My Life As a Jensen: Charlotte Conference and Sightseeing

Many times throughout the years we have considered foster care and adoption, and looking into it here in the State of NC brought us to Focus On the Family's Wait No More conference. It was perfect timing for us to attend, and so we planned to stay an extra day in Charlotte so we could spend some time there in the city.

The conference started at 10:00am on Saturday, so we made the 2-hour trip to Charlotte on Friday after Chris got off work. We are so blessed to have amazing neighbors, and even after having to put down their 13-14 year old dog Sage (whom we have dog-sat on lots of their trips including a 2 month visit to their kids in Australia), Rocky was willing to look after our two large beasts.

The drive is pretty quick, with lots to look at along the way so it was no time at all before we arrived in Matthews, a suburb of Charlotte where the conference was being held. Our hotel was right beside two Mexican food restaurants and one Mongolian Grill, which was our choice for dinner. This was WAY more involved than YC's that we are familiar with in AZ. I managed to mess it up and didn't like mine so Chris very graciously traded with me! But it was a fun experience.

Saturday morning we were only a quick ten minute drive to Carmel Baptist Church. We enjoyed our free breakfast at the hotel before arriving at the church. It was huge! More the size we were used to attending in Phoenix, Carmel's facility reminded us a little of where we had come from at Vineyard Church. Walking into the church, there were photo's on poster boards throughout that we were told were kids who were eligible for adoption. The whole conference was very good, very emotional and provided so much good information and encouragement. We heard stories from two women who had been in foster care, and also from families who had adopted. It was powerful and by the end we were exhausted!

The pile of resources and information we got at the conference

Having finished with that, we were looking for something fun to do to take our minds off a tough and heavy subject. We decided to find out what the Discovery Zone was - you know that anything mentioning an aquarium Chris will want to check out! Turns out it was a kids place and not much there for us to do. We watched an IMAX movie about the coral reefs of the South Pacific, which was really fun, but we were hungry by the time it ended!

We decided on Sushi because Chris always tries to talk me into it. You can't order small portions, when they make a roll you have to take the whole roll! He wants me to learn to like it so I can share with him. I agreed, feeling adventurous that day! It wasn't too bad, and we both really liked the special roll they make there, deep fried in panko. YUM!

The one he's picking up is the one we both liked the best!

After lunch we were walking, looking around and found we needed a restroom. We went into the Mint Museum thinking we'd just use the facilities, but what we discovered there turned out to be a major find. Here are some of our most favorite things we discovered there.

Love the pottery, this was my favorite

This exhibit was made of thin and long plate glass, which obscured the items behind it, creating this color/design

This is a blown glass skeleton, done with meticulous care, and afterward a silicon is blown over the top, creating this leaf-like look when lighted from behind

SO impressive, this chair is made from sheets of paper glued together!

They have a display in the gift shop, and you can put your dot on where you are from! Chris and I are the yellow dot at the top of NC - the first ones from Greensboro.. the red dots are all the artists who have a display there

We stayed until the museum closed, and when we left we wandered the streets in the beautiful fall crispness just settling into the air of the evening.

We found a festival in the park - enjoyed some Blue Grass music and weather that was perfect for this sort of thing!

Sunday morning was leisurely, and we took our time with breakfast until we had to check out at 11:00am. Our only plan was to hit the Mint again so we could finish what we hadn't seen, then lunch and then back on the road to home.

The city is surrounded by beautiful trees, so you can hardly see the skyline

Back at the Mint!

Lunch was YUUUUUUmmmmmy. This place was so unique - they gave us a card when we entered and then we had to scan that card at various stations and pay at the end before we left! Plus, they had gummy bears at the hostess stand instead of mints. LOVE, love!