Back in North Carolina

We stopped on Monday at the Santee State Park in South Carolina. A very nice park on Lake Marion. It was pretty cool with a strong wind coming off the lake. Gary walked Elli on Tuesday morning and met a few folks as he went along. Since he was wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt a couple of them asked if he was from Florida or a Yankee. It was brisk and they were bundled up. They just didn't understand how he could be comfortable. Gary told them that when the temperature gets down to about 45* he'll put on long pants. So far, that hasn't happened lately.



On Wednesday Mom and I went up to Buies Creek and met my sister Teresa for lunch. Afterwards we stopped at Wal-Mart to re-stock our groceries. Gary and my Dad ran their own set of errands.
I don't think I mentioned that a few weeks ago my Dad had an accident with their mini-van. Slick roads and poor visibility contributed to it's demise. Thankfully Dad wasn't injured. Since then they've been considering the replacement vehicle. Thursday became the "let's shop" for a new vehicle day. NOT my favorite pastime. But necessary.

By Friday morning, they had decided on a 2005 Toyota Sienna mini-van. Mom, Dad and I drove the diesel Ford back up to Fuquay-Varina to do the deal and pick it up.

When we looked at it on Thursday, it looked gray. Well...when we got there to pick it up it was a lovely shade of blue. We knew it had been dirty due to pollen and some road construction going on near the car dealership but had no idea it was so bad. It cleaned up GOOD!!
A couple of hours later we headed on back to the house. Me driving the big diesel truck and Dad in the new van. They were pretty excited to have the new addition.

Dad immediately put a for sale sign in the cargo van they've been driving since the accident. Anyone need a 1998 Ford E150 cargo van? White..they're asking $5000 for it but you can probably get it for less.

On Saturday most of my brothers and sister and families came down to Mom and Dads. We had a great visit while feasting on Bojangles chicken and yummy sides prepared by all. We missed our daughter Jenn being there. She recently started a new job and had to work.

Saturday morning we learned our good friend Rita had been admitted to the hospital and was having surgery later in the day. We were relieved to hear from her husband Van later in the afternoon that everything went well and she was doing better. This morning we drove up to Durham to visit for a while. She'll be in the hospital for a few more days as she recovers. This is only the second time in her life she's been in a hospital. The first and only other time was 29 years and 4 days before when her son Daniel was born. The staff at Durham Regional seem to be doing right by her so far and overall I think she is pleased their care. Her sister Cheryl has been staying close by just to make sure.

This afternoon Jenn and her husband Mark came over and we went out to the Western Sizzlin with them and Mom and Dad. They started having computer problems as Gary went to pay.
For a while we thought we'd be doing dishes to pay for our supper. No cash with us and a broken credit card computer does not make for a peaceful dinner. Gary kept reassuring the manager that we weren't going to eat their food and leave without paying. In the meantime we were enjoying the buffet and steaks we'd ordered. Gary had to go back to the register twice more as they tried to resolve the issue. Finally they got the problem fixed and Gary signed the ticket. All of this took almost a half hour to resolve. Do you think he got a "Sorry for the trouble"...NOT!!!
The manager did come by again and check to see if we needed anything else.. still no apology or thank you for the business. I think I'd at least have said that. But we've never had any problems before and the food there is usually excellent, so we'll be going back again at some point I'm sure.