I can't even remember the last (or first) time I was in North Carolina, but I'm returning there in just a few days with Ponzi. We're visiting her family, most of whom I've never met. It'll be difficult to hide my northern accent around them, but I can eat grits like a champ. I'm told that the hotel will have broadband (we're not staying with family per her request), so it'll be just like home. I reckon it'll be stormy, so I'll be needing wireless access more than a physical network connection. I don't have a lay of the land, but if you'd like to get together with us while we're out there, please let me know (by email) ASAP. We can pretend we're all part of one big, happy family. I don't know if we'll be formalizing a geek dinner, but I'd certainly love to meet a few southern geeks. Can we connect and record a couple of hours worth of conversation, too? Melissa, one of our good friends, sent this note to Ponzi:

Saw your post about WiFi. I know a few places in Gastonia that [have it]. The one place I frequent the most is Panera Bread which is near Franklin Square – they have free WiFi and great food. All of the McDonalds in Gastonia and Charlotte have WiFi, the Caribou Coffees in Charlotte have free WiFi, and of course Starbucks in Charlotte has T-Mobile WiFi. If you are close to any Denny's (like in Shelby or King's Mountain), they all have WiFi. I know here in Forest City our Denny's has free WiFi, too. I think even Eastridge Mall now has WiFi. There a few hotels around the mall that have [it]. If you go to Jiwire and look up Gastonia, you will also find a lot of hotels and places that have WiFi, too.

w00t! I'm not looking to pay for it if there's a free network available, BTW.