Rapid Integration Weekend

Six months, a week and a day after our move to Charlotte, our integration felt complete.

It started on Friday evening with our visit to the Charlotte Fair. Scott and his business partner had met the event organizers the day before and had taken video footage of the fair. When Scott and I arrived the next day, he had already befriended the promoter and the ticket collector, who waved us through a side entrance, bypassing the line of people waiting to pay for their admissions. It wasn’t the same as getting past the velvet rope on a Saturday night in the Meatpacking – it was better.

Instead of watching the mating rituals of Manhattanites, we saw baby animals at the petting zoo that resulted from actual mating at the fair. Furry lambs with budding horns stuck their heads out of the wire fence eager to be petted or fed; a baby chick that just broke free from its eggshell struggled to learn to walk while her days-old siblings piled up on top of each other in one fuzzy yellow heap; a dozen piglets lay in a row by their mother suckling and napping; and a dairy cow was being milked to feed the three hungry calves playing nearby. I even got to see the 1,600-pound World’s Fattest Pig without paying the 50¢ that the guard with a cowboy hat was collecting. It was as good as getting past the bouncer at a swanky club without paying a cover charge.

Then we waltzed into the adjoining collectibles car auction where Scott chatted business with the venue’s General Manager. A couple of hundred cars – from early 1900s Model-Ts to 50s Chevy Sport Coupes to 80s Datsuns – were on display. Aficionados, mostly middle-aged men, walked about admiring the automobiles and peering under the hoods to scrutinize the engines. A parade of cars was being driven one by one to the auction arena where a hundred potential buyers sat focused on the rapid fire auctioneer. A stunning cherry red Thunderbird from the 50s was in line heading for the auction arena when I saw a man run his fingers lasciviously over its curves. It looked almost pornographic. In fact, I felt like a voyeur. The auction was an intimate glimpse into a subculture that I bet few Charlotteans know about.

The next day, we became members of the Mint Museum. It is the MoMA of Charlotte and even physically resembles it. I was impressed and honestly relieved that such a museum existed in Charlotte, and was happy to find a worthy replacement for my lapsed MoMA membership.

What capped the weekend of Rapid Integration was the result of the campaign picnic hosted by the Democratic candidate for city commissioner, who Scott was doing some work with. We met the candidate, his wife, his campaign manager, and the crew who roasted a whole pig – Carolina style – in a smoker hauled in for the occasion. The pork and slaw was delicious and I wished I could’ve brought leftovers home with me.

What we did bring home though, were a few lawn signs urging people to vote for the candidate. Actually, they never made it home. On our way back, we stopped to stick our Marc for Meck signs into the side of the road, right next to those from his competition – Craig Madans County Commissioner At Large and Oronde McLean for Meck County.

From Charlotte’s low to its high brow, in one weekend, we covered it all.

DC Part Deux

In protest of airfares that were unjustifiably expensive for a mere hour’s flight, we embarked on another eight-hour road trip to DC last weekend. Unjustifiable to me anyway, since we could fly almost twice the distance to NY for much less.

It also helped that we just traded in Scott’s 17-year old Acura Vigor for a new Subaru Outback. Compared to the Vigor which had no working radio or plug to charge our phones (a can of Coke had exploded on the media console) and that the only working component was the cassette deck (yes, cassette deck,) the drive in the Outback was downright luxurious. Satellite radio, USB port, Bluetooth, cupholders. It was like trading up to high speed after years of dial-up.

A couple of hours into our drive we stopped at Shoney’s for dinner. It was the least evil option out of KFC, Peking Palace, Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen. We wisely opted out of the all-you-can-eat all-day breakfast and fried chicken bar and had meatloaf and grilled chicken, the latter of which was surprisingly tasty and moist. (In fact, it was better than the grilled chicken from the trendy Madhatter in DC a couple of nights later.) We were fascinated by their indestructible pewter salad plates, which could be the very same ones in use over 60 years ago when the restaurant chain got started.

The next day, aided by my foodie friend, we kicked off our gourmet weekend with lunch at Tabard Inn  – a charming historic inn that housed a popular restaurant. My seafood gumbo with fried oysters was AMAZING and I suddenly realized how long it’s been since I’d tasted innovative cooking.

Other culinary delights included Rasika – not a simple feat since Ms. Foodie had to make a hard-won reservation over two months ago. It was fancy Indian and our group of five shared excellent appetizers, but the entrees were unremarkable. The next day we had dim sum at Ping Pong, a modern and business client-worthy take on the old noisy push-cart variety in Chinatown. Our favorite was the steamed pork bun but we were disappointed that one of our favorite standards – rice-flour rolls stuffed with shrimp or other fixings – was not even on the menu.

Speaking of Chinatown, which boasts an impressive pagoda gateway, runs for exactly one block. Unless you count all the businesses surrounding that block that proudly display their Chinese heritage: AnnTaylor Loft, Vapiano Pasta Pizza Bar, Starbucks, Verizon Center, Fuddruckers.

The real reason for the trip was not to gorge ourselves but to participate in the annual Cherry Blossom Run. The scenic route looped around the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial and ran along the riverfront, circling the East Potomac golf course. As the ultimate false advertisement, 15,000 runners showed up with no cherry blossoms to be found. We were 10 days late in one of the earliest blooms in recent history. As consolation, hearty pompoms of pink apple blossoms appeared along the way to cheer us on.

Despite inadequate training, Scott broke his personal goal and finished the race in 1h27m. It took me 18 more minutes but I succeeded in not stopping. Our friend Jenn finished well ahead of expectations, and Ms. Foodie finished the 5K with a 9:51 minute mile with no prior training, then took off promptly for brunch.

With that under my belt, who knows, the Nike Half Marathon in San Francisco may be next. I heard they give out Tiffany necklaces. That’s gotta be a step up from the T-shirts we got, which Scott may just use to wipe dirt off our Outback.