Hello 2019! We flew back from Charlotte yesterday and got home around 5:00. Since we were on vacation, it feels a bit like today is the true “first day of 2019” for me…
…and I’m spending it on unpaid vacation since the government shutdown is STILL going on. I truly didn’t expect it to last this long, and now I’m wondering whether there’s even a light at the end of this ridiculous tunnel yet. We’ve now missed an entire pay period — which means no paychecks for either Jose or me will arrive on Friday.
We have savings, so we will be ok for a while, but a lot of people aren’t so lucky. And while I think the chances are still good that we will eventually be given back pay when this ends, I’m also getting a tad nervous. The whole thing feels less predictable than last time (in 2013) and it’s just so, so frustrating and dumb.
But on to happier things! We had a great time visiting my family and while it is nice to be home, I think we were all a little sad to leave Charlotte too. This was our longest stay there I think — 10 nights — but it still passed too quickly.
After several days with family and celebrating the new year, Jose and I left the girls with my parents and took a little 2-night getaway to Charleston. I didn’t realize how close it was — only 3.5 hours away — and somehow, despite growing up in Charlotte, I had never been! It was such a lovely city and we had a fantastic time. Since we only had one full day and a few hours the next morning, we skipped most of the standard tourist attractions and just enjoyed some downtime. We visited the Charleston Market, which was literally steps from our hotel, and spent several hours just walking around the French Quarter, past the Pineapple Fountain and Rainbow Row and along the Battery.
And the food? OMG. Apparently Charleston is well known as one of the best food cities in America but I have been living under a rock and had no idea. We had coffee at City Lights, lunches at Cru Cafe and Amen Street, dinners at 5Church and S.N.O.B., and desserts at Kaminsky’s and Carmella’s. If you are ever in Charleston, I recommend all of these but my favorites were S.N.O.B. and Amen Street. (Although 5Church wins for coolest location — inside an old church!)
Our flight home was uneventful and we decided to go ahead and send the girls to daycare/daycamp today. (Emma goes back as usual tomorrow.) On the agenda for my first (or 17th) day of furlough is putting away all the Christmas decorations and starting on the hanging sleeve for my Spring Training quilt. So off I go!
