I arrived in Charlotte, NC, Sunday night to visit my friend, Blair, and her family. Blair and I went to college together, though we didn't know each other. After college, a mutual friend introduced us when we were each looking for a housemate. I must say, we were the best housemates EVER.
I haven't seen Blair in forever. In fact, her eldest daughter is 6, and this is the first time I'm meeting her!
Last night we went trick-or-treating, and I'm so glad I was staying with a family with kids on Halloween. I'll have pics for you. Blair's oldest daughter, Jane Conway, was a geisha girl, and the littlest, 3 years old, was Tinkerbell. This is a great neighborhood. After counting very carefully, Jane Conway determined she had -- no joke -- 194 pieces of candy. Holy cow! She gets one piece a day, so she has 6 months of candy. Whoa.
Today I got up at 6:00am (those of you who know me know that that was very hard :) and came to work with Blair. While she works, I'm going to explore downtown Charlotte. I am already in love. I just adore silly little things. For example, years ago when I was in Taipei, Taiwan, I fell in love with their "Walk" signals at intersections. Unlike the boring, ol' United States, their little "Walk" man actually walks. But here's the best part: when you have 7 seconds left to cross, he breaks into a run! I'm not kidding! He runs! I made my very patient friend stand at the intersection for three light changes so I could watch.
In Blair's building, they have these fantastic elevators. On a digital screen, you tap in the floor you want. Then the screen tells you which numbered elevator to get on. THEN, and this is the best part, it automatically takes you to your floor! You don't punch in a number or anything! It just goes. Blair says she's so used to it that when she uses an elevator outside of work, she walks into the elevator and just stands there, waiting for it to magically take her to her floor. Then, when people stare at her, she remembers to hit the floor button. Love it!
The next thing is this awesome walkway called the Mall. It is a raised, enclosed walkway that connects a whole bunch of office buildings, and inside are retailers and restaurants. It goes for blocks! And you're always inside! It reminds me very much of an underground mall I was in once (Toronto? I honestly don't remember where that underground mall was.). Except it's not really a mall, but a connecting walkway. I just love it.
Also, I have discovered Caribou Coffe. Now, they much have done some new stuff. I've been to Caribou once or twice in airports and was not impressed. But yesterday I was out with Blair's mom, Pat, during the day, and we went to Caribou Coffee. When I ordered hot chocolate, they asked, "White, milk, or dark?" and I was in love. Could a better question be asked when ordering hot chocolate? Not likely, though if I ever have a chocolate shop, I hope to ask, "Godiva, Ghirardelli, or Dilettente?" That's once I find someone who wants to finance my chocolate and mail shop who is rich enough to not care if my shop is always in the red. If YOU are rich and would like to subsidize my chocolate and mail shop, please let me know!
Okay, that's all for now. I'm going to try to load pictures now.
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