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August 07, 2006
Cars and NoDa
Categories: A Case of the Mondays
'Twas a pretty good weekend around the Pope house. Seems like we did a lot of shopping, but that makes sense. It was Tex Free weekend here in South Carolina, as school starts back Wednesday. Plus, we have a little extra money since I got paid for my summer school class and my course development work. Whoo-hoo!
Friday, Sarah and I went into Charlotte to look at cars. He Civic is on its last legs. Although the engine runs fine, it's got 176,000 miles on it. It has a crack in the rear seal, so it occasionally drips oil. The speedometer has started acting up recently, shooting up to 120 mph when we're cruising at 30 and occasionally not working at all. The passenger side window will roll down with the driver control, but not back up. And the AC doesn't work, which has been pretty brutal these past few weeks. There's no way Sarah can show houses in it. To fix all that stuff will probably cost more than the 1993 vehicle is worth.
So Friday we checked out Carmax. I was very pleased with the friendly older gentlemen that showed us around. He genuinely listened to our parameters and didn't pressure us at all. Sarah and I decided we want a Subaru Outback or Forrester. It looks like we can get one with less than 50,000 miles for around our budget of $15,000. Although Carmax didn't have on on Friday, our need is not urgent, so we can wait until one becomes available.
After our Carmax excursion, we headed to the NoDa district of Charlotte for dinner and to check out this singer/songwriter guy Sarah had heard of. NoDa is kinda like Charlotte's Greenwitch Village. There are some funky restraunts and galleries in a former warehouse district. Granted, it's only three blocks or so (as opposed to the Village) and nowhere near as funky. But there is a similar vibe and, if you stand on North Davidson and look south, the Bank of America towers are nicely framed, which reminds me of how you could stand at the corner of Washington Square Park and look down West Broadway at the World Trade Center. Well, you used to be able to, anyway.
Sarah and I ate at the Mellow Mushroom (which recently opened, I think. I don't remember it there the last time we were up in NoDa), then walked down to Dolce Vita, a cool wine bar. (But, boy, do they need a new website!). Sarah had done some deliveries there for Pasta and Provisions, had heard Daniel Lambert there, and met some cool people. Daniel was playing again, so we went to check him out. He was really good, with songs that sounded Texan more than anything else. Sarah chatted with some of the folks we had met before while I chilled out the comfy couch. I was pretty tired, so we bailed about 10:30 and headed back to Rock Hill. 'Twas a fun Friday.
Posted by Nakia at August 7, 2006 09:02 AM