Staycation

I currently sit, undisturbed, coffee in hand, after two nights of as-long-as-I-feel-like sleeping, and waking to just the chirping birds, rather than "Mama...mama...maaaaaaama...I'm huuuunnnngry." It is pretty fabulous, I'd have to admit. And I'm relishing in it.

My mom and dad are watching the girls this weekend, while Jarrett and I are enjoying being home alone, and enjoying our new city, sans children. Elsa had school on Friday, cutting Spring Break slightly short because of a needed makeup day due to snow. So after she got out of school, I drove both girls south and met my mom halfway between Greensboro and Charlotte. Elsa and Avie were both so excited to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house, which made leaving them very easy. We met in a Wendy's parking lot, and they each got a small Frosty as a treat for the rest of the ride to Charlotte (thanks, Mom, for braving that in your car).

Jarrett was in Atlanta for business from Thursday morning until Friday evening. So as I was driving fro and to Greensboro, he was in a plane, headed back. But he actually ended up beating me home. On Friday, we decided to go out to an Indian restaurant, Saffron, which I had been to before with Kate, when she was here for a visit, but Jarrett had not yet tried. It was just as delicious as the first time I was there, and Jarrett really enjoyed it as well. When we got back home, we settled in downstairs to watch Lone Survivor. Wow. It's a great movie, but very intense. We were still talking about how incredible it was (seeing as it is a true story) the next morning.

Yesterday morning—and the entire day—was delightful. I slept until 8:30 a.m., which is pretty much unheard of for me. After getting ready, we went to The Iron Hen for breakfast, and then on to the Greensboro Curb Market, where we chose what we wanted to cook for dinner yesterday evening. After dropping the food back off at the house, we grabbed Jarrett's golf clubs and headed to Bur-Mil Park. The park is quite large, and includes a pool, a couple of playgrounds, fishing ponds, walking trails, mountain biking trails, and a driving range and golf course. In just the past couple of weeks, Jarrett has tried, and fallen back in love with, golfing, both hitting balls at the driving range, and then playing a round of golf with a friend at another nearby course. So yesterday he convinced me to try to hit some balls with him. I don't think I'd ever swung a golf club (aside from playing putt-putt), so I was a little nervous. But Jarrett must be a good teacher, as I was actually making contact with the ball, and even had a few decent hits by the end of our jumbo bucket of balls. It was really a lot of fun. Once we were to the bottom of the bucket, we decided to take a short stroll on one of the trails. The weather was just perfect, and it was such a nice day to be outside.

Post park, we tried The Burger Spot for lunch. People had told us about this place, but it was the first time we had been there. It's small, and shares a building with a gas station. But the burgers are really good, especially if you enjoy that flame-broiled flavor. Even with my restricted diet right now (no gluten, dairy, or eggs), I left quite satisfied with my lettuce-wrapped burger and fries. Yummy.

From there, we headed back downtown and went to the International Civil Rights Museum, which is at the site of the Woolworths, where the first sit-in occurred at its dining counter, by four NC A&T college students. The museum was different, in that you are actually led on a tour throughout its entirety. It was nice because I am sure the tour guide told us more than we would have gleaned by just reading all of the signs. But it also proved to be a little difficult with a larger group of people, and not being able to go at your own pace. Overall, it was a great experience, though, and a good reminder of how recent the civil rights movement really occurred.

After the museum, we went to Dick's Sporting Goods so Jarrett could browse golf bags. ;) And by this time, we were both starting to drag. I think it was a combination of the pollen and doing a lot in one day, but I felt like I was 80 years old by the end of it all. However, the evening was not over yet, and after a trip to Home Depot for some gardening supplies, we went home and started cooking dinner. We ended up with a plate of delicious goodness—pork chops with Jarrett's famous caper sauce; a brussel sprout hash with bacon, onions, and garlic; sauteed swiss chard; and a good bottle of wine.

We listened to music over dinner, and really just enjoyed the relaxing evening. The mistake was attempting to watch another movie—this time, The Imitation Game. I guess it was only a mistake on my part, as Jarrett watched the entire movie and said it was great, but I was dead asleep on the couch about 20 minutes into it. Oh well.

Today, we are going to go back to the Greensboro Curb Market for a plant sale so we can get a few more starter plants for the raised beds Jarrett built a few weeks ago... and anything else that might strike our fancy. And there will also be food trucks, so it should be a fun end to our weekend before we need to head back down to meet my parents and bring our two sweet girls back home.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for taking good care of our girls! Times like these help refresh and renew these tired parents. Now we are ready to take them on again! :)