We woke up just in time to shower, dress, pack and check out of the COURTYARD MARRIOTT. This hotel was SO nice. They had the BEST free coffee in the lobby (24 hours a day -- we were both drinking a lot of it the past 3 days), the room was fabulous and the bed was really comfy!
This building was the town post office, built in 1939. We loved the giant bicycle. I tried to get Eric to pose like he was trying to get on it, but he wouldn't do it. Wouldn't that have been funny?
We ate NUTRISYSTEM muffins for breakfast (with their fabulous coffee) and then drove around MATTHEWS a little. We went to BICYCLES EAST, the bike shop in town. It’s a really cute shop that is in the building that used to be the Matthews Post Office, which was built in 1939! Eric spoke to Bill for quite some time and Bill showed Eric lots of great trails on the computer.
A close-up of the giant bicycle!
After that we went over to an antique shop I had noticed nearby. It was a small antique mall, meaning that different people have sections of the shop where their merchandise is for sale and one person runs the shop, selling for all the other people. The prices ranged from really reasonable to slightly overpriced, but I was pretty impressed with the quality of merchandise and there were a few pieces I’d love to own!
I left without buying anything and then Eric and I drove around Matthews a little more, going far out enough to pass cows and horses. That’s the thing I like about Charlotte – there’s a great city, really nice suburbs, and within 20 minutes you can be feeding horses carrots! Of course, we didn’t have any carrots this trip, so we just kept driving!
We went back to town and had lunch at a cute restaurant right down the block from BICYCLES EAST. SANTÉ has a lovely menu.
We started with Avocado Egg Rolls with Roasted Corn Relish and Cilantro Aioli, which were really different and quite tasty.
I had the Vegetable Quesadilla with Caramelized Onions, Roasted Red Peppers, Black Beans, Cheddar Cheese, Chef's Fresh Salsa and Guacamole. Yummy!
Eric had the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Sandwich with lettuce, tomato and Remouladé sauce. Everything was really delicious and Eric took ½ sandwich and I put one wedge of quesadilla to have as a snack later on (which was as soon as we got to our motel!).
The interior of the restaurant:
After lunch we headed out to Asheville, and it was a beautiful day for a drive. Clear, sunny, a little chilly (but comfy in the NISSAN ALTIMA). Of course, I fell asleep. It’s almost impossible for me to stay awake for more than an hour in a car! We even stopped along the way at a STARBUCKS (but I got a decaf skinny mocha, so it wasn’t going to keep me awake!).
When we got to the airport it was about 5:00pm. There were a lot of hotels and motels around. We settled on the BUDGET MOTEL, which looked clean and neat. We checked in, and I set up my computer and read my emails. Then, I took a nap, while Eric watched TV. He woke me at 7:30pm and we ordered from RUBY TUESDAY’S, which was right next door. Eric walked over to pick up the food and we had dinner while I watched THE BIGGEST LOSER: COUPLES Season Finale. It was very exciting and a girl won for the first time.
I had the salmon with rice pilaf and broccoli, and Eric had a chicken BLT sandwich. We also shared an appetizer of chicken fingers (for Eric) and fries and mozzarella sticks (for both of us).
After dinner, we continued to watch TV while we repacked all the suitcases. We decided to pack Eric’s big bag with all our clothes and toiletries, check it at the airport, and take our chances on it actually making it back to San Diego. We packed all his bicycle stuff and any valuables in my two pink bags, which we would carry on with my lap top. It was just too complicated last time with the mean lady in West Palm, so we figure we’ll beat them to the punch by just checking the biggest bag and have that much less to carry around!
Eric finished his book while I watched BOSTON LEGAL and worked on the computer. Then, we had dessert – a brownie sundae! We’ve both gone completely to hell on this vacation. The only good thing we did was eat our NUTRISYSTEM breakfasts every single day. Other than that, we were pretty bad with lunch, dinner and desserts and I tell you I am VERY afraid to weigh myself when we get home. Boo hoo. Why am I so undisciplined? After watching THE BIGGEST LOSER tonight, Eric and I felt ashamed of ourselves for the way we eat sometimes.
I know we don’t have 100 pounds to lose, like the people on the TV show, but think of how hard it was for them and they managed to do it and I can’t even lose 10-20 pounds!
Anyway, after we had our brownie with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce on top, we were both dying of thirst and had nothing to drink, so Eric left to find a store and buy us drinks. Turns out there was one down the block. He got me a diet Lemon Snapple. I used to be addicted to that drink, but haven't had one in about 6 months! Eric got a giant bottle of water and we both drank happily!
I can't believe we're heading home tomorrow. I don’t know what will happen when we get back to San Diego. Eric has said that he will find a job, but I don’t know how hard he will try, or how well he will succeed. I will support him in every way I can, but it is important for him to carry his own weight, for him to contribute, and for me to lean on him for a change, instead of him leaning on me.
This is not something I realized by myself, but was good advice given to me by a loving friend. Sometimes you are trying so hard to help someone, but you can actually help them too much when they need to achieve things on their own. I think that’s the case with Eric right now. He needs to find a job and get into a routine. If he can create some kind of life in San Diego, then maybe we will be ready to leave there, knowing we did okay while we were there.
Our flight doesn’t leave until noon tomorrow, so we can sleep in (wheee!) and, because of the time difference, we’ll still be back in San Diego by 5:00pm!