Nice day
last update: 08/14 @ 17:12

The weather was so nice this weekend I had to get out on the river.

That helped a little bit with my sadness at Robert moving out to Seattle.

And it’s always nice to spend some time at Angler’s Inn on the Potomac. There were other folks out but not too many; I got to play in the Maryland chute as much as wanted to without having to take a break other than to bail out the water.

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Flown the coop!!!
last update: 08/13 @ 18:35

Sarah and Robert drove down to Huntsville yesterday. Unfortunately they missed seeing Jess and Brown because Brown has Covid.

(I would be remiss to not point out that Robert found Audible has The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders available; now he and Sarah have heard more about Jack Flanders than I have. Something I will clearly have to correct!)

But they did get to meet up with Aaron in Huntsville for what looks like a cool cave hike.

And they are getting to have dinner with him tonight.

Robert checks into Space Camp Elite tomorrow and then Sarah will wind her relaxed way back to Alexandria.

As Space Camp ends, we’re flying out to Seattle to meet Robert.

We’ll be bringing his college stuff; he’ll be bringing dirty clothes :)

He’s starting his early fall start program at UW!

He is incredibly psyched to have gotten into the Engineering program there and is really looking forward to it.

It should be an excellent fit for his interests both academic and environmental: no more swampy, humid summer weather. Having family in Seattle makes the move less scary and more fun, I’m sure.

Before all the traveling, Sarah arranged for another round of “Porch Portraits” from Joseph. Not our porch this time, Jones Point and the old light house there.

Joseph does a Great job!

Sarah has been getting ready for this for some time. I think all the help she has offered getting Robert thinking about and actually packing has helped set her mind on the fact that we are launching him on his next great adventure.

I just came back from the grocery store and realized I was very blue: for the last 18 years there has always been something to get at the store for Robert, but not today.

For me, his next great move is just now becoming real. And I’m looking forward to hearing about all his new adventures!

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Birthday festivities winding down
last update: 07/31 @ 20:15

Robert had the excellent idea to celebrate his birthday at The Sandy Springs Adventure Park.

It had been years since we were here last.

It’s still here and still lots of fun.

Sarah Z. was under the weather and not able to join us.

We thought Pocket (Sarah P. from the Alexandria Medical Reserve Corps) might be able to join us, but she also had to drop out.

But Robert, Will, Abdel and I had blast.

Robert and I, obviously, had been there before.

Will had as well (though not with us).

Abdel was new to this kind of craziness.

Abdel’s timing was perfect. Coming home from an early start program at college just in time to take Pocket’s spot on the trip.

We started with a green to get used to the park — actually Robert and I on one and Will and Abdel on another.

Then we joined up for blue (which was slowed down by someone ahead of us who couldn’t calm down enough to get across one of the “features”).

Clearly not having fun, one of the staff came up and helped her bail out mid-course.

Watching how that staffer made that feature look really easy was deceiving. There is clearly an advantage to familiarity.

After that, we split up again. I went back to a fun green (with thoughts of a blue afterwards). The boys, who heard that the double black really should be first or you’d be too tired, opted for the single black.

I choose to watch a bit from the ground rather than pushing for that last blue.

The black seemed to have lived up to it’s reputation looking at the boys as they came back; smiling, but gassed/

We finished the day with the excellent cake Sarah made and watching the Hungarian F1 race.

A very nice way to celebrate Robert’s 18th.

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If Binder clips were bitcoins
last update: 07/25 @ 22:26

As PTO embraces a post-covid teleworking policy, most folks are coming in to clean out their offices. This is today’s pile of binder clips returned from soon to be clean offices.

It’s pretty amazing what people had saved in their offices.

And more amazing how much physical paper we’re learning to live without.

Well, most people. I continue to go into the office with no plans to be a full time teleworker. And I still print out more documents to read and mark up than I really need to.

But I do find it sometimes easier and allows me to avoid the distraction of IM or email while I’m looking at something other than my screen.

And, yes, I have plenty of binder clips, thank you very much.

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Continuingthe tradition…
last update: 07/23 @ 23:42

We went out to Tysons Corner Mall to the Lego store today.

I think this is the first time Robert added his own, hard earned cash from being a summer camp counselor to the pot to get a more expensive, more engrossing set.

After his trips to Kings Dominion and Six Flags recently, this seemed perfect.

Robert has discovered his inner roller coaster fan (thanks Will).

And this is a perfect companion to this summer of coaster.

After a lot of research, he decided this is what he wanted for his brithday.

And it’s really cool. Check out Robert’s Twitter feed for vidoes of it working.

He decided it was worth extra cost for the motor, and I agree.

It’s a quick ride, but apparently, pretty accurate.

Of course we had to stop by the sushi-go-round for lunch afterwards.

It was a great way to spend a very hot day indoors.

(Maybe not obvious in these photos: he started in the early afternoon; it was dark when he finished — a fun set to build and more fun to play with.)

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Toasty warm
last update: 07/23 @ 18:23

Starting to feel a lot like summer.

Admittedly, the other side of this porch wall is in the sun, but it’s really hot out.

I’m very glad our AC is working this weekend.

It’s a good day to stay inside and build with Legos. More on that later.

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Happy Birthday!!!
last update: 07/22 @ 23:32

The traditional Los Tios birthday dinner capped off with a round of Happy Birthday while wearing a sombrero.

What could be a better way to celebrate?

Kind of amazing that we’ve been doing this for half of Robert’s life.

With Robert turning 18 and looking west for college, we’ll have to see if he gets this treatment again.

Sarah and I will uphold the tradition though :)

Speaking of tradition: we have plans tomorrow (after F1 qualifying) to head back out to Tysons, peruse the Lego Store and go by the sushi-go-round.

Should be a nice day.

Looks like that’s even the same sombrero from 2013.

It’s good to know we’re not the only ones who are consistent.

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Birthday!!!
last update: 07/10 @ 22:32

Not a family birthday.

Alexandria chooses not to compete with the DC fireworks. We celebrate the city’s birthday the following weekend.

This is the 273^rd birthday for the city of Alexandria (246 for the country).

Alexandria really puts on a good show.

And it’s much more approachable than The Mall for DC’s fireworks.

Pocket, from the vaccine PODs is back in town. We got host the POD crew last night to celebrate her return (temporary return) from studying abroad.

And we happened to run into her and Nathan at the fireworks.

Maybe not small world, but small town, anyway.

A perfect topper off to a lovely weekend.

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Potomac Fun
last update: 07/10 @ 22:25

Yesterday was pretty rainy but today was another perfect day to be on the river. There were more people out and about than last weekend, but still plenty of fun to be had.

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Back on the river…
last update: 07/02 @ 18:05

… and I saw this guy. I’m going to believe it’s the same Heron we’ve seen before just upstream of Angler’s Inn. This time, he was hanging out at the Maryland Chute, which has a new to me log stuck on that rock. They are saying there may be heavy thunderstorms this afternoon so that log may move along later today.

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