Heading Back to North Carolina

Leg 2 – Mebane NC

03/26/2023 – 04/29/2023

Its travel day once again and we were thrown an additional challenge today. There was a big thunderstorm headed our way. Two things you need to know; spring thunderstorms in the south are nothing to be messed with and it is no fun, AT ALL, driving (or riding in) a big rig in pouring down rain.

Thanks to the accuracy of the Fox Weather App, we were able to determine what time the storm would be rolling through the area we needed to navigate, which in turn allowed us to pinpoint the time we would need to leave to avoid the storm. We decided to go ahead and take our chances with I-95 in the hopes that we could get ahead and stay ahead of the storm. I kept my eye on the radar as we were travelling and it all worked out well. We only ran into a little rain, thank the Lord.

We are back in North Carolina for a month to spend time with the NC Butrico’s. While we were here, we helped my in-laws with a few projects, went to a flea-market and enjoyed several meals together, one being a low country boil. We watched our nephews play hockey and baseball and we even got a surprise visit from our oldest son.

When we weren’t busy doing all of that, Bill and I found some time to fly off to NYC for a quick bite to eat and then a weekend trip to Charlotte for a ride in a Nascar.

Standby Ain’t For Sissies

Our oldest son, Chris, became a First Officer with Skywest Airlines last fall. One of the benefits of his new position is that we get to fly free… but we fly stand-by. Bill was anxious to try out this new “benefit” and convinced me to go by enticing me with all my favorite foods in New York. He says, “We could go to NYC. We could get pizza on Bleeker Street. Chinese Food?” To which I respond, “Ooooh, we could get some bagels. We could get some napoleon and cannoli. I’m in, but you are planning it.” I had just finished planning our route and making all the reservations for The Journey West 2023 and I was tired.

Plans are made. Bill’s mom and dad graciously take Kona and we head off to the airport. The flight we are eyeballing leaves at 7AM which means we need to be there about 5:30AM. We scored tickets in Delta Comfort + (business class) and we are on our way to Newark! Hey, this standby is pretty cool!

We get into Newark around 9AM, go find the rental car desk, wait in line for 1 HOUR to get our car! And take off for lunch in the Big Apple. Mouth is watering in anticipation of the heavenly slice of NY pizza pie.

Bleeker Street Pizza

We rolled up on Bleeker Street Pizza and scored a parking spot right down the street. When we visited NYC in the fall of 2019 we sampled pizza from several different pizza joints and this was our favorite. They did not disappoint. It was busy and loud at the counter and I guess I pointed to the wrong pie. One of my slices had broccoli and mushrooms on it. (sigh) Glad I got 2 slices 😊 I picked off the mushrooms and it was tasty.

Pastries and Bagels

Next on the list of fine delicacies… cannoli and napoleon from our favorite bakery in Little Italy, La Bella Ferrara. Bill navigated the NYC traffic from Greenwich Village over to Mulberry Street. The first observation when we arrived was how much Chinatown has encroached into Little Italy. The second observation was La Bella Ferrara was gone! GONE! There was paper covering the inside of the windows and graffiti sprayed on the outside of the windows. What happened? Bill and I were both in utter disbelief. I looked online and there is no website, no news, just reviews that end in 2022. I wonder what happened?  No cannoli or napoleon from La Bella Ferrara ☹

Rockland Bakery

Striking out with pastries in the city, we decided to head up to the Rockland Bakery in Nanuet NY, another favorite. The Rockland Bakery is uh…MAZING! There are three sections to the bakery, the area where the bakery cases are filled with beautiful, tasty pastries, cakes and cookies are sold, the area that sells deli meats, cheeses, salads and schmears and the area where the magic happens.

As a customer, you are permitted in the area where the bagels are made, and all the breads are stored. Oh. My. Goodness. Nothing is better than a fresh NY bagel. Grab a bag, grab a plastic mitt and grab some fresh, hot bagels right out of the oven. You will never want a grocery store bagel again. I’m sure if I lived in a 30-mile radius of this bakery I would be here every few days getting fresh bagels and I would have a real hard time staying in my WW point budget.

I grabbed 6 bagels while Bill was grabbing pictures of all the carts holding fresh baked breads of every kind. And the smell….I sure hope there is fresh baked bread in heaven.

Now its time to go get some pastries. I’m looking in all the cases, hoping they have napoleon. The good napoleon. The napoleon that is made with custard and not cream. They are my absolute favorite. And I spot them! And they are made with custard! We decided to share a napoleon and get a cannoli each. We also picked up some mini cannoli and biscotti to take back to Kona’s dogsitters.

I grab some schmear on my way out and now its time to head for the next item on the list… Chinese.

Chinese Food

Bill and I moved to NJ right after we got married, he was 21 and I was 20. Neither of us had ever lived in a big city before and his first job out of college took us to an area 40-miles outside one of the biggest cities in the US. We could see the trade center from our apartment. Culture shock for both of us, indeed.

It was here that we were introduced to Chinese food. The Chinese food here is so good, it’s hard to find anything like it anywhere else in the US. Believe me, we have tried. We’ve found a few close seconds but the one thing none of them have are Cold Sesame Noodles.

When we first moved here, Bill’s Aunt Grace took us out for our first meal at a Chinese Restaurant and she did all the ordering. We had no idea where to even begin. Out came these noodles and we were both a little cautious about trying them. A cold noodle that had a peanut butter kind of sauce? They were some of the best noodles I’ve ever had.

Memory Lane

After we stop by to see our very first apartment we head into Morristown for our Chinese dinner. Yes, it’s only 5 hours since we ate those two gigantic slices of pizza but we are only here for the day. I’ll suffer whatever consequences may come.

Cold Sesame Noodles

Cold Sesame Noodles are a soba noodle with a creamy sesame sauce that tastes like peanut butter with a tiny bit of heat and scallions sprinkled on top. As I’m writing this, it still doesn’t sound like it would taste good, but take my word for it, they are da’ bomb!

If you are in NY or NJ and see them on the menu, give them a try. If you are anywhere outside of NY or NJ and see them on the menu, take a pass. Most likely it will be a very peanut buttery sauce over spaghetti noodles. Not the same thing at all.

We feast on fried dumplings, cold sesame noodles, General Tso chicken and sesame beef. It was delicious! Thoroughly stuffed we roll ourselves out to the car and head for the hotel. A hot shower and comfy clothes sound good. We also need to start looking at the flight schedules and figure out how we’ll get home tomorrow.

The Joys of Standby

Over cannoli, Bill and I (mostly Bill) start to study the flight schedules and loads to see what our best options will be to get back to Raleigh/Durham. Flights out of Newark back to Durham were slim. Bill thought our best bet would be to fly up to Boston since there were more flights going to Durham with open seats available. It is decided, we will get up at 4AM, for the 2^nd day in a row, and fly to Boston. Lights out.

It was no problem getting on the plane to Boston. Our problems started when we got TO Boston. #1 Severe weather in the Midwest caused several flights out of Boston to be cancelled. #2 we are the lowest of low on the standby totem pole. That means almost anyone who wants to fly takes seniority over us.

A Day at Boston’s Logan Airport

I am going to try and make a very long story short. We spent 12 hours in the Boston airport going from one gate to another and sometimes one terminal to another, hoping to get on a flight that would eventually get us back to Raleigh, only to be told no more seats were available. But wait, there were 8 open seats on this flight. Yes, but x, y and z happened, and those seats are now taken by someone higher up on that totem pole. Well s*#^. With our heads hanging and our suitcase being dragged behind us, we go back to our quiet spot and start searching again.

We talked with a couple of empathetic gate agents and got some pointers for future trips. During the day we kept sending updates to my mother and brother in-law. One of them suggested trying to fly to Charlotte and take the train up to Durham. So… Bill started looking at that option. He wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet. Meaning he wanted us to get back to Raleigh/Durham on an airplane. I was just ready to get back. 12 hours in an airport is exhausting.

Going to Charlotte

Bill finally found a flight to Charlotte with seats open in first class and no one on the upgrade list. Crossing our fingers, we headed to the gate. We got on the flight! Hallelujah! Since we were in first class, we got “beverages”. I had a bourbon on the rocks and Bill had a double. Aahhhhhh…. We talked with the flight attendant, told her this was our first “standby” trip and she smiled with pity in her eyes (we got that look a lot during the day from the gate agents) We had a nice little conversation and she said to always have a plan B, C, D and E and to enjoy the bourbon. LOL

The plane touched down in Charlotte about 10:30PM. I am exhausted and we still need to decide what the next move will be:

1. See what flight loads look like going to Raleigh/Durham tomorrow? (Bill was still trying, kind of)
2. Rent a car and drive to Durham? No, we are exhausted!
3. Get a room in Charlotte and take the train to Durham in the morning? Ladies and Gentlemen we have a winner!

Bill hops on line, reserves a room and we wait for the shuttle to pick us up. It’s now midnight and we are crawling in to bed. Oh and did I mention all we had to eat the entire day was half of a bagel, a bag of chex mix and a crappy chicken sandwich at the airport? I’m glad I still have fresh memories of that pizza and Chinese from yesterday. I wish I had some now…

Breakfast?

Morning comes, way too soon and it’s time to get ready to catch the train. What about breakfast? I’m starving. We called up an Uber to take us to the Waffle House and it was closed! Like there are no tables or anything in the building closed. What’s nearby? IHOP, the Uber driver very kindly took us over to the IHOP and dropped us off. We go inside and wait for someone to take our name. I kid you not, everyone working in that restaurant moved slower than a snail. Then we realized all the people waiting hadn’t even been helped yet! There must have been 3 separate parties waiting for a table and no one had even come to greet them or take their name for the list. I-Ya-Yeye.

Back on the app to call up another Uber to get us to the train station. Doesn’t look like I’ll be eating until we get home.

Amtrak to the Rescue

We get to the train station, which actually looks like an old office building and wait… and wait. I see a vending machine over in the corner and wait I see pop-tarts in the vending machine. Do I want them, nah, I mean yes, nah… I’ll wait.

Finally on the train and two short hours from home, I put on a movie and nod off. Those two hours went pretty quickly. My sister in-law picked us up at the train station and took us to the airport to get the jeep. Are you seeing the hilarity in all this yet? 2 hours to get to Newark and 24 hours to get home.

On our way back to the coach, we stopped  at one of our favorite BBQ restaurants and FINALLY had a great meal, complete with bread pudding. We laughed about our trip. It seemed like we’d been gone a week, when in reality it was 2 ½ days. Standby is not for sissies!

Charlotte High Octane and Peaceful Rejuvenation

When we were in the shuttle from the airport to the hotel a couple of weeks ago, we turned onto the Billy Graham Parkway. Of course, I start searching Billy Graham’s connection to Charlotte. We would be back down in the area for Bill to do a Nascar ride-along and it would be nice if there was something else we could see while we are here. Well, it turns out Billy Graham was born and is buried in Charlotte. It is homebase for his Evangelistic Association and he has a library to visit.

Billy Graham Library

As a little girl I can remember watching some of the Billy Graham crusades on TV. I don’t know if it was at my grandparent’s house or at my own house, probably both. I just remember this great man preaching to thousands of people and talking in a way that even I, as a kid, could understand.

The minute you drive onto the property a sense of peace is felt. I absolutely love the barn with the large cross window. You enter the library through the doors at the foot of the cross and then the Journey of Faith begins.

The Journey of Faith

The Journey of Faith begins with Bessie the cow. She tells of Billy Frank’s (that’s how he’s known as a kid) early years on the dairy farm and how he practiced preaching to the cows. Then you are transported to the 1940 L.A. Crusade that launched a ministry that lasted for more than 70 years.

After that we were introduced to Ruth Bell, Billy Graham’s wife and partner for 64 years. We learn of his use of the media and technology to further spread the Gospel. I enjoyed watching some of the clips of interviews he did with Woody Allen, Phil Donahue and Johnny Carson. Mr. Graham was able to explain his faith, using scripture and apply it to current times and issues. What I found refreshing in the interview with Woody Allen is these men were polar opposites in their beliefs but were able to sit down and have a respectful and at times humorous conversation. I feel that is something we are missing in today’s crazy times. If you want to watch that interview, click here. It’s pretty interesting.

Ministry

We continued on the journey and watched how Billy Graham’s ministry grew but his message never changed; God loves you and there is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ. Billy Graham preached for over 70 years to more than 215 million people in 185 countries and reached another 2 billion, *BILLION* through TV and radio. He prayed with presidents and world leaders. He prayed with gangsters and criminals, and he prayed with everyone in between. We are all God’s children.

Here are some of Billy Grahams words I think we could benefit from today:

And finally words from Billy Graham’s son, Franklin, about his dad:

I gained a renewed faith with my visit to the library and am happy we took that flight into Charlotte a few weeks ago, which led us to a ride on the Billy Graham Parkway, which led to us to the Billy Graham Library. Was God working in a mysterious way? Maybe…

Charlotte Motor Speedway

What do you get someone who lives in an RV for Christmas? Space is limited and we don’t really need for anything. Well, you start looking at different “experiences” you can do. This past Christmas, I gifted Bill with a Nascar driving/riding experience. I thought he might like to do it at the Daytona International Speedway since we were still in Florida but that didn’t work out.

He chose to do it at the Charlotte Motor Speedway instead. The Charlotte Motor Speedway is a 1 ½ mile long track with 24º banking in the corners. Each year it hosts the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and today it is hosting the Bill Butrico Nascar Ride Experience.

“Race” Day

The skies are a bright blue, the temp is right at 70°, Aerosmith is blasting from the speakers. Can you feel the adrenaline? Bill signs all the waivers, gets his credentials, is fitted with a helmet and patiently waits for high noon to arrive.

The time has come. He is climbing in the car and he is entrusting me to capture the moment with the GoPro (I sure hope I don’t mess this up). I turn the camera on and before I know it he is off for his 3 lap ride around the track with a professional driver going over 170mph.

Two minutes later and the ride is over. I sure am glad we purchased the video package because all the GoPro captured was the black and yellow car zooming by 3 times. If you’d like to view his ride, click here. It uses cameras mounted on inside and outside of the car and a little of my GoPro footage. Here is the video from the ride: https://youtu.be/xPx7x3qYXC4

When we met back up, he had a big smile on his face. I asked, “How was it?”  He says, “It was good”. I’m like Good? Not Amazing? Great? Awesome? “Yes, yes, it was all those” LOL

What’s Next?

So that wraps up our time in NC. We will be starting our journey west and have a lot of cool adventures planned. Stay tuned…