We made it to Charlotte!!!
After 15 hours of (Scott) driving in the rain on Wed, we made it to our new home around 2am. You can see a picture of our building here. Boy were we exhausted! For me it was rough having to doze much of the way in the cramped seat... ;)
It wasn't all work and no play though. We made a stop at the Lunay Caverns in Virginia. OMG it was amazing. The Car and Carriage Caravan Museum nearby was fun too.
I'm happy to find quite a few places within a few minutes' walk away: restaurants, wine bars, coffee shops, a nail salon, pubs. The selection is not quite like the East Village, but enough to satisfy this city girl. We did have trouble finding an Asian noodle shop one night as I was craving a big bowl of steaming noodle soup. But as consolation we found an equivalent of 16 Handles to get our froyo fix. We'll be back often I'm sure. I'm definitely keeping a lookout for Asiany places though.
To be sure, Charlotte is full of strip malls and chain restaurants. But there are enough cool independent places to discover. For one, this morning I walked over to the small farmer's market that is literally at the end of our parking lot. It was buzzing but not crowded by NYC standards, and everyone was so friendly. I was chatting with all the vendors who were super nice and neighborly. They have fresh veggies, baked good, meats, seafood, coffee, etc. We'll be there every week.
And for entertainment, we practically went camping at the Bass Pro Shop last night. For a grand total of $2.19, we played target shooting, viewed fish in the aquarium, lounged in camouflage lazy boy chairs which Scott threatened to buy, played with a few of their thousands of fishing poles and ate candy. We could've bought a pontoon boat for $12,665 but we thought we'd wait until we settle in a bit more.
Speaking of which, settling in is going to take a little while. It entails buying every appliance you can think of, changing the water heater, building out the closet, add another coat of paint besides unpacking. But every little milestone is cherished. Like our first sit down meal (leftover sandwich) at the table with real glasses (instead of water bottles) and plates. Hooking up speakers to the computer meant a little dancing in the kitchen in the midst of unpacking. It also means Scott busting out his guitar and figuring out how to strum a song just played on Pandora - right around the time the Texas football game is starting. I don't think I'll remind him.
So, things are moving along. For date night tonight, we'll be visiting Ikea, Crate and Barrel, and maybe even Williams Sonoma. Ooooh, can't wait. ;)
After 15 hours of (Scott) driving in the rain on Wed, we made it to our new home around 2am. You can see a picture of our building here. Boy were we exhausted! For me it was rough having to doze much of the way in the cramped seat... ;)
It wasn't all work and no play though. We made a stop at the Lunay Caverns in Virginia. OMG it was amazing. The Car and Carriage Caravan Museum nearby was fun too.
I'm happy to find quite a few places within a few minutes' walk away: restaurants, wine bars, coffee shops, a nail salon, pubs. The selection is not quite like the East Village, but enough to satisfy this city girl. We did have trouble finding an Asian noodle shop one night as I was craving a big bowl of steaming noodle soup. But as consolation we found an equivalent of 16 Handles to get our froyo fix. We'll be back often I'm sure. I'm definitely keeping a lookout for Asiany places though.
To be sure, Charlotte is full of strip malls and chain restaurants. But there are enough cool independent places to discover. For one, this morning I walked over to the small farmer's market that is literally at the end of our parking lot. It was buzzing but not crowded by NYC standards, and everyone was so friendly. I was chatting with all the vendors who were super nice and neighborly. They have fresh veggies, baked good, meats, seafood, coffee, etc. We'll be there every week.
And for entertainment, we practically went camping at the Bass Pro Shop last night. For a grand total of $2.19, we played target shooting, viewed fish in the aquarium, lounged in camouflage lazy boy chairs which Scott threatened to buy, played with a few of their thousands of fishing poles and ate candy. We could've bought a pontoon boat for $12,665 but we thought we'd wait until we settle in a bit more.
Speaking of which, settling in is going to take a little while. It entails buying every appliance you can think of, changing the water heater, building out the closet, add another coat of paint besides unpacking. But every little milestone is cherished. Like our first sit down meal (leftover sandwich) at the table with real glasses (instead of water bottles) and plates. Hooking up speakers to the computer meant a little dancing in the kitchen in the midst of unpacking. It also means Scott busting out his guitar and figuring out how to strum a song just played on Pandora - right around the time the Texas football game is starting. I don't think I'll remind him.
So, things are moving along. For date night tonight, we'll be visiting Ikea, Crate and Barrel, and maybe even Williams Sonoma. Ooooh, can't wait. ;)
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