Literally. Seriously. In fact looking back this was not our smartest moment.
You see, Todd's grandparents have both passed and since then their home has been sold to the airport and is now vacant. Todd had many great memories at that house. I hear about the stories all the time so randomly on our way to Charlotte one day we made the spontaneous decision to "drive by" before it gets demolished. I had never been there so naturally I was curious about matching his childhood stories with a real setting.
We pulled in the side drive just to take in the view. Then we got out. Then we walked around. All the doors have been bolted shut but when I turned the corner to the side of the house, one door was wide open AND the hall light was on along with ceiling fans (which is so weird, who is paying for that!?!)
This is where we should have got the clue to leave. But you see there is something you should all know about me. I love abandon places. I'm that girl that youtubes abandon places frequently. Yea, so weird. Anyways, what did we do? We went in! Looking back this is the not so smart part.
Todd filmed. It's really shaky because he was just holding the camera out while he looked around for nostalgic sake. The renters who lived here had taken all the light fixtures and doorknobs. They also left some trash, clothes and mattresses that were slung all in the house/yard.
From some reason in the moment we were never really scared. Okay, maybe just a little but only because the wood floors were creaking and well, it was just sad. I could sense that the place used to be filled with laughter and joy. But now the place will never be loved the way it was before. Such a shame. Here a few more pictures:
 |
| This was the family room where they would mostly all hang out. It's the same room with the gorgeous fireplace. |
 |
| Such a beautiful home |
 |
| This was his grandfathers barn that once held a horse. It overlooked a large pasture and garden which is now mostly weeds. |
Now, see that last picture? Well Todd ran towards the woods to take the photo and we heard an usual noise from the woods. The noise never trailed off, as if it froze. We both assumed it was an animal at the time but later after leaving I told Todd that I saw something white (notice I'm facing the woods). We aren't sure what animal would be white and both are pretty positive it was most likely a person. It is common for many homeless people to live in abandon homes. The side door was most likely open because someone snuck out (because we scared the poor soul) and was just keeping an eye on us. Of course we don't know all of this for sure but it is highly likely.
Now you see why looking back we realize that this was not a smart move on our part. We could have really found ourselves in trouble but honestly while I was there, I was never afraid. I'm glad we went though. I loved the house. I was thinking about how fun it would be to decorate that place (plus it has a huge basement but we didn't go down there). It reminded me of the older homes that YHL buys and fixes up. Plus I grew up in an old ranch style home so I guess my heart is just closely fond of them.
So there you have it. We house crashed. Will I ever do it again? No way. Not there, not anywhere else. I'll continue to youtube places if I fill the urge to explore abandoned places ;)
By the way we did try to find something to take with us as a keepsake (like his grandfathers tool box or a horseshoe) but everything was so overgrown with spiders and termites we just decided to keep the memories in the heart instead.
-S