Quick Trip To Charlotte, NC

One thing about being retired is that others think you have unlimited time to do whatever you want.  We learned long ago that premise isn't exactly true.  Along with our choices of things to do, others think our time can be shared with them.  Now don't get me wrong, we do like to share our lives with our children and grandchildren.

Larry Jr and Jane had a great opportunity to spend a few days in Las Vegas with most of the trip paid for.  They called us a couple months ago and asked if we could stay at their home and get Grant to school and back for a few days.  Their trip fit into our plans so we drove down on Wednesday last week to "baby sit" Grant for a few days.  He is taller than Gerry now so we can't really call it baby sitting.

It's 460 miles between the cabin and their home in Mint Hill, NC.  We jumped on I-70W and then caught I-81S at Hagerstown, MD.  Gasoline was $2.03/gallon at the Costco in Winchester, VA and it was on our way so we filled up there.  The lines were long at the gas station but moved fast since you can't clean your windows at Costco.  

Back on I-81 and the endless line of trucks speeding along at 75mph with almost bumper to bumper traffic isn't my idea of fun.  You had to stay in the fast lane or you couldn't get back in the lane if you pulled to the slow lane.  Even though the speed limit was 70mph you had to drive 75-80 to keep the trucks and cars from running over you.

We connected with I-77S near Wytheville, VA and it was almost as bad as I-81.  The trucks did have to slow down climbing the mountain on the VA/NC border but they made up for it on the downward side of the mountain.  One truck was going at least 80+ and it had the name of a race car driver on the trailer.  Zoom Zoom.

This looked like it belonged here.

While we were in the Charlotte area we visited with Barbara & Henry and got to see all our grandchildren at their house for a Saturday dinner.  They are a great bunch of young adults and always fun to be around and catch up on their lives.  Grandson Sean and Taylor (wife) are expecting twin girls in October and she looked and sounded like she was ready to get the birthing over.

All too quickly it was Sunday evening and time to pick up Larry & Jane at the airport.  They had a great time and made the most of the short trip by taking in the Cirque de Soleil show Zoomanity.  They are both big fans of the Cirque and really enjoyed the show.  It was the first time either had been to Vegas and they were impressed with the Fremont light show also.  Their room overlooked the Bellagio dancing water light show and thought it was great.

Resting up after the trip.

We also had to cat and dog sit while we were there.  They get along fine and rough house it all the time.  The cat attacks the dog and works him over except they had him declawed since he was tearing up all their furniture. 

 

We hung around another day and finally bid our farewell on Tuesday morning.  They had class and work to attend to and we needed to get back to the cabin and prepare for Barbara and Henry's visit this weekend.

The ride back was easier and the traffic was lighter for some reason.  The gas was $1.86 in Matthews, NC and $1.94 in Winchester, VA so that was great.  The CRV averaged 33 mpg for the trip so we were pleased with the economy.  All in all we drove over 1,000 trouble free miles.

Now we are busy getting ready for the weekend.