We have some busy weeks behind us. My mother flew back home with us after spring break. We visited New York together and after she stayed another ten days with us in Charlotte. Funny, I’m over forty now but still nervous when my mother comes over. Cleaned up the house before and arranged everything that she will feel comfortable, like I did it as a teenager when she examined my new apartment. All this fuss was for nothing, we had a great time together and I think she really enjoyed her stay in the US. We strolled trough uptown Charlotte and visited Fourth Ward, the small historic district of Charlotte with some pretty nice Victorian houses and a delicious tavern, Alexander Michael’s restaurant, a favorite of the locals since 1938.

We enjoyed the National Anthem by the BISC girls choir at a charity golf tournament and visited Andrew Jackson State Park with its small but informative museum. Andrew Jackson served as the seventh president of the United States. He was born on March 15, 1767, in the Waxhaws region of the Carolinas. We cheered at soccer games, went to teacher meetings at school, joined English lessons together, we took care of Stanley our friendly but stubborn foster dog, worked in the back yard and finally we went to Charleston and Sullivan’s island for a weekend. Charleston is known for its rich history, well-preserved architecture and distinguished restaurants. It was the third time that I visited this smart town in South Carolina and I’m still finding spots that I didn’t notice before. I would give away lots if I could spend my twilight years on a rocking chair on one of this beautiful front porches overlooking the sea, a glass of cold Chardonnay in one hand…

Monday morning May 1st we brought the girls to Camp Thunderbird (best time ever in the school year) and in the afternoon my mum to the airport. Thanks for visiting us my dear, we had a fantastic time together! Markus an I enjoyed two kids free evening with delicious restaurant visits. The Queen City was recently ranked as one of the best food cities in America by Zagat, topping regional favorites like Charleston (#11) and Atlanta (#10), as well as global heavy-hitters like NYC (#21) and San Francisco (#20). On Wednesday two long-time friends arrived and we started their Charlotte week with a BBQ. Next day up to uptown with NASCAR Hall of fame, Spectrum Center (home of the Hornets), BB&T Ballpark (home of the Knights), Bank of America Stadium (home of the Panthers) and last but not least a cold beer at the Old Mecklenburg Brewery. Then the three boys spent two days at Carolina Rebellion a hard rock and heavy metal music festival that takes place annually in North Carolina. I think they had great fun and a perfect time together. One of the top lineups was Soundgarden. Two weeks ago they listened to Chris Cornells music and today you can read in the news that he passed away at age 52 for whatever reason. I only liked a few songs by him but either way 52 is far to early! I admire people who choose to live as a musician. A hard and rocky way and only a few get it to the top. But imagine the feeling standing on a stage in front of thousands of shouting fans…. Keep on rocking dear Chris, you will have good company up there.

We spent a whole day at the US whitewater center with our friends: climbing, high ropes, zip lines, paddle boarding and a family friendly whitewater rafting ride. Only one person felt out of the boat so we did pretty well. Farther they made a day trip to Chimney rock and Asheville and then it was already time to say goodbye. Hey guys thank you so much, we had a blast together. Hope to see you soon.

Two days later Joel arrived. He’s a remote relative from Markus. The wife from Markus mothers brother is the sister from his grandmother, got it? He’s spending some time in America before he will start with his studies in fall. We made an uptown visit (third in a row), had a BBQ, a soccer game, a swim meet, a school visit and in the last days warm summer weather for play in and around the pool. He enjoyed the week with our family and tries to visit us again during summer break. And then Joel, we’ll have time to visit the beautiful Carolina beaches.

And because of the warm summer weather during the last days our pets are back. They live in our outdoor storage box: two nice an independent tree frogs. The girls love this two little guys and I’m happy that the pet desire have expired for a while…