind of followed that schedule when we were younger. Now my Saturday priority is laundry and cleaning is done as needed during the week.
Since I am home alone during the week, my table seems to collect all kinds of stuff. Kind of reminds me of Mom's. It doesn't have to be cleared off every day, three times a day, for meals. The stove is seldom used since the invention of the microwave. I eat a lot of frozen meals. Weekends - Friday night we usually eat out with friends after golf or in the "off season" we just eat out. Grilled cheese is our usually Saturday lunch and I might have to cook something for supper. Jerry is not a very adventurous eater and likes to stick to the basics. We sometimes go to HyVee after church for brunch and that will hold us over the rest of the day. Roast with potatoes & carrots thrown in is our Sunday supper. Roast beef was considered "Sunday meat" by our kids when they were growing up. I guess we must have had it a lot.
Mowing the lawn is a twice a week chore if I don't want to bag it. After I get all my flower beds mulched, there is no where to dump the grass unless Jerry's pickup is home. Mowing also insures that I get some exercise at least twice a week. I have a neighbor across the street that will come over and blow the grass clippings off my driveway after I mow. He doesn't do this every time, but when he has mowed and is blowing the clippings off his walks. Jerry has a blower and a week wacker, but I can't seem to get the darn things started so can only run them when he is home. Then I let him have that fun.
Winter time the snow blower replaces the lawn mower, but is not a regular chore. The problem with the snow blower is that it is so cold when it is necessary to run it. I also have time to clean closets and drawers during the winter. The basement might get a good cleaning during the winter. I try to clean around the storage area after Christmas before I put all the decorations back. My t-shirt quilt was started this past year, but will have to wait until golf season is over to be finished.
This must all sound pretty boring, but too much excitement is not good for old people.
Sue
Golf was rained out on Wednesday so got a little extra cleaning time. The problem with cleaning hit & miss is that your house is never all nice and clean at once. While growing up, cleaning day was Saturday. Furniture was dusted, floors were swept and scrubbed if necessary. We had no carpeting so no vaccuumming. I kind of followed that schedule when we were younger. Now my Saturday priority is laundry and cleaning is done as needed during the week.
Since I am home alone during the week, my table seems to collect all kinds of stuff. Kind of reminds me of Mom's. It doesn't have to be cleared off every day, three times a day, for meals. The stove is seldom used since the invention of the microwave. I eat a lot of frozen meals. Weekends - Friday night we usually eat out with friends after golf or in the "off season" we just eat out. Grilled cheese is our usually Saturday lunch and I might have to cook something for supper. Jerry is not a very adventurous eater and likes to stick to the basics. We sometimes go to HyVee after church for brunch and that will hold us over the rest of the day. Roast with potatoes & carrots thrown in is our Sunday supper. Roast beef was considered "Sunday meat" by our kids when they were growing up. I guess we must have had it a lot.
Mowing the lawn is a twice a week chore if I don't want to bag it. After I get all my flower beds mulched, there is no where to dump the grass unless Jerry's pickup is home. Mowing also insures that I get some exercise at least twice a week. I have a neighbor across the street that will come over and blow the grass clippings off my driveway after I mow. He doesn't do this every time, but when he has mowed and is blowing the clippings off his walks. Jerry has a blower and a week wacker, but I can't seem to get the darn things started so can only run them when he is home. Then I let him have that fun.
Winter time the snow blower replaces the lawn mower, but is not a regular chore. The problem with the snow blower is that it is so cold when it is necessary to run it. I also have time to clean closets and drawers during the winter. The basement might get a good cleaning during the winter. I try to clean around the storage area after Christmas before I put all the decorations back. My t-shirt quilt was started this past year, but will have to wait until golf season is over to be finished.
This must all sound pretty boring, but too much excitement is not good for old people.
Sue
Monday, June 11, 2007
The trip home
Tuesday - The last day of vacation, just the trip home. Ya right!!
I do not trust motel alarm clocks. Therefore, after setting the clock/radio for 5 am, we decided to also call for a wake up call. Didn't need the wake up call. The radio BLASTED OFF at 5 am full volume and mostly static. We were awake. Ruth, my roommate, had showered the night before so I jumped into the shower. Everything so far is going as planned. We are ready to go at 5:45, the time set the night before. Knock on the door - every one is ready. Load all our luggage and bowling balls into the van, trying to remember how the nice young man at Enterprise had arranged things. Ok, ready to roll. The airport is about 10 minutes from the motel. Oops wrong turn - 20 minutes to the motel. Still ok for time. Kay & Kim were on a different flight. (Kay was our driver). The dropped us at our terminal and returned the car to Enterprise. We thought this would be much easier than wrestling all the luggage in and out of the van and shuttle. That was the last we saw of them. I assume they got home ok.
Ruth, Lajean Phyllis and I all checked in at the counter and got our boarding passes. We checked out the gift shops and got our little mememtos to take home. Then found a Burger King for a breakfast sandwich. On to our boarding gate. There was a little hold up on a couple of our tickets because they said paper ticket required instead of E-ticket. This delay made Lajean and I quite nervous because it was departure time. The plane did wait for all to board, but was now off schedule. We finally got clearance to take off about 40 minutes late. The good pilot made up about 30 minutes time, but we were quite late getting into Chicago. Going form the US Airways terminal to the United terminal was not so easy. We did not have the gate number on our tickets. We had to find the United moniter to get our gate number. Yup it was waaaaaaay down the hall. This required a shuttle ride to the other terminal and then about a block down the hallway to gate 30. Hoping there would be some other delay with our connecting. we practically ran to the gate.. (we are all 60+). Too late, the plane was still there, but the door was closed. (Kim and Kay were also to be on this connecting flight. I guess they had better connections.)
Now we are stuck. Back to the United desk. Nice lady told us all 4 of the flights for that day to Omaha were full. I asked if there was a "red eye". She informed us that Omaha was not a real hot spot. (Then why were all the flights full?) She booked us for the 6:30 am flight for Wednesday and put us on stand by along with about 16 other passengers. Hungry again, we went to the US Airways desk and explained the situation and could we get meal vouchers. The not-so-pleasant lady gave us each a $5.00 voucher for lunch. ( better than nothing).
We found the gate for the next flight out. Trying to decide who should go first - Lajean said she would wait until last since she was driving and no one could leave without her. I said if only one
or two of us could get on, we should go ahead because the likelyhood of all of us getting on any flight was pretty slim. I said I would go if only one seat was available because I could probably have a spot on my sister's couch if they had to stay over. All agreed. Ruth & I had the only cell phones so we made sure we had the numbers and I gave her Shirley's number as a back up. Lajean and Phyllis's names were called so we checked in at the desk. We were told that there were 4 seats available, but 4 names ahead of ours. He kept calling these other names. (I wanted to break his microphone). Three passengers answered the call. One seat left, counting the seconds - two minutes - 90 seconds - one minute - 30 seconds. Ok go you can get on. I ran
down the tunnel and steps out to the plane. Oh, oh, 2 muslims on the plane. Ok, don't be a bigot. Say a little prayer for a safe flight back to "The Good Life", Nebraska. About 2 o'clock I am in the familier Epply Airport - all by myself, sniff.
There were 3 more flights out of O'Hare. The next one to arrive at 5 something. I decide to wait until until the next flight due in around 5 before calling Bob to pick me up to wait or spend the night. I found an Omaha paper and worked the sudoku, the crossword puzzle and the scramble. Oh I read the paper, too. My cell phone battery was really getting low so I decided I would have to find a place to plug it it. I was smart enough to put the charger in my carry on. Sometimes I just amaze myself. The only place I could find an availabele plug in was, of course, the restroom. Just as I took my phone out of my pocket to plug it in, it rang. It was Ruth. They were all on the next flight. I almost shouted for joy. I charged my phone up for about 10 minutes just in case they had to call again. Ok, still 2 hours to kill. I decided to see if I could find our luggage, which I assume had arrived on time. I found the carosel for United, but no bags. I started serching. I found the locked room for unclaimed baggage and could see some familiar bags. I really didn't think I would be able to claim everyones bags, but I went to the counter anyway to see what I could do. The nice lady opened the door and let me take all the bags. I guess since I knew the names on the tags she was ok with it. Now I have 4 bags and 4 bowling ball bags and no where to sit but on the floor for about 2 hours. I found a book I had brought with and sat down. An airport employee came by and, after I explained the situation, said I could take the baggage cart sitting by the door and take the elevator up to meet the others. He helped me load the cart, but I decided to sit on a bench where I could see the esculator that the ladies would have to come down. This would be easier than wrestling all that luggage up the elevator. Good choice. About 5:20 my phone rang. It is Ruth asking where are you. I said just walk straight ahead when you come down the esculator. I looked up and there they were. We are all back in Omaha six hours late, but safe. (They told me that only one of their names was called to the gate, but they all went up and said there are three of us. The person at the gate handed them 3 tickets and said "get on the plane." The didn't argue. We assume someone pulled some strings to get them all on this flight. We really didn't think it would happen since there were at least 12 other people waiting on stand by.) We catch the shuttle to the parking lot and load up Lajeans car and decide we should eat. We had seen a little diner on Wednesday that looked rather inviting, but was just closing that night so we went there, had a sandwich and took off for Norfolk. No more problems. About 9:pm we got back to Lajeans where Ruth had left her car after picking up Phyllis & I. The process was reversed and Ruth took Phyllis and I home. Nice trip even with all the frustrations and bad bowling.
Sue
I do not trust motel alarm clocks. Therefore, after setting the clock/radio for 5 am, we decided to also call for a wake up call. Didn't need the wake up call. The radio BLASTED OFF at 5 am full volume and mostly static. We were awake. Ruth, my roommate, had showered the night before so I jumped into the shower. Everything so far is going as planned. We are ready to go at 5:45, the time set the night before. Knock on the door - every one is ready. Load all our luggage and bowling balls into the van, trying to remember how the nice young man at Enterprise had arranged things. Ok, ready to roll. The airport is about 10 minutes from the motel. Oops wrong turn - 20 minutes to the motel. Still ok for time. Kay & Kim were on a different flight. (Kay was our driver). The dropped us at our terminal and returned the car to Enterprise. We thought this would be much easier than wrestling all the luggage in and out of the van and shuttle. That was the last we saw of them. I assume they got home ok.
Ruth, Lajean Phyllis and I all checked in at the counter and got our boarding passes. We checked out the gift shops and got our little mememtos to take home. Then found a Burger King for a breakfast sandwich. On to our boarding gate. There was a little hold up on a couple of our tickets because they said paper ticket required instead of E-ticket. This delay made Lajean and I quite nervous because it was departure time. The plane did wait for all to board, but was now off schedule. We finally got clearance to take off about 40 minutes late. The good pilot made up about 30 minutes time, but we were quite late getting into Chicago. Going form the US Airways terminal to the United terminal was not so easy. We did not have the gate number on our tickets. We had to find the United moniter to get our gate number. Yup it was waaaaaaay down the hall. This required a shuttle ride to the other terminal and then about a block down the hallway to gate 30. Hoping there would be some other delay with our connecting. we practically ran to the gate.. (we are all 60+). Too late, the plane was still there, but the door was closed. (Kim and Kay were also to be on this connecting flight. I guess they had better connections.)
Now we are stuck. Back to the United desk. Nice lady told us all 4 of the flights for that day to Omaha were full. I asked if there was a "red eye". She informed us that Omaha was not a real hot spot. (Then why were all the flights full?) She booked us for the 6:30 am flight for Wednesday and put us on stand by along with about 16 other passengers. Hungry again, we went to the US Airways desk and explained the situation and could we get meal vouchers. The not-so-pleasant lady gave us each a $5.00 voucher for lunch. ( better than nothing).
We found the gate for the next flight out. Trying to decide who should go first - Lajean said she would wait until last since she was driving and no one could leave without her. I said if only one
or two of us could get on, we should go ahead because the likelyhood of all of us getting on any flight was pretty slim. I said I would go if only one seat was available because I could probably have a spot on my sister's couch if they had to stay over. All agreed. Ruth & I had the only cell phones so we made sure we had the numbers and I gave her Shirley's number as a back up. Lajean and Phyllis's names were called so we checked in at the desk. We were told that there were 4 seats available, but 4 names ahead of ours. He kept calling these other names. (I wanted to break his microphone). Three passengers answered the call. One seat left, counting the seconds - two minutes - 90 seconds - one minute - 30 seconds. Ok go you can get on. I ran
down the tunnel and steps out to the plane. Oh, oh, 2 muslims on the plane. Ok, don't be a bigot. Say a little prayer for a safe flight back to "The Good Life", Nebraska. About 2 o'clock I am in the familier Epply Airport - all by myself, sniff.
There were 3 more flights out of O'Hare. The next one to arrive at 5 something. I decide to wait until until the next flight due in around 5 before calling Bob to pick me up to wait or spend the night. I found an Omaha paper and worked the sudoku, the crossword puzzle and the scramble. Oh I read the paper, too. My cell phone battery was really getting low so I decided I would have to find a place to plug it it. I was smart enough to put the charger in my carry on. Sometimes I just amaze myself. The only place I could find an availabele plug in was, of course, the restroom. Just as I took my phone out of my pocket to plug it in, it rang. It was Ruth. They were all on the next flight. I almost shouted for joy. I charged my phone up for about 10 minutes just in case they had to call again. Ok, still 2 hours to kill. I decided to see if I could find our luggage, which I assume had arrived on time. I found the carosel for United, but no bags. I started serching. I found the locked room for unclaimed baggage and could see some familiar bags. I really didn't think I would be able to claim everyones bags, but I went to the counter anyway to see what I could do. The nice lady opened the door and let me take all the bags. I guess since I knew the names on the tags she was ok with it. Now I have 4 bags and 4 bowling ball bags and no where to sit but on the floor for about 2 hours. I found a book I had brought with and sat down. An airport employee came by and, after I explained the situation, said I could take the baggage cart sitting by the door and take the elevator up to meet the others. He helped me load the cart, but I decided to sit on a bench where I could see the esculator that the ladies would have to come down. This would be easier than wrestling all that luggage up the elevator. Good choice. About 5:20 my phone rang. It is Ruth asking where are you. I said just walk straight ahead when you come down the esculator. I looked up and there they were. We are all back in Omaha six hours late, but safe. (They told me that only one of their names was called to the gate, but they all went up and said there are three of us. The person at the gate handed them 3 tickets and said "get on the plane." The didn't argue. We assume someone pulled some strings to get them all on this flight. We really didn't think it would happen since there were at least 12 other people waiting on stand by.) We catch the shuttle to the parking lot and load up Lajeans car and decide we should eat. We had seen a little diner on Wednesday that looked rather inviting, but was just closing that night so we went there, had a sandwich and took off for Norfolk. No more problems. About 9:pm we got back to Lajeans where Ruth had left her car after picking up Phyllis & I. The process was reversed and Ruth took Phyllis and I home. Nice trip even with all the frustrations and bad bowling.
Sue
Friday, June 8, 2007
Trip
Wednesday - Lajean, Phyllis, Ruth & I left Norfolk around 6:30 pm. With a suggestion from me to avoid construction around Scribner & Hooper, we took the "scenic route" to Omaha. We took hwy 32 from West Point to Tekamah then through Herman and Blair and what we call the high road to Omaha. Two of the ladies had never been that way and enjoyed the change of scenery.
When we got to Omaha, we checked into our motel and started looking for a place to eat. We ended up at the Spaghetti Works in the Old Market. Back to the motel and to bed with an early wakeup call.
Thursday - Departure time 8:30 am Thursday. We had no problems with our flights or connection at O'Hare-Chicago. Kay and Kim had an earlier flight and were scheduled to arrive about the same time as us. They had trouble with planes not being up to snuff and were sent to 3 different gates before they got on one that was acceptable. They were about an hour late arriving in Charlotte. We checked with the airline to see when their flight would be in and were told it would be about an hour late. All safely in Charlotte, we had no problem getting shuttled to the rental place and getting our van. However getting all our luggage and bowling balls in the
van was not so easy. Apparantly the nice young man at Enterprise had loaded a lot of vans before ours. We got everything arranged and set off to find our motel. We had pretty good directions and didn't have much trouble finding it. It was a pretty nice place for a Days Inn. We
set off to find the first Bowling establishment, which was supposed to be about 20 minutes from our motel. If you have never been in Charlotte, it has the most confusing street system I have ever seen. The only street that runs straight is Hwy 77 north and south. All other streets look like a spider web only not as neat. A street may change name 3 or 4 times while you are driving on it. About 2 hours later, we finally found the place we were looking for. We had driven by it, but a tree was blocking the sign. Charlotte has so many trees that everything is hidden. While driving around the city, it seems as if you are in a forrest, but just on the other side of the trees are buildings and houses. There was a nice Mexican restaurant right by our motel so that is where we had our supper. Then to bed with an early (again) wakeup call since we had to be at the bowling center by 7:30.
Friday - Getting to the bowling center was a snap, and was only 20 minutes, once you know where you are going. Team bowling on Friday. We had 2 teams of 5. The other 4 ladies had made their own arrangements and plans for getting to and around Charlotte. I did manage to get close to my average for this event. Our team did not do anything too spectacular. Kay had a 213 which was the high in our group. After bowling we thought we better locate the next bowling center. Just as much trouble finding it as the first. However, now we have gotten a little smarter and ask. Only took us about an 1 1/2 hour to find it - 20 minutes in the opposite
direction from the motel. The Centers are not actually in Charlotte, but in the burbs. We decided to try to find the outlet mall in yet another suburb. We did find it taking the usual hour or two. Spent a couple of hour there. I bought a few things ( I love outlet malls). Back to the motel and accross the street to Murphy's Pub for supper. Nothing scheduled for early Saturday
morning so we get to sleep in. Midnight to get to bed.
Saturday - We don't bowl until 8:30 so have some time to be tourists. We have a bus tour scheduled for 1. They will pick us up at the motel for a nominal fee. After experiencing the street system, we opt to pay the extra $6.00 (well worth it). Nice, friendly, knowledgable driver. Took us around some of the neighborhoods, downtown and to some of the historical sights. There was a Greek festival in downtown, but we only had about 25 minutes to check it out. Really not much time. Seemed to be just like any other festival, only smelled like greek food. Mostly vendors trying to sell their wares. Noted sights - Jeff Gordon's condo, Randolph Scotts home and the cemetery where he is buried. Now we know the answer to the Statler Bros. song ,"Whatever Ever Happened to Randolph Scott?". Charlotte is named for Queen Charlotte, King George the something's Queen. Although George and Charlotte were not very popular, the city founders decided on the name to try to gain favor with the king. Nice tour and we saw places and learned a little of the history of the town. Will probably forget most of what he told us, but still feel like I might have learned something. Back to the motel to change into our bowling duds. Find something to eat and get to the Bowling alley. Yah, found it. Two of the
girls had trouble finding the place. If the bowling hadn't been behind schedule, they would not have made it. I did not do well in doubles and singles. Lajean was my doubles partner and although she had a couple of good games, we will probably not get any money back. A couple of the girls did good enough in singles to get a little back. If you go to these tournaments thinking you will make a lot of money, you just as well forget it. The fun is in what you do around your bowling schedule and going places you would not ordinarily go. We finished bowling around 11 and headed back to our motel. Another early wakup call for Sunday. (This is vacation?).
Sunday- 7:30 am start for Ashville to visit the Biltmore Estates. A 2 1/2 hour drive turned into 3 hours. Our usual wrong turn sent us into So Carolina. This is not a big deal, kind of like being in Council Bluffs instead of Omaha. The Biltmore is the largest privatly owned home in the US
250 rooms. It took about 3 hours to go through it. I'm sure if you are interested you can find more about it somewhere on the web. After we toured the house and gardens, we stopped at the winery for a selft guided tour and wine tasting. I have tried different wines at time and never really cared for any of them. We had a couple of sips of 6 different wines. I now know I do not like wine. Found a Cracker Barrel for supper. A waiter in the cafe told us of a "short cut"
back to Charlotte - big mistake. It took us on a curvey, two lane road for about 50 miles. Nice scenery, but it got dark before we found our way back to the 4-lane and to Charlotte. I think we stapped 3 times to ask directions. Back to the motel and the thought of sleeping in again.
Monday- We have a boat tour of the Lake Norman development set for 1. Allowing for wrong turns, we left plenty early. We finally asked directions (we are getting smarter). We were there
with about an hour to spare so walked around the dock and sat on the patio of the local cafe and enjoyed the nice weather. The tour was 3 hours long. Lake Norman has over 500 miles of shore line so we only saw a sampling. We had lunch on the boat and saw a lot of really expensive homes. One was once owned by Tony Stewart. Two others were built by twin brothers and had around 13000 square feet. One of the brothers had a pontoon and a dock for it. He did not use the boat that much so he sold it and converted the dock to a heliport for his helicopter. Since most of the passengers were in Charlotte for bowling, the captain pointed out one house that had a bowling lane in it. It was a nice day for a boat ride, but maybe could have been about half the time. Since it was not the weekend, there were just a few boats and jet skis out. We did see one
little boat with a couple of people fishing. After the boat ride we had more time. I had seen a Nieman Marcus sign as we passed one shopping center. Having never been in a N M store, I asked if we might just find it so I could say I had been in one. We did find it at a high end shopping mall. My time in N/M was very short. After looking at price tags of jeans ON SALE
for over $900.00 I headed for the sale racks of Belk's department store which is a locally owned chain of stores more in the Dillard's price range. I did find a pair of capris and a pair of shorts which I really didn't need, but bought anyway. We found a "diner" for supper which was probably the worst place we had eaten. Every other place was either the old reliables like BK or
we lucked out and had good food. Back to the motel and another early wake up call. I had repacked my suitcase in the morning so just had to find room for my new purchases. No problem.
Tuesday - The trip home is another blog. Shirley, you just about had an overnight guest.
Good to be back.
Sue
When we got to Omaha, we checked into our motel and started looking for a place to eat. We ended up at the Spaghetti Works in the Old Market. Back to the motel and to bed with an early wakeup call.
Thursday - Departure time 8:30 am Thursday. We had no problems with our flights or connection at O'Hare-Chicago. Kay and Kim had an earlier flight and were scheduled to arrive about the same time as us. They had trouble with planes not being up to snuff and were sent to 3 different gates before they got on one that was acceptable. They were about an hour late arriving in Charlotte. We checked with the airline to see when their flight would be in and were told it would be about an hour late. All safely in Charlotte, we had no problem getting shuttled to the rental place and getting our van. However getting all our luggage and bowling balls in the
van was not so easy. Apparantly the nice young man at Enterprise had loaded a lot of vans before ours. We got everything arranged and set off to find our motel. We had pretty good directions and didn't have much trouble finding it. It was a pretty nice place for a Days Inn. We
set off to find the first Bowling establishment, which was supposed to be about 20 minutes from our motel. If you have never been in Charlotte, it has the most confusing street system I have ever seen. The only street that runs straight is Hwy 77 north and south. All other streets look like a spider web only not as neat. A street may change name 3 or 4 times while you are driving on it. About 2 hours later, we finally found the place we were looking for. We had driven by it, but a tree was blocking the sign. Charlotte has so many trees that everything is hidden. While driving around the city, it seems as if you are in a forrest, but just on the other side of the trees are buildings and houses. There was a nice Mexican restaurant right by our motel so that is where we had our supper. Then to bed with an early (again) wakeup call since we had to be at the bowling center by 7:30.
Friday - Getting to the bowling center was a snap, and was only 20 minutes, once you know where you are going. Team bowling on Friday. We had 2 teams of 5. The other 4 ladies had made their own arrangements and plans for getting to and around Charlotte. I did manage to get close to my average for this event. Our team did not do anything too spectacular. Kay had a 213 which was the high in our group. After bowling we thought we better locate the next bowling center. Just as much trouble finding it as the first. However, now we have gotten a little smarter and ask. Only took us about an 1 1/2 hour to find it - 20 minutes in the opposite
direction from the motel. The Centers are not actually in Charlotte, but in the burbs. We decided to try to find the outlet mall in yet another suburb. We did find it taking the usual hour or two. Spent a couple of hour there. I bought a few things ( I love outlet malls). Back to the motel and accross the street to Murphy's Pub for supper. Nothing scheduled for early Saturday
morning so we get to sleep in. Midnight to get to bed.
Saturday - We don't bowl until 8:30 so have some time to be tourists. We have a bus tour scheduled for 1. They will pick us up at the motel for a nominal fee. After experiencing the street system, we opt to pay the extra $6.00 (well worth it). Nice, friendly, knowledgable driver. Took us around some of the neighborhoods, downtown and to some of the historical sights. There was a Greek festival in downtown, but we only had about 25 minutes to check it out. Really not much time. Seemed to be just like any other festival, only smelled like greek food. Mostly vendors trying to sell their wares. Noted sights - Jeff Gordon's condo, Randolph Scotts home and the cemetery where he is buried. Now we know the answer to the Statler Bros. song ,"Whatever Ever Happened to Randolph Scott?". Charlotte is named for Queen Charlotte, King George the something's Queen. Although George and Charlotte were not very popular, the city founders decided on the name to try to gain favor with the king. Nice tour and we saw places and learned a little of the history of the town. Will probably forget most of what he told us, but still feel like I might have learned something. Back to the motel to change into our bowling duds. Find something to eat and get to the Bowling alley. Yah, found it. Two of the
girls had trouble finding the place. If the bowling hadn't been behind schedule, they would not have made it. I did not do well in doubles and singles. Lajean was my doubles partner and although she had a couple of good games, we will probably not get any money back. A couple of the girls did good enough in singles to get a little back. If you go to these tournaments thinking you will make a lot of money, you just as well forget it. The fun is in what you do around your bowling schedule and going places you would not ordinarily go. We finished bowling around 11 and headed back to our motel. Another early wakup call for Sunday. (This is vacation?).
Sunday- 7:30 am start for Ashville to visit the Biltmore Estates. A 2 1/2 hour drive turned into 3 hours. Our usual wrong turn sent us into So Carolina. This is not a big deal, kind of like being in Council Bluffs instead of Omaha. The Biltmore is the largest privatly owned home in the US
250 rooms. It took about 3 hours to go through it. I'm sure if you are interested you can find more about it somewhere on the web. After we toured the house and gardens, we stopped at the winery for a selft guided tour and wine tasting. I have tried different wines at time and never really cared for any of them. We had a couple of sips of 6 different wines. I now know I do not like wine. Found a Cracker Barrel for supper. A waiter in the cafe told us of a "short cut"
back to Charlotte - big mistake. It took us on a curvey, two lane road for about 50 miles. Nice scenery, but it got dark before we found our way back to the 4-lane and to Charlotte. I think we stapped 3 times to ask directions. Back to the motel and the thought of sleeping in again.
Monday- We have a boat tour of the Lake Norman development set for 1. Allowing for wrong turns, we left plenty early. We finally asked directions (we are getting smarter). We were there
with about an hour to spare so walked around the dock and sat on the patio of the local cafe and enjoyed the nice weather. The tour was 3 hours long. Lake Norman has over 500 miles of shore line so we only saw a sampling. We had lunch on the boat and saw a lot of really expensive homes. One was once owned by Tony Stewart. Two others were built by twin brothers and had around 13000 square feet. One of the brothers had a pontoon and a dock for it. He did not use the boat that much so he sold it and converted the dock to a heliport for his helicopter. Since most of the passengers were in Charlotte for bowling, the captain pointed out one house that had a bowling lane in it. It was a nice day for a boat ride, but maybe could have been about half the time. Since it was not the weekend, there were just a few boats and jet skis out. We did see one
little boat with a couple of people fishing. After the boat ride we had more time. I had seen a Nieman Marcus sign as we passed one shopping center. Having never been in a N M store, I asked if we might just find it so I could say I had been in one. We did find it at a high end shopping mall. My time in N/M was very short. After looking at price tags of jeans ON SALE
for over $900.00 I headed for the sale racks of Belk's department store which is a locally owned chain of stores more in the Dillard's price range. I did find a pair of capris and a pair of shorts which I really didn't need, but bought anyway. We found a "diner" for supper which was probably the worst place we had eaten. Every other place was either the old reliables like BK or
we lucked out and had good food. Back to the motel and another early wake up call. I had repacked my suitcase in the morning so just had to find room for my new purchases. No problem.
Tuesday - The trip home is another blog. Shirley, you just about had an overnight guest.
Good to be back.
Sue
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