نورث كارولينا - North Carolina

ذهبت الى نورث كارولينا يوم الاثنين ان يوم الخميس

I went to North Carolina Monday to Thursday. 

I needed to throw in some Arabic lest I forget!  I'll try to add more, but who knows!!

I had an awesome week in NC.  It was great to go back and spend time with friends.  Although I did not have enough time to see everyone, it was still a good week.  After working 8 years in NC this was the first year that I was actually excited to go back!  Going back for a vacation instead of having to work helps add to the excitement.  I was able to spend the week at Badin Lake with Dee and Dave.  It was a nice week at the lake.

Monday was a relaxing day just catching up with Dee.  After traveling via car and plane I decided that I didn't need to go out on the boat.  We had a fabulous dinner of homemade pulled pork!  It was extemely tender and juicy. 

Tuesday was the day for the get together at the lake.  I had invited several friends from Balfour to come out to the lake and I was able to see Kristen, Lesley, Rosemary, and Lesha.  It was a great reunion from last year when the third grade teachers gave me a farewell party at Dee's house.  I have missed my friends and it was great to see them.  We spent some time on dry land catching up and then Dave took us out on the boat.  It was a gorgeous day on the lake; sunny and warm.  We continued to chat on the boat as Dave took us around the lake.  After our boat ride Dave made his famous brats!  I hadn't had brats since I've been home so it was a nice treat.  Dave cooks the brats in beer and then grills them; they are delicious:)  I had a wonderful day, but it ended all too soon and I found myself saying goodbye to many good friends.  It will be another year until I see them.  Saying goodbye to several friends that I have missed was very hard.  Although I had to say goodbye, it was wonderful to be able to have the oportunity to see them and spend the day with them.

Balfour friends and Riley!

Oh Burrito Brothers, I have missed you!  It's been too long.  On Wed. I was able to go back to Burrito Brothers and have the best Mexican  food in the state of NC.  Amy, Beth, and Meredith met me and Dee at Burrito Brothers in Asheboro for a spicy Mexican dinner.  The best part of the dinner was the salsa.  OK maybe the actual best part was spending time with friends, but the salsa would be a close second! 

Burrito Brothers dinner get together

In addition to a fabulous dinner and another great night with friends, I was able to go out on the boat again.  Dave took me and Dee out in the afternoon and I enjoyed the lake and tubing.  It had been quite some time since I had been tubing and let me tell you, these tubes are very different.  No hole in the middle and really big!  I was reminded of the awesome times I had at my Uncle Jimmy's during the summer.  I would go tubing every year, and this was just as fun.  Granted, I didn't as wet without the hole in the middle, but it was fun nonetheless! 

No hands required!

Unfortunately the week was coming to an end.  After a great day on Wed. I went to bed exhausted and woke ready for another quick trip on the boat.  Lake living has its benefits!  The weather was gorgeous the entire 4 days; Dee joked that I had brought the cooler weather from MI!  The weather may have been cooler, but the sun was out the entire time and I am not used to spending time in the sun. Yes, I live in the desert, but I spend a lot of time indoors due to the exteme heat.  It was nice to be outside, but I got sunburned!!  I survived 11 months of living in the desert without getting sunburned (I am totally covered when I am outdoors) and I only had to spend 4 days at the lake in NC to get sunburn!  I guess that's just the price I have to pay for being able to spend the time at the lake.  I'm willing!  I am so blessed to have awesome friends that were willing and able to spend the time with me and listen to my stories about the previous year.  I would have liked to have stayed longer and seen more people, but all good things must come to an end.

The 1 1/2hour flight back to MI was an extremely long.  I'm not sure how I'm going to survive the 14 hour flight from Chicago to Abu Dhabi.  The actual flight was about 2 hours, but all the taxing and waiting was ridiculous.  I think it was about 6 hours from the time I left Dee's to the time I got home to a homemade pot roast dinner:)

صديقاتي ممتازة و احبكم

My friends are excellent and I love them!! 

Weather update: 83 degrees with 42% humidity at 7:30.