the peculiarities of a southern christmas.
stella is up from ____________ and judging by the snark she left last night, would you be shocked and amazed to learn we done drank a whole lotta vino tinto? ouch, i say.
so while stella returned from ________ to x to celebrate xmas with her family, inga traveled from x to the south, to celebrate xmas with her family. and a southern christmas is indeed full of peculiarities, esp. for a girl who lives and breathes in x - who is used to snow, vowels that don't linger longer than necessary, and who learned about the civil war rather than the war of northern agression as a wee tot.
among the oddities of a southern christmas:
1. no snow, not even a slight chance of it.
2. the option of eating christmas dinner on the back porch overlooking the fourth fairway.
3. the possibility of seeing an alligator in the pond on the fourth fairway while feasting on christmas dinner on said back porch.
4. lots of christmas decorations on palmettos/palm trees.
5. the opportunity to frolick in tide pools and surf in the days leading up to christmas - and even getting a slight sunkissed look about the cheeks because, really, who packs sunblock for winter vacation unless it involves skiing?
6. the obsession with winter accessories in an area where people really don't need said accessories - every store had an abundance of wool coats, cable knit scarves and hats, thinsulate-lined gloves, heavy boots. on the upside, all of these items were marked down 50%, so score for inga on a fabulous new winter coat!
7. kids running around christmas eve dressed in short sleeves and bare legs.
8. people shopping last minute in flip flops - and not looking stupid or fearing catching colds for having exposed body parts.
yes, a southern christmas is peculiar.
even more peculiar? spending christmas day in airports! thanks to a difference of close to $200 dollars, i flew back to x on the 25. at my first airport stop, myrtle beach, i sat in the bar (yes, the bar - only one, but then again, this particular airport only has 5 gates) and drank a glass of super bad chardonnay. every one - okay, well, the four of us there - was in a good mood, esp. the bartender, as the bar would close up early. she discussed the famous people she'd met on the job - stedman, oprah's boy ("she's got him trained real well"), chris rock, jim mcmahon, and "the guy that done play hercules." there was also a discussion about montel williams and how he's handling his MS "real good."
but the most fun was at the charlotte, north carolina, airport. first of all, it's huge; well, okay, not o'hare or la guardia huge, but pretty big for a small airport. getting from terminal c to b is a bit of a hike. the middle of the airport is essentially a giant foodcourt, complete with piano bar and wooden rocking chairs. my favorite bar, of course, is the stock car cafe, complete with real, live, actual stock cars hanging upside down from the ceiling! sure, the house wine is crap, the cigarette smoke will knock you out, but c'mon - stock car cafe is second none to an actual nascar cafe. it's perfect for some people watching, esp. the guy who wandered in, obviously drawn by the cars, who literally walked the length of the bar four or five times, eyes continuously turned toward the ceiling, a look of, no shit, awe on his face as he contemplated the glory of all things stockcar/nascar. if only i'd had my camera. drat. for this man, trust me when i say, he had a very merry xmas indeed.
tomorrow? spain! viva la spain!
so while stella returned from ________ to x to celebrate xmas with her family, inga traveled from x to the south, to celebrate xmas with her family. and a southern christmas is indeed full of peculiarities, esp. for a girl who lives and breathes in x - who is used to snow, vowels that don't linger longer than necessary, and who learned about the civil war rather than the war of northern agression as a wee tot.
among the oddities of a southern christmas:
1. no snow, not even a slight chance of it.
2. the option of eating christmas dinner on the back porch overlooking the fourth fairway.
3. the possibility of seeing an alligator in the pond on the fourth fairway while feasting on christmas dinner on said back porch.
4. lots of christmas decorations on palmettos/palm trees.
5. the opportunity to frolick in tide pools and surf in the days leading up to christmas - and even getting a slight sunkissed look about the cheeks because, really, who packs sunblock for winter vacation unless it involves skiing?
6. the obsession with winter accessories in an area where people really don't need said accessories - every store had an abundance of wool coats, cable knit scarves and hats, thinsulate-lined gloves, heavy boots. on the upside, all of these items were marked down 50%, so score for inga on a fabulous new winter coat!
7. kids running around christmas eve dressed in short sleeves and bare legs.
8. people shopping last minute in flip flops - and not looking stupid or fearing catching colds for having exposed body parts.
yes, a southern christmas is peculiar.
even more peculiar? spending christmas day in airports! thanks to a difference of close to $200 dollars, i flew back to x on the 25. at my first airport stop, myrtle beach, i sat in the bar (yes, the bar - only one, but then again, this particular airport only has 5 gates) and drank a glass of super bad chardonnay. every one - okay, well, the four of us there - was in a good mood, esp. the bartender, as the bar would close up early. she discussed the famous people she'd met on the job - stedman, oprah's boy ("she's got him trained real well"), chris rock, jim mcmahon, and "the guy that done play hercules." there was also a discussion about montel williams and how he's handling his MS "real good."
but the most fun was at the charlotte, north carolina, airport. first of all, it's huge; well, okay, not o'hare or la guardia huge, but pretty big for a small airport. getting from terminal c to b is a bit of a hike. the middle of the airport is essentially a giant foodcourt, complete with piano bar and wooden rocking chairs. my favorite bar, of course, is the stock car cafe, complete with real, live, actual stock cars hanging upside down from the ceiling! sure, the house wine is crap, the cigarette smoke will knock you out, but c'mon - stock car cafe is second none to an actual nascar cafe. it's perfect for some people watching, esp. the guy who wandered in, obviously drawn by the cars, who literally walked the length of the bar four or five times, eyes continuously turned toward the ceiling, a look of, no shit, awe on his face as he contemplated the glory of all things stockcar/nascar. if only i'd had my camera. drat. for this man, trust me when i say, he had a very merry xmas indeed.
tomorrow? spain! viva la spain!
posted by lynda at 1:00 PM
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