Neither hubby nor I had ever been to the Carolinas, so when we received an invitation to a Hillsdale College Economic Forum in Charlotte, I jumped at the chance to visit. What clinched it was the fact that one of the speakers would be the young database guru who goes by the X handle of “Data Republican (small R)”No way would I ever miss a chance to see her! So we made our reservations and flew to Atlanta last week, picked up our rental car, and hightailed it up to Charlotte (there were no direct flights available, and the drive gave us some time to see some of Georgia too).

The first “first” was a breakfast at the famous Waffle House, where we had never been. The food was great, and the staff put on a pretty good show themselves! It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm.

We made it to our hotel just in the nick of time, and had just enough time to change for dinner. Somebody at Hillsdale must have known how much I wanted to meet Data Republican, because we were seated at her table for dinner. She is deaf, so had a nice Hillsdale student to interpret and speak for her. Here we are, me on the right, Ms DR, and her interpreter.

The conference was quite interesting, with speeches on current events, and panel discussions. The best one, in my opinion was on Energy, which is top of mind in the US now. And my new friend gave an intriguing talk on how George Soros and some huge foundations are behind the majority of NGOs in the news.

The conference ended Friday afternoon, and we weren’t leaving until Saturday, so we used the hotel fitness center to get some exercise. In walking around the lobby on our way to dinner, I found some nice furniture pieces to photograph. Always thinking of what my readers might like!

We had made dinner reservations at the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, which was only four blocks away, so we walked there. We were celebrating our 22nd anniversary and the restaurant made it special.

Saturday we embarked on the second half of our trip, and the best part! But first, we had to get out of Charlotte. That was complicated by the “No Kings” march, which tangled up some downtown streets in liberal Charlotte. We were able to avoid the mayhem, and head out for our next destination, Aiken, South Carolina.

What, you may ask, was the draw of Aiken? Well, it is the home of our Ricochet friends, Richard and Barbara, whom we met in Nashville in 2021, as well as another couple who we also met at the same place. This time, we also met other Ricochet members we were not yet acquainted with.

We stopped at a rest area on the way.

I had never seen an elm tree, since we don’t have them on the west coast.

Farther down the road, we stopped so hubby could stretch his legs. Across the road was a field with some straggly vegetation. Listen.

We made it to our hotel, offloaded our luggage, and headed over to our friends’ house to meet everyone. Dinner was potluck, and everyone brought something.

A wonderful time was had by all. Ricochet people are the best!

On Sunday, the group went out for brunch at a local place called the Metro Diner. It was very crowded, being a very popular place for locals. It wasn’t long before we had a table. The food was excellent and everyone was well-fed.

On Sunday afternoon a bunch of us met at the Hopelands Gardens, and had a nice stroll among the trees.

I had seen photos of live oaks, but never saw one in person. Check out this one!

How about that huge, twisted branch!

Also at Hopelands we went to the Thoroughbred Museum, Aiken being a large equestrian center (which I had not known about).

Outside:

Inside:

By this time, we were tired, and everyone adjourned to their own places to rest up for dinner. Which was at a Salvadoran restaurant, which was eminently forgettable. I only took one photo there.

The food was bland with no character.

After this, everyone else was done, and we all split up. We had one more day, which you will have to wait for! Believe me, it will be worth the wait!