VACA--DAY ONE

Friday was spent making final preparations for our trip. Packing everything we wanted to bring was a chore and I am certain we packed too much.


Bailey and Web were dropped off at the kennel, while we decided not to drop Willis off until Saturday . Bailey is the only one who showed out. They opened his crate and he ran for the door. They got him before he escaped, but I am sure he is acting very pitiful today.


After dropping Willis off, we continued to our destination of the Hampton Inn in Charlotte, located minutes from the airport. We joked on the way there that it would be nice if they would let us leave our car with them to avoid paying a parking fee at the airport. We got our wish! It is a free service they offer.

We also got the room for free, because we had some Hampton Inn points saved up from years ago. We don’t stay at them much anymore, but we do like them. The only disappointment was the pool. I had planned to get to the room, change into my suit, and get some sun time in. However, we found out that the pool was indoor, with no sun to be found. It was also stifling hot in there.

We decided to go to a nearby mall called South Park. It was very crowded and VERY upscale! My first indication that we were out of our league was when I picked up a very cute pair of shoes that I would have loved to buy. Guess how much? Guess! $1275! That’s 1-2-7-5! Our further scan of the mall was much the same. People are really arrogant to think it’s ok to spend thousands of dollars on shoes. I mean, seriously.

Will did find two pair of shorts that were on sale for $19. I bought a necklace that was $17, some make-up from Sephora, and a $59 pair of shoes. I think we did very well.

After wearing Will out shopping, I drug him to the Cheescake Factory. Sooo good! I had pasta carbanara and Will had shephard’s pie. Both of us left a ton of food on our plate. They just serve way too much. Will didn’t want to get dessert, but I did! I got a piece of Lemon cake to go. I was still full once I got home, so I decided to eat it the next morning with my coffee.

We fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. The alarm rang at 6, which is just pure torture to me! I hate alarm clocks and I despise getting up that early. This is a one of the reasons working the night shift works for me. It takes me over an hour to really wake up, and that was with Will bringing me coffee to drink immediately when I opened my eyes. I DID have my lemon cake with it and it WAS so GOOD!

We had to be down in the lobby by 0730 to catch the shuttle to the airport. The ride was a very short one and we greatly appreciated being dropped off right at the door.

Once at the airport, Will and I had a “discussion” about which line to go in to check our luggage. Sigh. It is never easy when you have two people who are both leaders and not followers. We somehow managed to check the bags and make it through security without killing each other.
We are currently sitting at our gate waiting to board. I will post again later.