It's Boone a Long Time

So…it’s been a while. A lot has happened since my commentary on our collective love for the “Q.” I wrote that about midway through our time in Charlotte, NC. We had some good Q at a place called Lancaster’s with our friend Dru Willis. There’s a lot else too…I’ll just write all the random stories and thoughts as they come. Sorry if it’s hard to discern a logical flow.

Our stay in Charlotte was rather inconvenient – in relation to driving and travel. The first half of the week, we stayed in a very northern suburb called Mooresville, a beautiful lakeside community that is the hub of all the Nascar teams and biz. We met great people and had a great time.

However, every one of our screenings were down in Charlotte – a 45+ minute drive. That’s not too bad, right? Except for the fact that all of our screenings were at high schools…requiring us to be there at 6:30 or 7 in the morning. That put us waking up at 5am everyday for a while. Yikes.

Then we moved downtown…and had high school screenings back in Mooresville…at the crack of dawn, once again. Poor planning…but beggars can’t be choosers, after all. There was also one day where we stayed in Charlotte, had to be in Mooresville at 7am, then had to drive down across the border to South Carolina for a midday screening, then back to Mooresville to get the other half of the team we left at the school (hour and a half drive), then back down to Charlotte to go home. Yikes again.

We had our first REAL day off while in Charlotte. It was a Saturday, staying with a friend of a friend of a friend (= no IC connection) so we could truly chill and do nothing (a missed luxury). We had some time off from the constant pouring out and meet ‘n’ greet. It was team time, just the 4 of us venting, talking, laughing and fellowshipping together. It was a great time of renewal and revival in our team. Much needed and much appreciated.



Then it was off to Boone. Boone is a rather small mountain town in the Appalachians, home of Appalachian State University. It was one of the best, if no the best, cities we have been to. Multiple reasons:
• Gorgeous – mountains everywhere, cool town, great people
• Beautiful weather – 70 every day in the mountains
• Few and quality screenings – everyday at 7pm only (= whole day to hang)
• Great people – some new best friends for sure

App State had a great demographic of people – true mountain/outdoor people. Everyone wore Chaco sandals, short cutoff jean shorts, flannel shirts, and beards. Every recreational activity involved rock climbing, camping, four-wheeling, hammocks and mountains. Beautiful.





We also met a random woman – Angie Ryan – who was an author and journalist. She was writing a novel about Uganda and the LRA and the war. She knocked on the van window one day and wanted to talk. We met up 3 or 4 times for interviews and coffee. That was a first – contribution to novel and to multiple newspaper articles.

Oh and we had two extra members of the team – 2 friend from the office in San Diego – Anna, our tour support intern, and Sarah, a roadie from last year. That was fun.

Then it was off to Asheville, NC – another mountain town, but less woodsy and backcountry. It was compared to a Seattle/Portland/San Fran of the east (and in the mountains). It is quite progressive, eclectic and artsy. We did a church screening, two high schools, and a public library.

We had one day off – incredibly eventful. We drove through the night to take Anna and Sarah to the airport in Charlotte by 5am to head back to San Diego. Then on the way back, we ventured into the Pisgah National Forest and went to place called Sliding Rock – a 60+ ft rock that had been made slick by 1000’s of years of river flow and moss, forming a natural water slide. We took the plunge. The water was 45 degrees tops, the air was about 50 degrees, and it was overcast. Frigid, but well worth it. Memories to last a lifetime.

We then went to the Biltmore Estate with some comped tickets. The Biltmore is the largest private residence in the US – a mere 175,000 square feet, 255 rooms. It was the private residence of George W. Vanderbilt from 1895 until he died. It was originally situated on 195 square miles, which has since been reduced to a mere 12,000 acres. This was an ESTATE, in the true definition of the word. Incredible.



Well…I know that is a lot, and mostly a factual recollection of events to catch you up to speed. But, much as happened. All is well with us, we are being well taken care of, blessed with hospitality, food and fellowship. The constant state of being a guest is wearing on us though, despite our great treatment. We look forward to the consistency and normalcy of home. One month to go. Wow, has it gone fast.