On Friday I brought my truck in for them to look at the transmission and though they thought it would last till October, I didn’t want to worry about it breaking down before then so I bought a 2012 Frontier that ended up costing me, with a tow hitch and a 120000 mile warranty, 380 a month for four years (with 5000 down and 7000 for a trade in), a reasonable figure and now I don’t have to worry about transportation for at least four years.
I did head off for Charlotte on Saturday and it turned out to be a good choice. I rode my bike up near Mt. Airy, played golf (or rather I hit wildly at golf balls for nine holes) at Twin Oaks, and then had a dinner in my truck at P.F. Changs off Harris Blvd. At 5:20 it was an hour and a half wait for a table and the traffic was too much. But the food was very good as always. I drove into Charlotte and found out that there were no rooms (the CIAA tourney was going on) so I had to make a reservation in Fort Mill at a Quality Inn there. I walked around downtown Charlotte and there were a lot of people there. I stopped at Valpiano to watch the Duke game and Duke got killed. Then I walked around some more and drove to Fort Hill.
Today, Sunday, I decided to drive down to Columbia and I had a great bike ride/hike in the Congaree National Park. I then got a room at the new Motel 6 there and after a nap went to Motor Supply for a very good dinner, including some Brussels sprouts that weren’t half bad. I have gotten some grading done and have looked at Amara’s poems, which are quite good.