Charlotte, NC

So we finally left the state! We've been to Columbia many times, Florence twice (three for Chris), and Myrtle Beach once (posts on the way). Now we have been to Charlotte, NC. It's actually a shorter drive to NC than it was to the beach! It was freeway all the way.

We had a day off all together and Chris just started the swing shift, which means that he can sleep in if he needs to. So we woke up about 8am (late for my kids!) and decided after a whole 30 seconds that we wanted to go somewhere different. Chris decided we should finally do NC. It was fun and adventurous and exciting and long!

We arrived around 12:30pm after returning to the house at least 4 times for something we forgot! I know, terrible. Anyway, the kids slept or played the whole way like great little travelers. We stopped at the visitor's center (a must for any big city or new location visit) and then decided on a few places.

We mostly just wanted to check things out. First we ate lunch at a Wendy's we found just outside of the city. Then we found a great place called 'DISCOVERY PLACE' that we're trying next week. It's a bit pricey (30$), but it lasts all day and I'll tell more when we actually visit it. By that time it was 3:30pm so we went to the largest mall I've ever been in!

The mall, Carolina Place, is by far the best mall I've visited. It gets a 10 and heres why:

1- The first thing I saw was the most beautiful bathrooms. I know who likes a mall for bathrooms? Well a mom of three young ones that's who! These had separate sections for men and women of course, but then also a family bathroom that was actually made for little ones with a small potty, low sink, low soap and low hand drier. Evie was happy just to be there! There was also a changing room outside the official bathrooms (no smelly rooms) with a carpeted floor and oval little dents in the table top to keep the baby from rolling out. No echoes there, thank goodness. There was even a mother's room with one of those nice new rockers and a sitting room with leather couches and ottomans for waiting members. The whole things was enclosed with frosted glass. It was beautiful and smelled great, not your normal bathroom.

2- It's huge! We decided it's like a castle of stores with so many wings we couldn't have possibly seen them all. It was so huge that even after a good 4 hrs we hardley saw any of it. It had at least 2 levels and some stores had 3. Some of the stores I haven't seen since Northtown. It was so fun.

3-We hit the Disney store biggest. The woman was super nice. She allowed Evie to run amok and I mean, AMOK! She tried on every dress and pair of shoes along with every peice of jewelry she could get her hands on. The woman just smiled and said that's what the store was for! I wish more people were like that in stores for kids. It's so hard to keep them in check 100% in a place that is like a dream come true (Barnes and Noble is like that for me). So as Evie went wild and JC was occupied with daddy, I took the liberty of picking up a few "needful" things for Evie's birthday. We are celebrating it this Friday. So Evie had a blast, the woman hid all my purchases craftily (I think somehow she'd done it before?) behind the counter until we were ready to go, and Joseph got a new Buzz Lightyear cellphone. The kids loved that store and I loved the salesperson who also gave me some great insights into planning our own trip to a Disney location at some point.

4- After that we continued to wander for a bit, poking our heads into several stores and then of course, hitting the three-level B and N for some great book looking. The kids section in the larger stores is always

worth a look. This one had a train table set up with lots of cars. The kids were enthralled the whole time dad went searching.

5- We passed through the largest most luxurious food court I've ever seen. As with the rest of the seats, the chairs were leather and plastic and very comfortable. We ate here later and low and behold, it had a cheapy McD's that the kids love instead of only super expensive food!

6- Last, but not least, we then found the little playcenter with the soft toys and soft floor for little kids. At this point I was pretty sure it couldn't get better (or later) so we took our leave of the great and spacious mall.

Evie's hiding place

having SO much fun!

Lizzy watches the Big Kids!

Thankfully, I was wrong. On the way out of the mall complex Chris stopped at a favorite restaurant: Olive Garden. I had the wonderful dinner and the ride home as I fed Chris. We shared a huge Chicken Parmigana. It was great.

What a fun and exciting day. We so enjoyed being together and exploring new places. Can't wait to go back.