It is 1:22 PM and I’m at CLT. The two week vacation is now over and I’m heading back to California. As usual the trip went quickly but Asheville in particular has been a complete blur due to all the activities, kids running around and of course local craft beer.
We arrived last Saturday and got settled into a beautiful house in a golf course type of neighborhood. The following day we went to the Standard Pizza company to await the arrival of my uncle whose 70th birthday was the reason our entire extended family traveled to North Carolina. Living so far away I hadn’t seen many of them in a few years and during that time the family had expanded considerably. There were little ones running around everywhere! It turns out we all kept the secret well and he was surprised to see us all there. There was pizza, plenty of beer and it was great to catch up with everyone.
After the party we meandered over to the apartments where everyone (but us!) were staying and settled next to the pool with a cooler full of beer. We weren’t there too long as it was getting late and the little ones needed to get to bed.
The following morning some of the guys went fly fishing early in the morning. When they came back we ended up going on the Ale Trail on the South Slope. We started at Burial Brewery then to Catawba. Japan vs. Poland was on TV but unfortunately Japan lost. So sad….
The next day was golf and we played a friendly scramble. Our group didn’t do too badly and we were sure to beat the other team comprised of my Uncle Dan, Cousin Nick and cousin-in-law Scott. At the end of the round Uncle Dan’s team told us they were 6 under par! Now Uncle Dan is a very good golfer but Scott and Nick have a hard time hitting the side of a barn. My group was two under par and we’re pretty good so there is no way in Hades that they were six under. I know exactly what happened: they didn’t want to hear for the next ten years how we had beaten them so they all took an oath that they would keep to the story about being six under par. I tried to get the truth out of Nick later but he held firm!
After golf it was back to the pool but my sister neglected to bring my swim trunks. I had on a nice pair of Calvin Cline briefs and so I just hopped in with them. I was sure nobody could tell that they weren’t actual trunks but some thought otherwise. 🙂 We were there playing beer pong on a raft in the water but it wasn’t long before storm clouds gathered and we had to retreat for cover.
On Wednesday I was able to go rafting down the river on an inner-tube and we even had one for our cooler. It was my Uncle Dan, Caitie, Catie’s friend Casey and Meghan. I hadn’t made a reservation and being the 4th they were completely booked. However, I was determined so went to Walmart, bought myself a french fry shaped raft and went along with them. I was able to talk my way in to getting a tube and shuttle ride saying that my family had forgotten to make a reservation for me and I was extremely sad! It was very peaceful and we had a lot of good conversation (and beer) on roughly the three hour trip down the river.
In the evening we went to an Asheville Tourist baseball game which also had fireworks at the end. I didn’t get to see too much of the game as I was busy talking with all of my relatives.
It is now Friday and here I am on the trip back to California. It took just under two hours to get from Asheville to CLT and now I fly to Midway then to Oakland. I had intended to go from Midway to San Francisco but the flight was looking full so had to change it to Oakland since I’m on standby and didn’t want to get stuck in Chicago. My flight leaves in about two and a half hours. Once I get to Oakland I’ll have to take the BART and then a Lyft which should get me home by 11:30 PM. It will be a long day.
