North Carolina

After coming home very late last night and not being able to go to sleep for more than 2 hours, I went on a 10-hour drive to visit Linda in North Carolina. I thought it would be really bad but it was not really a problem. I didn't get tired at all. I was on the Interstate until Macon and then drove towards North Carolina on Highways. I think it would have been a bigger problem had I stayed on the Interstate (boring!), but the variety of the Highways kept me alert. And once I got close to North Georgia the road started to twist and turn and the mountains kept me interested.

Linda told me that there was snow in their driveway, but as I was driving it was 54 degrees outside, way too warm for snow. But during the last 30 minutes of my drive, as I got higher in the mountains, the temperatures dropped almost 20 degrees. And the I saw it: SNOW! 100%, genuine, honest-to-goodness SNOW!

I had not seen snow since 2001 and it made me very happy! Even if this all the snow I'll see on this trip, I will be happy.

When I arrived at Linda's there really was snow in the driveway. The driveway is VERY steep and there was no way I was driving up there. Both Linda and I parked close to the street and walked up to the house. Did I mention that the driveway is very steep? Well, it is . . . and by the time I got up there, walking in the snow, packed down with my clothes and stuff I would need for the next few days, I was sure I'll have a stroke or a heart attack - or both! At least Linda knows where the closest Emergency Room is :). It turned out that we didn't need anything that drastic, so after a little while we went down the driveway and drove to dinner at the "Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company".

When we came back after dinner we settled in close to the fireplace and knit for a while.

WICKED!

Today was the day we saw the musical "WICKED". I was very excited to see it.

First we met for dinner at J Alexanders. Daisy, Dale, Paula, Amanda and I had a good time and good food, and we even shared a dessert!

After dinner we all squeezed into Dale's Beetle Bug and drove to the Tampa Bay Performance Art Center to see "WICKED".

The curtain on the stage was actually a map of the Emerald City,

and the dragon was huge, presiding over the stage and the musical.

The musical was amazing and I loved it. It was over at 11pm, but it took us another half hour to get out of the parking lot. That's what happens if you go to the theater with 2500 of your closest friends!

What happened?

Apparently nothing happened since September when I made my last entry. Or maybe it happened but was never written down. I'll try to do better.

Well, Linda and I went to the newest tea room in South Tampa again. It's called Kittridge House and is one of our favorite tea rooms at the moment. The food is sooo good and there is plenty of it. Good food and good company - what more do we need?