A Vacation After a Vacation

Well, we no sooner got back from vacation and went out on another, albeit only an overnight excursion.

Katie had a conference at the Central Carolina Community College in Lillington, NC, which is about a 2.5-hour drive from home. We left on Thursday, 4/12 and returned home the next day. We didn't leave for our destination until Katie got home from work, and we were on the road 15 minutes later, or 4:30 p.m. I drove, and Katie navigated. She's good at that. Me? Not so much. We followed the instructions from Google Maps. (I neglected to print the ones for our return trip, but we did fine by following everything "south" rather than "north". We almost missed one turn, but Katie caught it.)

We got to the hotel, and, although the room was tiny, it had everything we needed. No wonder they call it Microtel. One queen bed. We don't usually share blankets so that was difficult, and there was something about the sheets or the mattress that didn't allow us to turn over easily. Weird. So, I couldn't get to sleep, let alone stay asleep. I kept getting up to read until I was too tired to do anything else BUT to go to sleep. 

Katie made plans with a friend for him to meet us for breakfast at the hotel the next morning at 7. Katie got me up after her shower, so we dressed and went to eat. We had some nice conversation, and I listened while they talked about the group they were going to facilitate. Then, they left for the venue, and I went back to the room. 

Soon, I got a phone call. It was Katie telling me that they were at the wrong campus and had to go to the other one. That put my plan to pick her up out of whack. I didn't know my way around, so I was happy her cohort would bring her back to the other campus. Whew! After that conversation, I called the front desk for a 10:15 wake-up call and went back to sleep. I checked out about 10:45, had more breakfast and went out into the world where there were some thrift stores we had scoped out the night before.

Either my needs have changed or the thrift stores were lacking. I probably would have been more entertained in an antique mall. Anyway... I don't remember which picture goes with which thrift store, and I don't remember all their names. But, the one name that stands out is Junk and Disorderly, which wasn't open. What a hoot! Love that name! Other names were Lillington Beacon Thrift, This and That and Hidden Treasures. I was just looking at my notes, and I missed the Thrift Mall altogether. I guess I didn't look at my notes at the time! Rats! Maybe that would have been the best one. I'll never know, but we never know if we might go back or not.

Here are the goodies I found:

Suze Orman book, black and white ribbon and a U.S. flag patch.

Book.

Decorative garden balls - not sure if they are for outside or not. They kind of look like concrete, but they aren't heavy enough. I might coat with them with something so I can put them outside.

Small McCoy planter. At $15, I may have paid too much, but I liked the color and design. This was found in a really junky store. I could hardly get around the store, but it was in a case. I was told it is from the 30s or 40s. I would have to research that, but I'm not inclined to do so at this point.

And, because I spent a certain amount on the planter, I could choose something free from the box. I got this respirator, because there is some sanding in my future. Gotta love free stuff!

I spent about half an hour trying to find a sale a woman tried to tell me about. She wasn't real clear, even though she knew I was not from the area. I found the college she was talking about, but it was big enough that I couldn't find the sale. It was a nice-looking college, and the drive was nice, so that was a good way to kill some time. So that was my thrifting for the day. Then, I got some lunch and parked myself to wait for Katie. Luckily, I brought a book and the breeze coming through the car kept me awake in the warm weather. The wait was about 1.5 hours. The trip was pretty much a dud for me, but very good for Katie.

We were on the road for about half and hour and Katie noticed a quilt store. She said, "Wanna stop?" "Sure", I said. This was not one of those times when one of us was the Voice Of Reason.

I collect black and white, white and black.

This is Tim Holtz fabric...on the grunge side.

And, was Katie making me feel bad? These two are hers.

We shopped past the time the store, Loving Stitches Quilt Shop, was normally open to the public. Thank goodness, there was a sewing night going on!

After our shopping, we skipped merrily home and made it there before dark!

Our kitties were happy to see us, and after us leaving them scads more food than normal, they expected us to feed them as we walked in the door! 

Katie is back to grading exams, and we are back to normal — as normal as we can get!

Thank you for stopping by and spending some time with me.

Showing off at:

Share Your Style #166 

Vintage Charm Party #129 

Talk of the Town #119 

Create, Bake, Grow & Gather Party #311 

From conferences to thrift stores...and everything in between...