North Carolina Trip, April 30 - May 3, 2004
  
 
Friday, April 30
 
Leaving Seattle...
 
       
 
 
 
 
Over Seattle...
 
       
 
       
 
 
 
Over the Cascade Mountains, just east of Seattle...
 
       
 
 
 
 
Western Washington and the Columbia River...
 
       
 
 
Over the Rocky Mountains...
 
       
 
 
 
Down to Texas...
 
     
 
 
Approaching Dallas / Ft. Worth... for a connecting flight to Charlotte...
 
       
 
Arrival at the Charlotte airport...
 
I was fetched at the Charlotte airport by Engineer Matt and whisked to Hamilton Manor at Mountain Island Lake...
 
       
 
 
 
 
 
Saturday, May 1
 
At Hamilton Manor with Sister Jan, Engineer Matt, Will and Ryan...
 
       
 
 
 
Across Charlotte to Mother & Father's Strawberry Hill apartment...
 
 
At Strawberry Hill... Mother and Father, Sister Jan and Will and Ryan, Brother Brian and Joanne, and Randy...
 
       
 
 
 
The shots below are from my final visit to Farmwood (in the Mint Hill section of Charlotte), which had been the Thompson home since August of 1973. During 1973 construction had been a family project, with Father handling engineering and design work and Grandfather (mother's father) overseeing the carpentry and general contracting. Mother was Chief Creative Officer and made inestimable pickups and deliveries of building supplies in our Pinto station wagon (the color of which was international orange, the same used on the Golden Gate Bridge, but I digress...). Brother Brian and I provided cheap labor...
 
Health concerns had made it necessary for Mother and Father to downsize into the apartment at Strawberry Hill and the Farmwood House was in the process of being sold. With my friend Randy I made a last walk-through of the old place...
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
       
 
 
 
 
 
Sunday, May 2
 
At Strawberry Hill...
       
 
       
 
       
 
 
I visited with Paula Davis, mother of Bob, at Elm Croft. Paula loaned me a collection of poems called "Get Well Wishes" to share with Mother and Father. This collection included a poem by Patricia Poland, formerly Patricia Marx, who many years ago I considered to be the prettiest girl in my graduating class at Independence High School... though I never told her that. In fact I don't think that I ever even talked with her... I just admired her from afar... and I've not seen her since those high school days. Paula and Tricia have been friends since way back when, and Paula always updates me with Tricia's news...
 
 
 
Monday, May 3
 
Morning at Strawberry Hill... This turned out to be the last time that Father was well enough for us to pick together...
 
 
After a late morning doctor's appointment, Father was admitted to the hospital. Father's room had a nice view of downtown Charlotte. I had to return to Seattle later in the afternoon...
 
 
Back at Strawberry Hill... the instruments looked lonely and mournful...
 
 
Monkeys in the Monkey Room...
 
 
Leaving Charlotte airport. It seems that more often than not my flights take me through the same concourse and by this "Welcome" sign. How many times have I passed this spot and shot the obligatory picture?
 
 
Out of Charlotte and over Sister Jan's Mountain Island Lake area...
 
         
 
Over the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina...
 
Connecting in St. Louis and on to Seattle...