A Greensboro Goodbye + Move to Iowa

This is a lengthy post and long overdue.  But, I felt I had to put in some effort, in saying good bye to a place and a group of people who have captured my heart for the past eight years.  The goodbyes started with one last dinner at Sticks & Stones Wood Fired Pizza.  Oh how I will miss the Kiss Before I Go pizza and Hoppyum beer. My colleagues from the 8th Grade hallway helped me tearfully say goodbye.

Then it was one last lunch at Natty Greene’s.  I will miss the Charlie Tuna Ahi sandwich and all of their locally brewed beers.  By this time, my mom and friend Aaron had made it to Greensboro.    I tried a delicious smoked peach IPA.

Greta came home from daycare to find a huge truck outside her house.  She was so excited to get to sit in the driver’s seat and pretend to drive.

Relaxing got harder the fuller the truck got.  We managed to fit a dinner in at Kiosco’s and some couch time.  Greta enjoyed sitting between daddy and Aaron.

Oh boy.  The heavy stuff.  Big thanks to Eric and Aaron who filled this 26 foot bad boy.

Goodbye Greensboro home.  It was a great starter home and we learned a lot about DIY projects.

We decided to stay in a hotel the night before we left – this was the best decision yet.  For dinner we headed to Gray’s Tavern on Elm St. in downtown Greensboro.

Greta enjoyed the signs on the street more than anything else.

Next it was off to a Greensboro Grasshoppers game.  It was a perfect night for a ball game and I am so glad we got this one last treat in Greensboro.

We sat on the hill with a couple friends and enjoyed the Natty Greene’s beer and sights and sounds of the hill.

Eric scrambled and got his first ever baseball.  He was nice and gave it away to a very polite little boy who came over to congratulate him.

It was a beautiful night, so we decided to walk on to McCoul’s for another last.  McCoul’s will be missed for its fantastic rooftop patio.

And then Elliot appeared!  He drove down from Washington D.C. to help celebrate Aaron’s birthday.  I felt horrible, we made him help us move on his birthday.

Found this lovely lady dining with her family at McCoul’s.

After a sleepless night at the Biltmore (can you say scooping the loop hotel?), we headed to Bestway to pick a few last minute items.  I will miss the local NC goods and wall o’ beer.  Then we were off.

We took the route north through the mountains, first through Virginia and West Virginia.  Meanwhile, the guys and the truck headed west to Asheville, NC.

Thankfully, Greta is a car napper and a good one at that.

I love driving through windy Charleston, West Virginia.  The capitol building is easily seen from the road.

Dina made a reappearance on this trip!  Greta finally learned to say Dina and said it constantly, and is in fact, still saying it right now.

We stayed overnight in Louisville, Kentucky.  Greta, my mom, and Brownie enjoyed some non-car time in the parking lot of our hotel.

The drive out of Louisville is always so beautiful.  I keep saying I want to come back to this town for a proper stay and not just an overnight stop, as we so often have done.

Greta amazingly stayed fairly entertained in the car.  The tube of puffs were a life-saver and a gift from a friend, Julie, in Greensboro.  Thank you again!

We stopped at some beautiful rest stops and Greta did her best to be helpful.

Greta stayed cheerful and happy with books, but even that too eventually ran out.

So, out of desperation, I gave her a bag of diapers.

She unfolded and stacked them in her lap.

She moved piles of them off to the side.

She played peek with them.

She threw them.

And then, the bag was a hat.  At this point, I promptly took the bag away and brought out art materials and stickers again.

Eventually things began to level out and look more Midwest-like.

We finally made it to my parents’  house and survived the 1, 000 or so mile drive.  Greta was eager to play with her car waiting for her on the patio.

Another happy moment: reuniting with her cats.  Tsali purred and purred with seeing Greta again. Neither cat seemed to remember Brownie, and so things were a little shaky and scary for a while for the two cats.

I took a brief walk with Brownie after Greta was in bed and enjoyed the familiar sounds and sights of the Iowa landscape.