A Stroll Down Memory Lane, 9/21/2016

While we were staying in Concord, NC, John drove us to Charlotte for a little reminiscing about our younger years. This is the house on Colchester Place in Spring Valley where my family living during the years we lived in Charlotte (1963-1971). Somehow, the house of your childhood always looks a lot smaller than we remember it. 

John and I met at the neighborhood pool in Spring Valley where he played basketball with my brother and many others (and we dated in 1969-1970). I spent my summers there swimming, playing football with the guys, and traipsing through the nearby woods. Today, there is a tennis club there and only the office and bathroom building remain (the pool has been filled in). 

We had a tire swing over Sugar Creek (very polluted back then, but now reportedly cleaned up); built tree forts in the nearby woods (with materials from the houses under construction in the area); and played on the equipment that is still standing. I vividly remember one of life's most embarrassing moments. I was doing hip circles on the bars and my bikini top popped off...it was awful! I never knew how many people actually witnessed it, but I know some did. It was horrible!

Our next stop was Myers Park Baptist Church that John and his family attended when he was growing up. I had never been inside and was so very impressed with this beautiful church and chapel. John and his buddies sat in the balcony at the rear of the church. Additional information about the church can be found at www.mpbconline.org. 

Our final stop was for lunch at Price's Chicken Coop. Both John and I enjoyed many great fried chicken dinners here! There used to be a small seating area, but now it is all takeout. It as busy now as it was in the 1970s. To see their menu, go to www.priceschickencoop.com. 

We drove past other areas of our old stomping grounds before returning to Concord for dinner with the family. The city of Charlotte has grown so much since I lived here that I hardly recognize it! 

For those of you who do not know us, John was in the Army and shipped out to Vietnam during the summer of 1970. Sadly, I broke up with him while he was serving his tour of duty (I know, it was a terrible thing to do). My family moved to Delaware in 1971 and we only saw each other in passing a couple of times after that. We reconnected via Facebook in 2010 (yes, 40 years later!) and were married six months later. My first love and my last...once in an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale!