Well after some fun times in Atlanta, I headed out through Georgia mid-day so I could avoid the storms that were coming, It rained and had a little thunder and lightning that morning that just rolled through but there was another storm front that was to hit later that afternoon with the possibility of tornadoes and other nasty things!
I rolled through Northern Georgia and South Carolina like a TORNADO myself and as I entered North Carolina, it began to rain heavily, again reminding me of my roots in Seattle! As I continued on things got worse and I saw at least a dozen accidents caused by slick roadways and the first hint of rain! I thought to myself... now I know that when it snows often times things grind to a halt and that nobody seems to know how to drive in it but RAIN come on now!? It was really strange but again there were accidents everywhere but most were simply cars that had slid of the road into the embankments! Apparently more people need to travel out to the NW corner and learn to drive there first!?
Anyways, after heading into Charlotte, I met up with Lara and Subakom who live on the outskirts of the city in a beautiful neighborhood and nice house! As soon as I got there they welcomed me with open arms and some much needed snacks! I hadn't seen Lara in almost 10 years since we first Founded the Beta Lambda chapter of AKPSI and this visit was LONG overdue! I was in for quite the treat as well as they had invited several friends over for a fun evening in with games/great food and conversations! I had one of my first sessions with real home-cooked Indian food that both expanded my palate and tickled my taste buds! Now, I love spicy food but often times my stomach tends to be a little on the sensitive side but this meal was no problem and I loved every minute of it! Once again we ate in Europe at like 9:00pm but had plenty of drinks including Gin-Ling and Sangria beforehand, both home-made and oh so thirst-quenching!
After the other guests arrived we sat down for that same food and chatted about life and travels and every other topic you can imagine! All of this while thunder, lightning, rain, and hail lit up the sky, creating an amazing background of sounds and sensations while the night wore on! After finishing our dinner we then dined on Lara's home-cooked brownies that also were a distinct highlight, drank some more and Wii'ed it up with the Nintendo before retiring for the evening!
The next day we set out and toured down town Charlotte, which was both beautiful and clean and little did I know but Charlotte is actually a rather small city as far as the down town and skyscrapers are concerned! This was a nice change from other cities and I really found myself enjoying the area and less claustrophobic, etc then in other places I've visited! We hit up local museums where we learned about the history of North Carolina from its days of Cotton through the Banking and Financial Mecca that it has become today! We also checked out where we would be going later that evening to dine, drink and dance the night away in what I would term the epicenter of "Fun Times" in Charlotte! After heading back out of the city, we hit up "Cracker Barrel" which is a great restaurant and store that I had passed on freeways now for many states but hadn't had the chance to really enjoy yet! We ate like Kings and then finished the early afternoon with a tour of the local Nascar Raceway which is huge here as many of the drivers including Dale Earnhardt Jr., etc., actually live in Charlotte! After this we headed home and took a Siesta after the fine Cracker Barrel Fiesta, which was much needed due to our massive food coma's!
For most of the rest of the afternoon we slept and then got caught up on Facebook and also did a mini slide show of my findings and photos from the rest of the trip! After relaxing for a few hours we headed back out to eat at a great Pizza joint down town and then it was off to MEZ which was a great and very LARGE upscale club in downtown Charlotte! When we got there we settled into some lucky sofa's outside on the patio overlooking the down town popular spot and also with great views of the skyline there as well! We settled up next to a fire on the deck/patio there and hunkered down treating each other to shots and mixed drinks, all the while making new friends and meeting up with several of my friend's, friends and coworkers as well! My social highlight of the evening was meeting a beautiful young professional/could have been MODEL named SARAH from Yugoslavia! We talked about Charlotte and her experiences there as well as the old country! (I'm half Latvian) After some more great conversations and all we bid adieu to each other and continued the evening with my other friends until we nearly closed down the joint in the wee early hours of the morning! Another great night with some new BFF's and times that I will never forget! I truly do love you guys and hope we can do this again, but lets not wait another 8-10 years to do so!!! ;)
The next morning we slept in quite a bit and relaxed before I headed back out on the road to head up to Virginia and Washington DC to visit with some brothers for the first time and family I hadn't seen in years! I had an amazing experience in Charlotte and will definitely consider it as a potential place to settle down! Beautiful people, Did I mention that the woman to man ratio is like 6 to 1!!! I like those ODDS!!! ;) The scenery is great, the weather is great, and believe it or not, it is still growing at a good rate despite the economy and times we live in! See you again Charlotte and Lara and Subakom! Thanks for everything and as always...Much Professional LUV!!!
MACKOUT!!!
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