John McCain is a man for whom I have immense respect, even when I occasionally disagree with him. But this time, he really should know better. Come on now. Is legislation really called for in this particular case? Ultimately, if any number of overpaid jocks want to commit steroid suicide, who the hell cares? It’s not like their jobs have any earth-shattering significance to the republic…

 

The great thing about moving to Charlotte (yeah, that’s on again, it seems) is that Mark and I both found our ideal houses there. Mine’s the Craftsman on the left, his is the Tudor on the right, each is in Dilworth and neither is within our means. But we’ll be a helluva lot closer to our goal there than we ever will here…

Anyhow, as much as I’ve kidded the hubby about falling in the love with the exact same neighborhood in 27 different cities, we’re pretty much compatible with respect to this issue, and I could live quite comfortably in a Tudor if I had to, thanks…

Unrelated: much like a good deed, no two-week vacation ever goes unpunished either. Remind me to go into how much this week sucks, if I ever have a second. Or don’t…

Been back home in California about three hours now. Must keep reminding myself that my self-imposed sentence here will be over soon…

Pictures soon from Charlotte, Greensboro, Baltimore, Schenectady, Albany, Niagara Falls, Pittsburgh, Arlington, and assorted other locales where groceries are cheaper, homes can still be purchased by mere mortals, and Waffle Houses are plentiful…

Early (relatively) breakfast at Waffle House followed by goodbyes which tried with mixed success not to be tearful. Then Mark and I were off to Charlotte to take one more turn through town, drop off the car, and fly back to this place which we’ve both come to hate so very much…

Back to DFW, back to SFO, back to the Best Western El Rancho Inn in Millbrae, and then back to harsh reality of a smelly, undestocked, overpriced Bay Area supermarket where we stopped to get essentials on the way home. It’s only fitting that our first stop upon returning would be at Albertsons…

Our East Coast fate is pretty well sealed. It’s too hard to resist the more reasonable cost of living, the more rational population, the well-stocked supermarkets, the plentiful nearby road trip options, the better food, and so on and so on…

Details to follow…

   

The best thing for me about our altered itinerary was the extra day with my mom and dad. On this last day we finally made it to Libby Hill and managed also to squeeze in both one more cafeteria visit and one more cousin…

It’s always a little sad going to bed the night before leaving…