10-08-2006
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#1 (permalink) |
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Critter Magnet
  Join Date: May 2003
Location: Q Roo
Posts: 16,100
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Goin’ to Carolina in My Mind, a brief trip report
On my recent visit to the states, I made a detour away from my own stomping grounds of Ohio and dropped into Charlotte, NC. I met up with Babaloo and did a meet-the-parents weekend (his – he’d met mine back in April), happily hyphenated by a wonderful trip to the foothills to visit Highland Lake Inn, the beautiful rustic/luxury resort of Jacko and Linda. I can’t begin to tell you what wonderful hosts these two are or how awesome their place is.
I think I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves (though somehow, we managed not to take any pictures the first couple of days, so I’ll start at Jacko’s place): Could it be any more beautiful?  A moment on the back porch of two wonderful and inspirational human beings!  This is, I believe, the Grand Ole Hall, which can be set up either for corporate meetings or weddings or whatever gathering it’s needed for.  Some views of the Woodward House interior, one of their many lodging options.   A view from its back deck:  The “Lodge” another of their accommodation options.    A view of one of the dining porches at “Seasons Restaurant.” This is the finest dining (as Jacko’s delicious menus attest to), but it still manages to be comfortable and not at all stuffy or pretentious… best of all worlds!  The interior of the restaurant.  Oh, and of course the goats…  Getting a bit long here, so will continue in another post... |
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10-08-2006
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#2 (permalink) |
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Critter Magnet
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Q Roo
Posts: 16,100
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Now, Jacko and Linda toured us all over their property for HOURS, before they finally showed us the room they had chosen for us. We soon realized their motivation: if they’d shown us to our room to start with, we’d never have left it! All I can say is WOW!
    We took some time to unwind, then met them for a lovely, delicious dinner at Seasons.  After eating, we took a stroll down to see the horses, but caught Jack and Linda getting frisky in the transportation while we picked up some warmer clothes!  After very much enjoying the… um… lodging that evening…   …we woke up to enjoy a wonderful, made-to-order (included!) breakfast. It was all SO good, but I could have made the entire day’s menu from those potatoes – they were YUMMY! And the bacon… and the cheese grits… and… and… oh, it was all to-die-for! Then Jack and Linda gave us a personalized tour of the quaint nearby town of Hendersonville and it was time to head back to Charlotte for our last evening with the folks. Byebye Highland Lake Inn! We WILL be back!  
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10-08-2006
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#3 (permalink) |
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Critter Magnet
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Q Roo
Posts: 16,100
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And finally…
Back in Charlotte (thank you, Rick, for letting me eat lunch at Cracker Barrel on the way!  ), we checked in at our hotel then met up with the folks and eventually went out to dinner. I’m pretty certain they liked me… no doubt they love their son, but I’m not sure they’ll forgive me for stealing him away to Mexico!  After dinner, Rick shared one of his old favorite haunts with me, the Double Door Inn. No one was even there when we showed up, except the bartender who recognized Rick from… how many years ago?? So we spent some time and quarters playing pool and I came THIS close to beating Rick, though he’s way better than I am.  Finally, the live music started (yeah, the musicians all knew him, too) and it was good stuff.  Though we would have loved to stay longer, we headed back to our airport hotel so a little sleep could happen before Rick’s 6 am flight. (Thank goodness mine was not ‘til 10!) It was a great trip, getting to know Rick’s roots a little more and getting the opportunity to spend such a wonderful time with good friends whom I think we’ll stay close with for a long, long time. THANK YOU, JACK AND LINDA, from the bottom of our hearts! (And folks, you GOTTA go there sometime! Here’s their website if you haven’t already seen it: Highland Lake Inn (click here)) (Disclaimer: I might have gotten some of the photos labeled wrong, so, Jack… help me out here and I’ll correct them immediately!) Last edited by Susie Q Roo; 10-08-2006 at 11:43 PM.. |
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10-08-2006
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#4 (permalink) |
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character encapsulator
 Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 32,808
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Susie-- that is a wonderful report and phenomenal pictures! You guys looked like you had a marvelous time. You always look so happy together. It's so sweet.
 (I did want to see you stand up in the tub, though) |
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10-08-2006
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#6 (permalink) | |
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Critter Magnet
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Q Roo
Posts: 16,100
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Quote:
 (I'm laughing at myself because I started this off saying it would be a "brief" trip report!  )
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10-08-2006
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#7 (permalink) | |
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character encapsulator
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 32,808
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Quote:
ah-HAH! And that's all I've got to say about that tub. |
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10-09-2006
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#9 (permalink) |
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añejo
 Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Playa del Carmen
Posts: 22,548
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nice job Susie...
...about my parents My dad is almost 85 - mom is 79 Dad is fairly strong and volunteers at Habitat each week building houses. Mom is suffering from dementia or early stages of Alzheimers which made things interesting. She had a tendency to ask Susie the same questions: "Susie, why do you live in Mexico?" "How did you two meet?" "Why do you live in Mexico?" "So....how did you two meet?" "Tell me why you live in Mexico?" They saw pictures of Susie's palapa. "Why do you live in Mexico?" Yeah...they liked her. Interesting statement overheard from my mom. (not for our ears I suspect) "I think it's a done deal" I think so too. And Jacko & Linda - Wow...thanks |
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10-09-2006
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#11 (permalink) | |
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Critter Magnet
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Q Roo
Posts: 16,100
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I neglected to mention that I just loved Hal and Mary. Delightful people and I see where Babaloo gets a lot of his good qualities. (But I didn't see a goat anywhere... maybe that's what Dad meant when he said they paid for lawn service...?)
 However, Rick left out the setup for some of the comments. We had just shown pictures of Mexico and Paamul and my place here and Mary says, in all seriousness (insert sweet southern drawl), "And you choooooooooose to live this way?" Cracked me up. The other comment came after a discussion about Rick's selling his house and quitting the job. After some questions about when they would ever see Rick again, Mom wandered into the kitchen where Dad had previously retreated and says, with a tone of resignation, "Well.... it looks like it's a done deal!" I guess it's hard to grasp that, if you're flying into the airport anyway, it doesn't much matter whether you boarded the plane in Philly or Cancun. I hope they're both around a long, long time for us to visit. (They're worth all the questions!) Quote:
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10-09-2006
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#15 (permalink) | |
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añejo
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Las Vegas
Posts: 5,108
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Quote:
Thank you so much for sharing the pics and this really personal time...you're such great people and so deserve the happiness you've found with each other. |
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