Howdieee!! ;)

Hello all...My name is John, but my cyber-name is smack. I'm a born and raised Southerner living in the eastern part of TN. 43, married, with two daughters, 7 and 4. I found this site via a conversation with Liz on another site and look forward to spending some time here!

 

Welcome John,

It's nice to have ya, and someone else in our neck of the woods. My wife and I are in Gastonia, 10 min. west of Charlotte, NC. She should should be on in the next day or two, but for now i'll welcome you for the both of us.

 

Hey Ken...thanks! I was born and raised in Charlotte. Lived there until 1984 (man has it changed since then!) Gastonia was truely another city west of Charlotte then, but it all blends together now. We live in Knoxville now, but my brother and his family live in Waxhaw and my Mom lives off Providence Rd.

 

:welcomebo John! Hope you like the forum Liz has worked so hard to get up and running.

My name is Carol and my husband and I have a daughter Laura, 17, and he has 2 older kids, 32 and 29. We live in northern NJ with our dog Maxwell. Glad to have you join us.

Carol

 

Ahh...

well it has grown up a LOT since then. Providence Rd. is right around the corner from my office. I work in South Charlotte, the Balentyne area. Balentyne and Pineville are merging, and nobody seems to know where Balentyne came from. just a ritsey planned blend of buisness / residential. The area has all changed so much since i first moved to Gastonia in '89.... i can imagine what a shock it must be for you when you come into town to visit family.

 

Hey Carol, thanks for the welcome!

I grew up up in Bevery Woods East, went to South Mech High School. At that time, South was 5 miles out of the city limits and the only thing on that road was it and the Jr.High across the highway. Pineville was a place you went to get "out into the sticks" to drink and cut up. There was no such place as Balentyne nor any of the businesses on Hwy 51. The beltloop hadn't been started either. Everything is different until I go back into my old neighborhood...the trees are bigger, but it all looks familiar.

But that is the way of the world...can't stop progress so they say. Tennessee is home now. I really wouldn't want to live anywhere else, and I have lived all over the country. It's the kind of environment for my kids that I had growing up, with lots of family in the area and just big enough to be somewhat cosmopolitan.

 

Welcome, John, and glad to have you join us here. Snuck up on me...I was out for a thunderstorm :cloud:while you wandered in! :welcome:

What John didn't mention is that he and I discovered that for a time being we even lived in the same town. How's that for coincidence? Liz

 

Very cool, Liz, and maybe you will one day be in the same state! Carol

 

That would be great...or at least the same mtn range, :clapping:

John, my husband and I plan on retiring into the NC/TN area up around where you are. We haven't decided exactly where but up above Knoxville has been in the realm of possibility. We've looked into the Newport, TN area as one possibility, Dandridge is another. Or we could go across the line into NC and be right with all our extended family (his).

A 7 and 4 year old..Lord, help you. You are just getting started. I bet they both have daddy wrapped around their little fingers. Liz

 

That sounds like a great plan...either Newport or Dandridge would be awesome (my preference would be Dandridge :smile Yes, I'm a late bloomer...we are trying for a third right now too LOL! And yes, They have me completely wrapped and are definately Daddy's girls (right now anyway :smile

 

Are you hoping for a 3rd girl?

I LOVE that area...except for Jellico Mtn in the middle of a snow storm! And I've BTDT! Liz

 

.......

SmackLAN

 

We are hoping and planning for a third girl (I'm not cut out to raise boys I don't think).

Dandridge is very quaint, yet close enough to all the major population centers. And land is still very affordable there. As far as the snow goes, you should be an old hat dealing with it in MI!

btw - thanks everyone for the warm welcome!! My current site is strictly for business, so it is nice to have found a friendly community to just chat!!

 

I'm getting better but I still have had my fill of it. Liz

 

Well it seems I am late to the party, as always. Hello and welcome.

 

Then I'm really late........always like to make an entrance.....well, not really!

Hi Smack, welcome!

Dave

 

Well, I'm even later! Hello John, and welcome. I'm Suzi and live with my dh and dd in a rural area of VA; about 60 mi. South of DC and about 50 mi. north of Charlottsville. Nice to have you around.

 

Better late than never.

sounds like everyone has some ties to this area in some way or another... or wait, could that just be ties to the South? It's so beautiful down here.

no buisness on 51... Pineville was the stix... South Mech!!!!!!!!! sorry, j/k. I went to Gastonia schools... graduated from Ashbrook High. Was it Ashbrook back then or still Ashley High - i don't remember when they changed the name... but then again if Pineville was the stix - the football team may not have gone that far for a game:24:

 

Welcome to the forum. Ken is my dh and we're expecting in September. Running a bit behind so just thought I'd say hey and welcome.

 

LOL! I remember once upon a time there was a radio station in Charlotte that used to do this bit called "Battlestar Gastonia" a spoof on the Battlestar Gallactica TV series :clapping: