charlotte to atlanta

went to a great african american art museum in charlotte.

maybe should've paid attention to the fact that it wasn't october 1st yet for this one.....and the other mint museum location i tried to visit.  though it was a gorgeous day for a long walk.  also had forgotten it was tuesday when i kept pushing and pulling the doors on the new modern museum downtown.  instead i saw lots more of the outdoor art.  glad i finally realized it wasn't that southern doors are quirky.  they lock just like our northern doors do.  when things are closed.

me and honour.  usually on the same wavelength.  even more so kindred spirits than i realized before.  guess that is how she convinced me to do soccer drills.  ?!?!?!?!  i think she then got nervous when i began limping.  so she transferred us to the porch for stretching and yoga.

can you even stand how cute that is??  she actually had me meditating for about 5 minutes.  which is at least 4 minutes and 50 seconds longer than i have ever meditated!

their rope swing is amazing!  it is set up on a slope so you actually feel like you are flying.

coach honour.  that was before she had me limping.  i wish she would've warned me that she is on a travel team for a reason b/c i was twiddling my thumbs in her goal when a ball came whipping at me.

at my cousin's in atlanta.  her adorable kids being their adorable selves.  and the following was milan's idea for marking our places at the dinner table!

picking carrots.
tomorrow - new orleans!

end of west virginia, beginning of charlotte

found another starbucks to steal wi-fi from.  guess it isn't really stealing since i am drinking a FIVE DOLLAR smoothie.  though it is tasty.

stood in donna's future basement.  (the house to be built up the hill.)  view is gorgeous.

went walking around d & d's land which is really nice.  saw wild turkeys.

one more of dwayne's cool cars.  did get to see the mustang but would have had trouble driving off in it since the seats were removed!  and i think something under the hood wasn't exactly attached.  like something triple a wouldn't have taken care of for me.  

the city right by them (huntington) is where marshall univ. is - as in the movie we are marshall. based on the true story of the entire college football team getting killed in a plane crash.  think it was in the 70s.  

west virginia has a chain called biscuit world!  speaking of biscuits, dwayne made me a country man breakfast.  holy cow - still recovering.  but it was GOOD.  just don't think i have the stomach of a country man.  though my sister would disagree b/c she says i have a steel stomach.  anyway, who knew there was such a thing as BREAKFAST GRAVY?!?!  

wish i had a photo to illustrate the following point:  it is possible to transport a pig in a teeny makeshift plywood trailer behind a pickup on a major interstate.  

onto charlotte - a very clean city full of lots of public art!!!  loved it.  

there is noelle in her super fancy office which has a fabulous view.  she is a REAL lawyer.  : )  

there is a reflection of a big shiny office building in another big shiny office building.  

and here are some inspiring quotes that are on a line of pillars outside the public library! which also has a romare bearden mosaic.  

off to go play w/honour who should be home from school by now.  it is gorgeous out!  

west virginia

got here last night to donna's unbelievable 110 acre estate!  she is now laughing at that.  i will be leaving with one of their mustangs and one of their mustangs.   she and her husband don't know it yet.  there is a '65 mustang in the garage that suspiciously is "locked" so i haven't seen it but quite sure i will adore it.  and an actual horse that their other horse gave birth  to who i LOVE.  but not sure if they have a horse trailer i can also steal.  will soon find out b/c/ i leave tomorrow for noelle's.

the kids are so adorable.  that was on our way down the street to the barn where the kids even shovel hay into the stalls from up top in their cowboy boots.  how &^%in' cute.

this is dwayne's man room in the barn.  very impressive.  i left out all the animal horns.  not as impressive.

also impressive is dwayne's skill at refurbishing vintage cars!  this roadmaster is unbelievable.  and has plates so will be easier for me to drive off in than the mustang if they continue to keep me from it.

their personalities are as cute as they look.  which is super duper cute.  forgot to say their land backs up on a state park.

me and donna at ohio river.

less than 2 days

i am quite sure you are all stunned by my extraordinary creativity in coming up with my blog name.  it is not surprising that the title was available since it is so clever.  

this one is kind of a test one b/c i should be packing.  hope the no caps doesn't annoy anyone.  too bad if it does.  leaving in less than 2 days for my road trip!  can't wait.  3 weeks!  the american south!!!  land of jazz, blues, civil rights sites, good bbq, beaches, water, and hopefully no hurricanes until after october 15.  first stop donna's house.  west virginia.  mountain momma.  not sure if she is near the shenandoah river though.  life is older...older than the trees.  am i even getting these lyrics right?  feel like i just did a mash up of three john denver songs.

oh, so that is the point of this.  to keep you posted on my road trip.  and hopefully somebody will call me on my cell if you hear about a hurricane.  b/c i might just be oblivious listening to my ipod.

i just figured out how to insert a photo!!!!  that was edison and caelan at the zoo last weekend.  they were put to work shoveling hay b/c they were such terrors.  joking.  i mean they were terrors but they were not put to work.  and i did love them just as much as when they are angels.  well, maybe a wee bit less when edison spit in my face.  but overall it was a great day.  if you don't count me having to threaten 8 times to get my cell phone out and call their parents.  and if you forget about caelan screaming "karla - i am NOT LISTENING TO YOU!!!!!" as if i hadn't already noticed that.  but really, they are the most adorable things in the world.

oops. upon investigating a weird smell coming from my kitchen, i just learned that i over roasted some tomatoes.  so now i can put off packing for longer while i scrub black burned goo off of my brand new cookie sheet.