My daughter's boyfriend graduated from Walmart's "Associate to Driver" training program this past Friday. Families were welcome to attend the graduation ceremony. James very much wanted Kim to be there. My daughter has no experience flying anywhere. So I asked if I could take the trip with her. They both agreed it would be fine. The graduation ceremony was just outside of Greenville, South Carolina. A part of the south I'd never been to before. It was a three day trip to a place I had no interest in visiting. As it would turn out, I had a great time!
Right away I noticed how polite and friendly the people were. There were a lot of people at the hotel because of the Clemson vs. Notre Dame game. Folks I didn't even know smiling and saying good morning. The hotel staff and breakfast were great. I had real sausage gravy and biscuits for the first time. Fresh baked cinnamon rolls too.
The graduation ceremony was very nicely done. Walmart is investing a lot of money training their own truck drivers. The "Associate to Driver" program is giving current Walmart employees a chance to train for their CDL and then become a well paid truck driver for the company. The 12 weeks of training is not easy. Walmart's emphasis on safety and training each driver the correct way really impressed me.
The rest of the time I had a chance to relax. We ate at two nice restaurants in Greenville. We enjoyed a nice New York strip steak dinner. The steak was a full 16 ounces. So Kim and I split it down the middle. It was delicious and just enough for both of us.
Even the flights back and fourth went well. I flew on a small passenger jet for the first time. Our Embraer EMB 179 had only 80 seats. It looked so small compared to the 737's I'm used to. I was a little anxious flying on such a small plane. There was no reason to be anxious though. Our seats were very comfortable and the flights and landing were very smooth.
Before we left we celebrated my grand daughter Gracie's 8th birthday. She wanted a "Hello Kitty" cake and that's what she got. I also made a new friend. Her name is "Oreo." Miss Gracie's new cat. Who seems to really like humans. Yesterday I fell asleep watching T.V. Oreo than curled up and fell asleep on my head. I hope you enjoy all the pictures below.