Seattle friends and family meals
last update: 07/31 @ 09:59

I would be remiss if I didn’t record for posterity :) our fun dinners in Seattle this time around:

While I was helping with the Ikea build, Sarah and Kelly were able to get together for dinner and a chance to catch up as Seattle and KCRHA continue to work to address the homeless population.

David Z. and Lynn invited us to dinner with them and Patty (also visiting from the East Coast). It’s always interesting to hear what they have been up to and get their perspective on the state of affairs. We closed down a very nice spot on Capitol Hill.

And Australian friends Nanette and Adam invited us to join them as they prepared to fly back to Perth after an Alaskan cruise and visit with Taylor in Omaha. That’s were this picture comes from: Sharp’s Roasthouse. Instead of a lobster bib, they offer a ribs bib!

Let the dieting begin :)

Happy Birthday, Robert!
last update: 07/30 @ 16:52

We celebrated Robert’s birthday with the now traditional baseball game and moving him into his new, Seattle apartment (check out the rooftop patio)!

More photos in the vacations section.

GRADUATION!!!
last update: 06/18 @ 16:59

We’re back from celebrating Robert’s UW GRADUATION in Seattle. It was a fun trip, great to meet more of his friends and to see him conclude this phase of his educational journey.

There are many more photos in the travel section. But I’m not sure any others turned out this well.

Happy Birthday!!!
last update: 05/22 @ 09:38

Fun Day Yesterday!

The Mets were playing the Nationals here on Sarah’s birthday, so, of course we went to go watch.

And we got there early enough to catch all four racing presidents for photos.

(Abe won the race during the game.)

And most importantly: The Mets Won!

In a 2 to 1 nail biter — the Nats almost tied it up in the bottom of the 9th.

We went from mid to high 90s early in the week down to 60s yesterday and it was threatening to rain.

But the rain held off and by not going into overtime, we didn’t feel the need to retreat inside to warm up (it was nice to have that open in our back pockets).

Metro treated us well (as expected) with easy trips in and out of DC. I’m sure it helped being a 4pm start on a weekday — you can see it was sparsely attended.

We’ll get back to Los Tios at some point for the sombrero hat celebration, but Uncle Joe’s had a nice Chocolate Mouse Cake. And they were happy to give us a candle as well.

While Los Tios is not yet scheduled, we do have tickets to see Lyle Lovett at the Birchmere in a few more days.

It’s Sarah Celebration Month!

May is always fun to look forward to (the wedding last week was an extra bonus).

Back from a Great Wedding
last update: 05/19 @ 17:57

We had a great time helping celebrate John and Grace’s wedding. And took advantage of our free time to enjoy some of the sights on the way to and from Brant Lake, NY.

One of those sights: Sarah Street in Stroudsburg, PA.

More photos in the trips section.

Quick Seattle Trip
last update: 04/28 @ 18:57

I took a quick trip out to Seattle to be the “responsible adult” to get Robert to and from the oral surgeon who was extracting his wisdom teeth.

We knew this was coming, both his Alexandria and Seattle dentists had said they would need to come out sooner rather than later.

Fortunately, he is class-free on Fridays this quarter and so scheduled the extraction then (otherwise, he is a classy guy).

While Friday afternoon was really rough on him, by Friday evening, he was able to get back into his whimsy with the propeller hat.

Brooklyn has a propeller hat too, but was not wearing in when they took this photo to share with Robert’s Seattle support group showing he was doing better.

(As we waited for the Lyft to the appointment Friday morning, he got a great compliment on the whimsy of his hat from a passerby. I think the dental folks at least smiled if not laughed when he showed up wearing that.)

And I had to get out and enjoy the fantastic weather when he was clearly on the mend. I did help to make sure he kept up with pain meds the first 24 hours or so before he headed back from the hotel to his apartment and I stepped out to enjoy the U District in perfect weather.

Busy day in DC
last update: 03/28 @ 14:13

In addition to the No Kings march, it was also the kite festival by the Washington Monument.

And the Cherry Blossoms are in peak bloom. While we didn’t swing by the tidal pool, we did check out the kites after crossing the Arlington Memorial Bridge en-mass.

It was perfect (though cool) day to be out and about.

While the mood of marchers was good, the reason for the protest really is depressing.

We’ll keep pushing for better times ahead.

And maybe our country will soar again, like these kites…

…or is that too much of a stretch?

(Small plug for new functionality of the blog, click the “Protests” topic tag below to see more posts like this one.)

Not Kansas
last update: 01/11 @ 11:07

We just came back from a Celebration of Life for David’s Aunt Betty in Phoenix. While there, we did a bit of hiking around in the desert. It was a beautiful, memory filled time and there are more photos in the trips section.

Christmas photos
last update: 01/10 @ 14:08

We had a trip right after Christmas (more on that later) and so I’m a bit late in posting Christmas photos. It was a very nice, mellow, family-focused holiday in Alexandria. More photos in the trips section.

Back from a lovely wedding
last update: 11/19 @ 18:30

We really enjoyed the fantastic wedding of Elise and Martin last weekend.

And we enjoyed the flexibility to tour around a few extra days in (not so) sunny Southern California.

The time to catch up with Sarah’s family, and meet Martin’s family was really special.

But not as special as the rainbow that popped up right after the wedding!

More photos in the trips section.

More Northeast Photos
last update: 09/28 @ 13:34

Compound Fracture…
last update: 09/26 @ 15:44

…of a tent pole in three places :(

We’re back from a couple weeks checking out the Northeast.

It was a chance to get out of the DC area where the temperatures are still pretty hot, see some new to us places, enjoy some pretty scenery and revel in some cooler weather.

And based on our shakeout cruise last summer, we expected to camp some of the time.

Also, based on that shakeout, we expected no issues with our tent.

Sadly, that was not the case. One of the poles broke in three places as we set up for the first time in Lamoine State Park, outside of Acadia.

Fortunately, there was a well-sized stick in the campsite that seemed like it might fit the bill.

I was pleasantly surprised it worked pretty well and we had no issues for the two nights we stayed there.

We were short on duct tape (I’m not confident that would have served by itself anyway) but had plenty of cord. That seemed to give enough support and flex to work pretty well.

There were many signs about not transporting firewood (to avoid transporting firewood-living-in critters), so we left the stick where we found it and stopped in a hardware store on our way further north to pick up some options for the next fix — without having to rely on a suitable stick.

I was hoping to get a tube sized like the patch that came with the tent so we could slip it over the pole (the patch only helped with one of the three breaks). But the tube was just too small. That may have been for the better as that allowed for that little bit of flex which I think was helpful.

Again, it held up fine for two nights — one of which was very windy.

I’ll comment later after conferring with REI about those broken poles and their commitment to standing behind their products.

And I’ll be working on posting many more photos soon.

Happy Birthday Loren!!!
last update: 08/04 @ 16:41

We had a great, but much too short trip to Atlanta to Celebrate Loren’s 70th B-Day! It was great fun (less the traffic on the road there and back).

Extra bonus prize: a morning visit with Kate, Sean, Margo and Adeline!

More photos of the celebration in the travel section.

Fun Musical
last update: 07/27 @ 14:47

We drove back up to New York yesterday to visit Little Island and see The Gospel of Colonus, their final show.

It was a great show; I’m really glad David Z. pointed it out and that Sarah was able to get tickets. I went in to it almost clueless — Sarah gave me a very brief overview. It was fantastic; I never would have thought I’d enjoy Greek Tragedy that much :)

I can only imagine the original show, with The Blind Boys of Alabama and Morgan Freeman playing Oedipus. This version was great!

And we really enjoyed being out of Alexandria’s swampy weather (we’ve been spoiled by a week in Seattle); the outdoor amphitheater was a very nice venue (except for the occasional, overly loud party boat going up the Hudson during quieter moments).

The drive up was a little slow, but we gave ourselves plenty of time and arrived with time to walk around for a bit and enjoy the breeze. It’s too bad Amtrak hasn’t figured out how to price tickets from DC to NYC that are reasonable. We’d much rather take the train than drive.

The drive back was more exciting than we wanted. Major thunderstorms for about 45 minutes that had the little traffic on 95 at 2:00am going about 40mph.

We plan to stay out of NYC for a few weeks now, at least.

Happy Twenty First Robert!
last update: 07/25 @ 18:30

More photos in the travel section.

Ms. Zoe!
last update: 07/14 @ 12:54

We’re back from a quick up and down trip to meet the latest addition to the family!

Ms. Zoe is just about 4 months old now and doing well; as you can see.

Sarah got to help with two meals while we visited.

And we both joined Zoe in enjoying a favorite book, Corduroy.

Of course, we also enjoyed catching up with Ian and Sopie, but Zoe was the star of the visit.

She’s clearly off to a great start and Ian and Sophie are excellent parents (no surprise there).

We’re looking forward to many more returns (and maybe a visit closer to home in the next few months).

Diving in Curaçao!!!
last update: 06/23 @ 19:39

We had a great time hanging with Kelly, her family and Brian, Sharon and Mira in Curaçao. Most of the time we were underwater, seeing cool critters. The surface time was filled with very nice dining options.

Many more photos in the vacations section.

Birthday week
last update: 05/25 @ 20:40

Galapagos Photos
last update: 01/28 @ 10:06

Not surprising; I really enjoyed taking pictures of all the cool things we saw in the Galapagos.

This was the first big vacation for Sarah and I without Robert — he was in class (and doing well). That was a bit of change and he would have enjoyed it as much as we did. But we did have a great crew to spend the time with.

Notes and many more photos in the vacation section.

Galapagos!
last update: 01/22 @ 12:23

Excellent trip!

With some travel challenges.

Great crew to spend the week with.

I completely recommend making the time to go; it was fantastic.

More pictures (obviously) later — I have a lot to go through.

Seems like we saw it all: sea lions, penguins, boobies, land and marine iguanas, land and marine turtles, sharks (not hammerheads, though), pelicans, frigate birds, night gulls, etc.

And I likely need to catch up more on sleep; the trip back on a red-eye was a long one.

Christmas notes
last update: 01/04 @ 13:55

More photos and a few more details of our Christmas are in the Vacations Section (even though we stayed in Alexandria).

National Aquarium
last update: 12/30 @ 11:24

Robert had the great idea to check out the National Aquarium while he’s here.

We went up for the afternoon yesterday (carefully ensuring we’d be home in time to watch the Commanders host the Falcons on Sunday Night Football).

Of course, we needed a photo in front of the Domino Sugars sign across the harbor (trust me, that’s the sign). That’s in honor of Lee and her Texas sheet cake recipe which calls for a box of powdered sugar for the frosting.

After giving it some thought, we concluded Baltimore still has a better aquarium than Seattle (though Seattle’s is much improved based on our trip this past Thanksgiving).

Seattle’s new wing does have a fantastic viewing window. And it’s much lighter. And it has that cool bowmouth guitarfish we’ve never seen anywhere else.

But Baltimore seems to have more tanks and more variety. So maybe just a little bit better… maybe.

Robert asked a docent why Baltimore has a rain forest area as part of the aquarium. I think I overheard correctly that they are making the point about the connectedness of water. The rain falls in the rain forest, flows downstream and ends up in the ocean.

But that still doesn’t make this sloth an ocean-dweller :)

Thanksgiving in Seattle
last update: 12/03 @ 20:48

We had a great time; thank you again David Z. and Lynn for hosting. I can’t imagine how it could have been any better! Lots more photos in the vacations section.

Jamestown history lesson
last update: 11/12 @ 12:47

We took a quick trip back in time to learn more about Jamestown and the earliest days of the English arrival and history of the US. It was a very nice way to spend a couple days and surprising to learn how relatively recently Jamestown has been rediscovered.

There are more photos in the vacations section.

Another busy weekend
last update: 09/30 @ 13:56

We’re back home after a brief trip north (and keeping on eye on family recovering from Hurricane Helene south of here).

With the recent (perhaps questionable) shift of the UW Huskies from the Pac12 league to the Big10, the planets aligned and they played Rutgers, where Sarah grew up.

Sarah picked up tickets and talked her brother into joining us (he and their mom were the football fans back in the day — Robert has gotten Sarah and I much more interested in college football than we were).

It was a good game and closer than many expected, but the Huskies lost by 3.

And Rutgers put on a great show: the marching band had LEDs they could use to draw out words and maps during halftime (with the stadium lights out). And they had a brief drone show!

The next day, Sarah, David Z. and I walked around Highland Park including going by their old house. It was great fun to hear the stories of them growing up.

That evening was Sarah’s high school reunion — more fun stories of growing up.

The next day (Sunday), we drove into Brooklyn to have a great brunch with Ian, Sophie and David.

And after brunch, we headed to Manhattan for an engagement party of one of Sarah’s classmates’ daughters.

As I said, it was a fun, busy, three day weekend.

Family
last update: 09/25 @ 13:50

More photos in the vacations section.

Shakedown Cruise
last update: 09/07 @ 15:06

We took advantage of the weather to check out our camping equipment (expecting to get more use of it these days). This was just a quick trip to Western Maryland that proved we have the basics covered.

A few more photos in the vacations section.

Another blast from the past
last update: 08/07 @ 13:53

From the Legacy Box scans Sarah gave me for Christmas this year: Steve and Helen on the Reventazón River in December 1991! A few more photos in the vacations section.

With the free time I have now, I’ve got one more substantial project to post from those scans.

Back from Seattle
last update: 03/29 @ 22:24

We had an excellent spring break trip.

It was great to catch up with Robert in person (and see him in his professional space).

We were able to spend some time with Lynn and David.

The weather was unexpectedly fantastic.

We got to see hockey, ultimate, Vancouver and lots of mountains.

We did a little bit of hiking.

And saw some eastern Washington vineyards (and sampled some of their wine).

More photos in the vacations section; and special note — these are late breaking hockey photos from Sarah and not in the longer form page.

don’t be shy about checking out Sarah’s Facebook page for more of her photos.

Wedding!!!
last update: 03/09 @ 11:30

Reese and Danni’s wedding celebration was fantastic!

Michelle and Sarah met in college and have remained very close since then. Reese is one of Michelle’s sons. And now she has a new daughter.

So we were happy to help celebrate.

And celebrate we did!

The fog on the dance floor was a nice touch.

Everyone seemed to have a great time.

Reese and Danni clearly enjoyed being surrounded by family and friends.

And, as you can see, Sarah and Michelle loved the time together for the happy occasion.

We drove up on Saturday (stopping to visit with Ian and Sophie) and came back Monday. That led to very nice and relaxed day to cheer on the happy couple.

And to enjoy some of Long Island’s classics: a huge breakfast at Hauppauge Palace Diner and a lovely lunch at a very nice Italian restaurant (queue Billy Joel): Mannino’s.

Before that lunch on Monday, Sarah took us to Sunken Meadows State Park.

Even on a gray day, it was lovely and a great way to stretch our legs before getting the car.

Best of luck to the happy couple and all thier friends and family!

Quick trip to NY
last update: 03/09 @ 11:04

We took a quick trip up to Long Island for a wedding last weekend.

(I’ve been fighting with network routing at home this week, more on that later.)

And I have to say, what qualifies as “low price” there is not what I would say was a low price.

Clearly, NYC has lots of good reasons to reduce cars; the price of gas is one of them.

We took advantage of the wedding being on Long Island to stop off and say “hi,” to Sophie and Ian in their new place.

We were too busy catching up and touring the very nice brownstone to take any pictures (next time).

That was a very fun, though too short, break on the drive and I hope we’ll be back soon.

This was the first time I’ve seen the built-in navigation in Corey (the Mazada) while in a tunnel. It’s very futuristic :)

As promised …
last update: 09/09 @ 17:24

… more pictures from our Seattle trip in the vacations section.

More Seattle Sports
last update: 09/02 @ 20:19

Continuing the sports theme…

We watched a UW football game with Robert and DZ in the students “Dawg Pack” seats.

Crazy warm, sunny weather — we all came away with at least fresh tans if not some sunburn.

And Michael Penix Jr. delivered a 56 to 19 win.

Lots of fun and a great way to spend the afternoon.

Robert has been a huge fan since he got here last year.

And Sarah and I have been following along with the Pac12 TV coverage. We’ve been wanting to see a game in person and it lived up to our expectations.

Of course, it was extra fun to be able to share the game with DZ, who was also new to the Dawg Pack, but not the Huskies.

Seattle Mariners
last update: 08/30 @ 20:12

Typical Seattle weather, according to Robert.

Sarah and I were less convinced as it was cool and rainy when we go here.

But today has been pretty splendid.

And Robert got us tickets in a great spot.

Seattle was in the lead in the league, then in a three-way tie.

Their win today helped…

Sarah got this fantastic shot of the action.

And then I got lucky: I thought I needed a shot to post here.

And wanted to show off the sunny field — it did shift a lot between cloudy and sunny, but the roof stayed open the whole time.

Look closely: the Mariners are stealing second and third.

I’ll have to post the full size image too (later)…

We found a giraffe!!!
last update: 05/22 @ 11:14

We were coming back from Taylor’s graduation in New York and found this small zoo in northern Maryland with… a giraffe. So of course we stopped.

It was a fun way to recognize Sarah’s birthday!

A few more photos in the vacations section.

Sugarloaf
last update: 04/09 @ 18:03

The weather has been typically weird this spring. Today it was beautiful and a perfect temperature for a hike. Two days ago it was sleeting. And two days before that it was 87.

It was a short hike because we started late, but be we did go somewhere new to us: Sugarloaf Mountain.

It’s just about a hour away but obviously pretty, especially on such a nice day. In the larger photo, you can see a bit of the Potomac near the top right (and a hawk enjoying the thermals on left).

We even saw a few rock climbers on one of the rock faces.

There are many more trails there so I suspect we may be back again.

Not Panzer
last update: 02/26 @ 14:38

We took a quick trip last weekend to visit Robert (and the Zaps) in Seattle. While we were there, we checked out the Woodland Park Zoo (they have a lynx). There are more photos in the trips section.

Mt. Vernon
last update: 01/22 @ 15:56

We had a free weekend.

And I just got a new bag for my camera.

So we headed to Mt. Vernon as it’s been a while since we were there. It provided three tests: a bit of walking around, tighter quarters (with the other folks and the roped off portions of the house) and access to the camera.

I’m not yet ready to call the new bag perfection. But it is a worthy successor.

I have a couple more optional additions on order from Peak Design to finish my set up.

First impression: the side access while still on one shoulder works OK. I’m still figuring out how my camera (with faux motor-drive-extra-battery) wants to sit in the bag. And I worry I’m going to lose the lens cap more easily now. (I’ve had them disappear for bit in the other bag so that not completely unexpected.

And, when we were inside the heated museum and I took my jacket off, I realized I had the clip set way to high on the shoulder strap and it was rubbing on my collar bone.

I moved that down but I’ve yet to actually use it.

That will be the next acid test.

I bought this after getting a small award from PTO that was burning a hole in my pocket. And as I looked around at options I got sucked in by the clip and how it seemed like a good idea.

I’ll find out next time I’m wandering around with my camera if it’s as much a winner as I thought watching the video.

More news later (as they say).

Back from Decatur
last update: 12/28 @ 16:26

We drove down to Decatur for Christmas with the Williams clan this year. There are more photos in the vacations section.

Planet Word
last update: 11/13 @ 18:29

Sarah heard about this a new to us museum: Planet Word. It’s very cool and in an interesting space. This room (happens to also be on the museum’s website) has projected mural and you can “paint” the mural with new styles, like nocturnal, magical or autumnal. It’s a very fun interactive space.

They also have an interactive way to elucidate the etymology of English.

Another exhibit introduces you to several langauges from around the world. We learned (and at least I promptly forgot) a bit of Icelandic, Zulu and Hawaiian.

Heron
last update: 10/10 @ 18:42

Not our normal Potomac River Heron, this one was in the Shenandoah Canal just upstream of Harpers Ferry.

He or she does a great job looking like an animal that has been around for millennia.

Harpers Ferry
last update: 10/10 @ 18:38

It was such a pretty day.

Really a pretty weekend.

And a three day weekend…

So we decided to head out to Harpers Ferry.

It was great to get out of the house, out of the DC area and enjoy the weather.

Also nice to learn something.

I never would have thought Lewis and Clark were there. But they did gather supplies.

And they commissioned a custom, iron framed canoe.

That may be been an inspired idea, but in the end, it did not last after the first real test; the leaks started too soon and they left i behind.

We left our boats at home but did enjoy seeing a trio of kayakers on the river.

Fun Weekend!
last update: 09/13 @ 19:45

While Robert is settling into Seattle, Sarah and I took a quick trip up to New York to meet up with Nanette and Adam. They just dropped off their daughter at school upstate.

Sarah met Nanette in the mom’s group back in the day.

We were very sad when they moved back to Australia so it was fantastic to see them again.

We talked about our kids and how it feels send them off into the world. And we saw Hamilton.

It’s very much a great musical.

We need to take advantage of their offer and go visit them.

It really was a very fun, special day and evening to hang out can catch up with them and all they have been up to.

Move in Complete!
last update: 08/30 @ 22:28

We met Robert in Seattle, helped him get settled in to his dorm and then did a lap around the Olympic Peninsula before heading back (just the two of us) to Alexandria. Many more photos in the vacations section.

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!

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.

Second wedding success of the summer
last update: 06/27 @ 15:27

We had a really fun trip up to New York to join in the celebration of Ian and Sophie’s wedding. On the way, we stopped off in the big city to see a show and enjoy the Cloisters. More photos in the vacations section.

Back from Flagstaff
last update: 06/20 @ 15:20

Many more photos of the fun weekend we had in the vacation section.

Not Alexandria this week…
last update: 04/17 @ 22:17

It was a great trip, but too short. Sarah pulled all the strings to have everything line up for a perfect time to relax and recharge.

There are many more photos in the vacations section.

White Christmas in Seattle
last update: 12/29 @ 19:35

Thanksgiving in person!
last update: 11/28 @ 16:27

Seattle and UW!
last update: 10/15 @ 16:06

Robert is interested in UW and we always enjoy the chance to visit with David Z. and Lynn. So when there was long weekend on the school calendar, Sarah arranged for tickets and a tour. David and Lynn arranged a great visit after the tour. More photos in the vacations section.

NASCAR!
last update: 09/12 @ 15:28

The Xfinity series flyover was Chinook helicopters and impressive.

The Cup series flyover were these guys. I didn’t get a picture of the trail of sparks that came off their wings on the first pass.

After the sparkler run and this formation smoke run, they came back one at a time to do laps around the course.

Robert and Sarah (the experienced Richmond Raceway part of the family) said that’s what they did on the other race they went to this summer.

We were able (thank you Sarah) to get into the infield and Robert and I discovered (well, Robert saw with the binoculars) that the concession lines were a lot shorter there.

So we went under the track, during the race, to get a bit of dinner. And we took advantage of that time for a photo opportunity with the screen and standings sign.

I was a bit skeptical beforehand. And I think I like the pace of F1 better. But it was a really fun day.

The pure sound and feel as the cars went by (even up in the stands) was impressive. But I really think Sarah’s Bose noise cancelling headphones were as impressive.

The rented scanner was fun, we mostly listened to the Motorsports Radio channel. But with Sarah’s headphones you could hear more of the stadium announcer and crowd while the engine noise was impressively dampened.

Truely the full NASCAR experience, even down to the burnouts by the winners of the two races…

Fun, unexpected Saturday
last update: 09/12 @ 15:13

Robert’s interest in racing (I blame Netflix’s Drive to Survive) has been catching. He’s broadened his sights from F1.

The dirt track we went to at the start of the summer was my first. And he’s managed to get Sarah to go to a NASCAR race.

That turned into a Flower Show surprise which was a lot of high speed fun.

So it should not be too surprising that we trundled back down to Richmond and the Richmond Raceway for another race that I was able to enjoy.

This time there was no Covid attendance cap (even though the Delta Variant is still very much with us). So we wore masks inside, and outside when crowded.

But it’s really an outside event so that did not seem like a big risk.

Saturday was the 20th anniversay of 9/11 so the race was dedicated to those lost that day 20 years ago, the first responders assisting the injured and the military who just stopped fighting the War on Terror.

And it was a double header: an Xfinity series afternoon race and Cup series night right.

Sarah did us well getting the infield passes.

We got to see the cars up close, watch the award for the Xfinity series, the driver introductions for the Cup series and Robert snagged two cool autographs (as him who and he’ll gladly share).

Quick trip to Pittsburgh
last update: 08/24 @ 21:45

A few more photos in the vacation section.

Back home after a brief trip to space
last update: 07/11 @ 13:48

Well, Space Camp, actually. And a great visit with family in Atlanta — even a bit of college touring.

Many more photos in the vacations section.

Storming the castle
last update: 06/14 @ 19:08

We missed doing this for Mother’s Day last month.

And with Robert now gainfully employed, he missed the trip yesterday.

But, Pocket one of the folks from the vaccination PoDs Sarah has been working since the vaccine became available, joined us this time.

The weather was pretty perfect. Plenty warm but with a brief bit of rain to keep it from getting too summer-time hot.

And most interesting: Pocket, (who’s real name is also Sarah with an H but adopted Pocket for… reasons) brought her foldable kayak.

She has an Oru Kayak.

It’s pretty cool: fits in the back of car, folds together in a couple minutes (gathering a crowd of interested onlookers), and works well.

Pocket was first across the river each way. I credited her longer boat with more of keel to track straighter and go faster. Sarah credited Pocket’s upper body strength as she is an avid rock climber.

It was fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

And if you’re interested, Fort Washington is back to firing off their cannon on the first Sunday of the month. Alas, yesterday was not the first in month so we missed it.

Hagerstown Speedway
last update: 05/23 @ 14:44

Dirt track racing is pretty crazy.

I’m still missing my NASCAR race: we had tickets for Dover but they oversold the stands and cancelled. Sarah and Robert had such a good time in Richmond they convinced to go to a race.

Not the same but, Robert and I took Will up to Hagerstown on Saturday night for the race and it lived up to it’s reputation: a fun, loud evening.

There were several kinds of cars racing, all blasting around the dirt.

Robert took a lot of photos and videos. I took just this short video of the crazy sprint cars.

There are lots more photos (but not much narration) in the vacation section.

We have to convince Sarah to check out a dirt track, and I am still interested in seeing a NASCAR race — but the small, down-home feel of dirt track may be more my style.

(As much as racing is my style.)

Vroom, Vroom
last update: 05/23 @ 12:22

More to come in a bit…

Robert wanted to check out dirt racing so we took Will to Hagerstown Speedway last night.

It was wild. The blurs are the sprint cars racing by.

I took a lot of (bad) pictures and need to sort through them.

Quick trip to Richmond
last update: 05/02 @ 20:50

We told Robert we were heading down to Richmond to see a flower show. And then he and Sarah thought it might be good to show me the track they visited a couple weeks ago.

I think this was about the expectation we set: the Japanese garden in Maymont. Sarah said this was going to be our birthday present for her.

But actually this was the second part of our quick Richmond trip…

Psych!!!
last update: 05/02 @ 20:49

Robert thought we were just going to look around and he could show me the racetrack that he and Sarah went to a couple weeks ago. (I turned down the offer to join them and took the canoe out on the river instead; I’ll join them on the next NASCAR trip.)

Robert started to suspect when Sarah and I pointed out the Rusty Wallace signs to follow.

We ended up in the infield and went to go get our jumpsuits and helmets!

Five laps at 130-140 miles per hour is both quick and slow.

The wall is really flying by when you’re going that fast, that close to it.

But you (well, at least me) are also wondering what happens if you touch the wall or a tire blows out, or one of the amateur drivers gets in the way…

Of course, none of those things happened. You’re just going really fast around the track.

You can tell by our smiles that it was a lot of fun — and a lot of adrenaline.

Richmond Raceway
last update: 05/02 @ 20:48

Part of the package was a photo.

Actually, a photo plaque ready to hang on the wall.

Fortunately, the photos can be slipped out for easy scanning.

So, of course, I did.

It truly was a blast; fastest ever in a car for any of us.

And, really, faster than you ever need to go in a car.

The trip back up 95 was a sad return to reality; there was a lot of stop and go traffic.

And hungry kitties to feed when we returned.

That’s a memory that will stick around for a long time…

And a great early birthday present for Sarah.

It’s like this see…
last update: 09/28 @ 21:57

One of the options at Great Farms is the pumpkin cannon.

So, it’s not really a pumpkin cannon, it shoots smaller gourds.

But it’s no less impressive…

… and the sight works pretty well.

We each got several shots.

And managed to hit many of the targets we tried to.

And just the loud strong, thump or twang was great fun.

Nothing like a shooting a huge air cannon to blow off some steam after months in pandemic surroundings.

And, yes, we’re still in a pandemic.

This was outside, socially distant and we were masked gunners.

Lost in the maze
last update: 09/28 @ 21:56

Sarah found a opening at Great Country Farms yesterday.

After spending most (not all) of the last several months at home, we jumped at the chance.

Not only did we get to pick and bring home a bunch of tasty apples, we got to enjoy a lovely day outside.

Including, getting lost in the maze.

Well not really.

We did split at one turn and Robert and I went left when Sarah went right.

We lost sight of her and she ended up getting much more into the maze than we did. To be truthful, she did it right.

Robert and ended up coming out the entrance, not on purpose, just by accident.

Back with fond memories
last update: 08/16 @ 21:56

We had a great time kayaking around what Google Maps says is Delano Cove in Friendship, Maine. And yes, we did take our inflatable lobster — there were no overly close encounters and our inflatable survived. More photos in the vacations section.

It’s hard to believe it was only a week, we had so much fun!

More news later…
last update: 08/11 @ 10:04

… Right now, we’re enjoying being out of the heat and humidity of Alexandria. We drove up to Maine and are loving our little cove-side house and rental kayaks.

We’ve been gunkholing around the cove, marvelling at the always impressive tidal changes.

No tidal bore here but some impressive currents between islands.

And so far, Robert’s recycled boat is the winner. He thought to grab the bottles for flotation and they have served him well for the “Glass Drift One.”

“Rocky,” my entrant in the contest did not go well. I had thought the right sized rock would hold my sticks and birch bark together. I was mistaken. Or, more accurately, I didn’t have the right sized rock.

Sarah’s woven birch bark is the winner, so far, for style.

Mallows Bay
last update: 06/07 @ 17:36

Sarah has been talking about the Ghost Fleet for a while now. Today we finally made it to Mallows Bay, a marine sanctuary in our own back yard.

The Coronavirus restrictions have kept us around the house for a couple months now, but the stay-at-home order is easing. And outside, away from crowds seems like a perfectly safe place to be.

The weather warming up (it was a bit hot) helped as well.

For this expedition, we got out the older, two person (two plus, if the plus is a small enough boy) canoe. Along with my whitewater canoe.

The park suggests no inflatables as there is a lot of sunken ship debris right at the waterline.

The channel beyond the wrecks was a bit choppy and the wind was blowing enough to prevent you from stopping for very long. But once you were back in and amogst the hulks, it was much calmer.

We even found a shady spot to sit on some driftwood logs and eat a snack.

A very nice way to slowly get back outside.

Flyover
last update: 05/02 @ 19:51

We decided to try the Washington National Airport parking deck to see the flyover today. That worked well — we were not the only ones but it’s a big space.

I’m not sure this is really the best use of federal government dollars in the current situation. But no one asked us so we enjoyed the beautiful spring weather and the show.

And yes, we kept our distance from others and wore our masks as recommended by the scientists.

Afterwards, we came home to read books on the porch — continuing to enjoy the great weather. But we’d really like to venture further afield and get back to more favored outdoor activities.

Out of the house
last update: 03/29 @ 22:12

We took advantage of the weather and got out of the house today. Heading to Dark Hollow Falls on Skyline Drive.

The weather was “interesting” on the drive there; we climbed out of the clouds and watched the front blow in and push them away. And then the sun came out and it was 77 degrees.

This was also a chance for Robert to get some time behind the wheel, and on a different, more hilly, curvy road. He continues to do well.

Passport time..
last update: 02/17 @ 20:21

Time to renew Robert’s passport means it’s time to get out the lights again.

I did ask if he wanted to brush his hair.

Obviously, he declined.

It will be a more accurate passport photo that way anyway.

And no, you’re not supposed to smile for your passport.

Since the lights were set up, I called Sarah over for a shot with Robert.

And then Robert was kind enough to take this photo of me.

After this, the foam core that’s been a background for years went out. It’s age was clearly showing.

Our basement is not overly kind to long term storage.

And yes; the next post is the kitties. At least as long as they would stand still.

It’s a whole new game..
last update: 02/15 @ 21:32

Interestingly for DC football these days, we won!

It was fun, fast, entertaining.

And cold, the high of 37 was history by the time we left after the third quarter.

English Class
last update: 01/25 @ 10:42

Robert’s group is doing a short scene from Othello in English class next week. He found (in our basement) a suitable sized box to turn into a wall for their set. And after the rain quit this morning, he was giving it a couple coats of gray. It get’s handed off later in day for Kenna to add some detailing to it.

I’m sorry we’ll miss the production.

It was great fun to see him on stage at the Folger as the Moon back in middle school.

Outside of he’s enjoying being an assistant stage manager for a local theater production of Frozen Jr. Another show we’ve enjoying seeing.

Aquarium
last update: 01/01 @ 23:30

We drove up to Baltimore to visit the National Aquarium to start off the new year right. And we happened to be there when a volunteer diver was giving a talk in the main tank about sharks.

They have many (well fed) sharks — four kinds in this tank — and a green sea turtle, Calypso, who seemed at least passingly interested in the talk.

Robert’s plan, after seeing volunteer Amy and several other divers working in the tank, is to see what it takes to be volunteer diver there.

Christmas!!!
last update: 12/29 @ 16:26

Robert was very patient waiting for the full family to gather in Decatur to open presents on Christmas. We enjoyed too brief a trip but took advantage of the time to catch up.

And play Catan.

And play Dominion.

And eat and drink lots.

The cousins had their night out; we enjoyed a fantastic Christmas eve lasagna, and an outragous Christmas dinner with beef and all the trimmings topped off with a croquembouche. More photos in the vacations section.

Passing of a friend
last update: 11/25 @ 21:00

We drove down to Richmond last weekend for Martha Mabey’s memorial service. She was a family friend of decades and I’m sorry that she’s gone now.

But it was not unexpected to her or her family and friends.

She did all she could to make the arrangements ahead of time to make it easy on her family, and to exert her sense of style on the service.

Because her life (and her husband’s) was so intertwined with my parents lives, Loren, Susan, Steve and Helen also traveled to Richmond for the service.

That gave us time to play Catan, enjoy several nice meals, and tour the James River rapids Steve and I grew up on (and Loren had some occasion to enjoy).

It also gave us time to remember Martha and Gordon and all the shared memories with our parents.

Jessica, her daughter, seems to be handling it well and has lots of support in Richmond.

One thing Martha did was pen a book of Contacts about her friends and what they meant to her. That included a a page about my mom, which I’ve added to related information about her.

And if you’d like to know a little more about Martha Mabey, she wrote THE LAST DOCTOR IN AMERICA about coming to terms with a life threatening medical issue. Something which clearly helped to motivate her to plan for her end of life.

I like to think she would have enjoyed the serendipity of running into a parade in Ashland on our way home. And of the flexibility of the organizers to deal with a parade route cut in two by train tracks.

As she and Gordon lived in Ashland for a while, they may have enjoyed the parade (and the trains) years ago.

Beautiful Weather in West VA
last update: 11/03 @ 14:06

And extra bonus, after hours of raking and some digging, Sarah and I played hooky to head to the bald on a spectacular day.

Now we just need to help Robert settle into homework since the trip was distracting.

Quick trip to Wiltshire
last update: 10/14 @ 16:20

We took a quick trip across the pond to check out Stonehenge since we missed it on our England / Scotland trip this summer.

Actually, it’s Foamhenge as erected at Cox Farm for their fall fair craziness. It makes as least as much sense there as the aliens who crash-landed in the hay ride field.

It was a pretty crazy warm fall day.

And for the record, Sarah won the slide race.

Washington Spirit Tie
last update: 09/15 @ 11:20

Not as good as a win but still a good game. Those of us with the excellent view from these seats (who might also be Spirit fans) thought the second goal by Reign FC should have been taken back as their player was offsides.

But we had a good time: Sarah joined us as did more of Will’s family.

It’s too bad most of their games are played in upper Montgomery county; that’s much harder for use to get to.

Washingtion Spirit Wins!
last update: 08/25 @ 00:14

Robert, Will and I got into a sold out Audi Field to see the Washington Spirit win two to one over the Orlando Pride. It was a great game and a very nice stadium.

And that was on top of seeing Dear Evan Hansen at the Kennedy Center this afternoon. An amazingly spectacular day!

Twenty20
last update: 08/18 @ 22:05

Back from Great Britain
last update: 07/30 @ 20:19

We celebrated Robert’s birthday in style, with haggis, as requested.

We saw some sights in London, Cambridge, Edinburgh.

And we got all the way to the Brough of Birsay on Orkney!

Palaces, Castles, lochs, coasts and more…

The photo on the right, from our walk around Edinburgh, when we did have some typical Scottish weather, was just a couple hours before the photo below of the old chapel of Holyroodhouse.

The weather was much like that for our trip: changeable but generally outstanding.

No snow, but rain, wind, fog, sun.

And we came back with suntans.

There are many more photos in the vacations section.

Assateague!!!
last update: 07/07 @ 20:16

Wedding Finery
last update: 05/08 @ 20:00

Including these of us. I think this is when Carolee got her shot of us rocking our hats.

And this one of Robert and me is excellent.

Steve and I coordinated which worked well as MacNaughton became the dress code for parking assistance. He and I had directions on where cars could park — Loren and Susan don’t really have parking at their house for 100 guests.

But by being on a small island, getting the word out that parking was tight, and having a church around the corner and one othe beach house down the street rented, there was plenty of space.

The MacNaugton parking team’s job was easy.

Family hats…
last update: 05/07 @ 17:23

Robert and I decided to represent the MacNaughton clan for the festivities.

Thank you for the picture Carolee!

Beach Wedding photos
last update: 05/06 @ 20:42

Beach Wedding
last update: 05/04 @ 11:04

Perfect day for a beach wedding yesterday. And everything was great! Kate and Sean are now legally married (the most important part). And Loren is down to only one daughter engaged :)

And family and friends are enjoying the company on Ocracoke.

Proud of Scotch Heritage
last update: 04/28 @ 19:47

Iceland!!!
last update: 04/26 @ 01:25

Bind Boys of Alabama
last update: 03/24 @ 23:02

We saw them at City Winery, a little off the beaten path for us (not as convenient as the Birchemere) but well worth the trip.

Most of the set was off their new CD (which we have now, of course), Almost Home.

It was really a great show. Extra bonus, we got to meet up with Kelly and share dinner and a couple glasses of wine.

Sarah saying thank you after the show. (And after getting to dance with Jimmy Carter when he came out into the audience).

If you get the chance, go see them.

Fantastic Friday
last update: 11/24 @ 10:44

David Z. arranged a great post Thanksgiving day for the extended family today:

We met up at the Folger Library for a tour. Apparently David ran into Michael Witmore, the Director, in Seattle and so arranged a tour today.

Not just any tour, but they managed to pull together some very cool artifacts from their collection for us to look at including a 17th century map (Sarah the geographer was thrilled) and a block print from down on the river in the winter including a proto-hockey player.

We toured the theater (where Robert performed twice as part of the middle/high school competition) and the reading room — seen here.

Then, in the founder’s room, they had laid out those items from the collection for us to peruse. Note the first folio in the foreground. One of 82 in the collection — they wanted enough to be able to track the corrections made during printing.

And then we took a quick turn through the Library of Congress on our way to see the Washington DC Capitols beat the Detroit Red Wings.

Beside the Haragadons, who all play hockey, the recent addition of Holtby (the Caps goalie) to Robert’s old school gives us another connection to hockey.

Michael was great, enthusiasic and obviously well versed in the library, theater and all things Shakespeare; he called on Rachel, one of the two lead librarians, who pulled the items from the collection and told us all a bit about them.

Proof of better times…
last update: 11/24 @ 10:44

… and worse times.

One of the manuscripts Rachel brought out for us to look at. The “rocket cat.” Actually a cat (and bird) drawn with petards as part of a castle siege. I think a plan thought of but never actually used: the bird can’t carry that much weight, and anyone with cats knows they wont run where you want them to…

But note the amazing colors still striking after hundreds of years. The benefit, Rachel told us, of velum rather than wood pulp paper. (And possibly poisonous dyes, I’m guessing.)

Perfect Day …
last update: 11/04 @ 20:25

A great wedding in a lovely spot under a blue sky.

And with games!!!

Fun and Learning
last update: 09/03 @ 12:19

There was time to practice underwater dabs — Robert clearly has this perfected now. See lots of cool things, enjoy a break from DC’s heat wave (it was cooler and more comfortable in the tropics) and just chillax.

And then Robert decided he was really interested in learning more skills and giving back to the diving community. So he signed up for the Coral Restoration Diver class and helped with bringing the coral back to the reef.

Many more photos from the last week in the vacations section.

Goofing Off
last update: 08/30 @ 22:28

It’s pretty easy and cool while you’re diving.

As long as you keep track of where you are and where other things are.

Which he did.

We’re heading back shortly and should have a few more photos to share.

A Tale of Two Weathers
last update: 08/24 @ 16:52

Robert and I had a free week and so we drove down to Grayson Highlands State Park to do some camping and hiking.

We had a lot of fun and several good hikes. But we would have liked the weather to have been more like Thursday than Friday.

Many more photos in the vacations section.

Fun House
last update: 07/08 @ 16:45

Back from the Beach
last update: 07/01 @ 14:17

We’re back from Assateague Island beach camping. This trip was most remarkable for our various health issues. I got something stuck in my throat (again) and we ended up going to three medical facilities on the way down to find one that could help. The strip mall, walk-in doctors office directed us to immediate care and they then pointed us to the hospital. It’s good to live where there is good medical care that easily available.

That delayed our Wednesday arrival until pretty late. The upside was, after setting up our tents, we went looking for food and ended up at a very nice dockside restaurant in Ocean City (proving it really is about as close as it looks at night). The Marina Deck treated us very well, and they won the best crab cake award for the trip.

Thursday was a great day on the beach; not too hot, nice waves, pretty much perfect.

Friday, we headed to Wallops Island to check out NASA rocket launch facility there. We’d love to be up close for a rocket launch, but we do get to see the big ones from our Masonic Temple lookout tower here at home.

The visitor center was cool, figuratively and literally. It was worth the trip and fun to check out for rocket enthusiasts (Robert is reading Ignition at the moment, so a perfect fit.

Back at the beach Friday after lunch (the worst crab cakes of the trip) was overly exciting. We ended up with a rip tide right in front of our sun shade hangout. I think there were four different water rescues that afternoon: one of our party, one that Sarah helped out with on her paddle board and two other times for folks who didn’t see or recognize the red flag the lifeguards put up.

Saturday, Robert pulled a muscle in his lower back and was having too much trouble moving to be able to enjoy the water. He did get some quality sand time laying under the sun shade.

We decided to get him home to the AC rather than push our time much longer. And it was getting really hot, but at least there was a bit of a breeze.

This was the 29th annual trip for the group we were invited to join when Robert was going into first grade; our eighth year (we missed 2013 for our Grand Canyon trip). Rumor has it next year, the big Three Oh, will be the last. That will be a shame — but it is a huge amount of work for the organizers.

Opening up the West Virginia Campus
last update: 04/22 @ 17:34

We were out there over the weekend helping get it ready for the first round of kids coming in the next couple weeks.

Always a good time. And good, non-computer, non-federal procurement work.

This morning, Sarah and I cleared the stream by the ford to keep the water flowing (and discovered that wet leaves are heavier than dry).

Robert helped with dinner last night — no he was not driven to drink by the pressure.

Maybe most unexpected: Sarah found out that one of the volunteers was at NASA New York not too long after her folks met there.

Jess Nolan
last update: 04/15 @ 22:04

She has several new fans; perhaps none as jazzed as Robert.

He’s clearly a big fan of Jess Nolan

Actually, we all are. The show was great.

And Robert insisted we stay for the second set.

If you get the chance, go see her!

She did several of her own songs and covered Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchell, and Carol King (Aretha Franklin).

Another round of fame?
last update: 04/08 @ 17:56

March for Our Lives
last update: 03/24 @ 21:40

We hosted one of Sarah’s high school friends who brought her daughter down for the march.

It was a good turn out for a good cause but sad that it’s gotten this bad in our country.

(This picture was during the build up; I headed back towards the White House as it started to get crowded this close to the stage.)

Richmond Treating Us Well
last update: 10/23 @ 21:30

All-in-all, a very nice trip.

Great weather (that should be clear from the picture).

Fun to walk around.

And a very nice chat with Martha.

James River Rapids
last update: 10/23 @ 21:28

This guy had a good line in Hollywood Cemetary rapid.

There seemed to be some sort of organized trip going on.

We saw a couple folks set up for safety and a couple Stand Up Paddle boards go by in addition to the kayaks.

It’s always surprising to me how urban the James is.

We just walked across the pedestrian bridge now suspended below the 195, I think that’s the big bridge there.

Belle Island now has lots of signage about its role as a prison during the Civil War.

And signs about the rapids and quary. It was very popular on such a nice, late October day.

We even found the path to Pipeline and I saw a couple boaters there as well.

Quick trip to Richmond
last update: 10/23 @ 21:19

We made a weekend out of lunch with Martha in Richmond.

The visit with her was great; it’s always fun to catch up. And good to have someone to commiserate with about the current state of affairs.

Then we went by the Tredegar Iron Works Museum.

And from there it was just across the road to check out the James River and the cool paths of the new river walk.

While we were watching the boaters come through, Robert took this great shot of Sarah and I.

And there were plenty of cool channels in the rocks as the river was a bit low.

But Robert said too cold to wade in.

Belize Diving Photos…
last update: 10/12 @ 22:09

More photos from our Leif Erikson day trip in the vacations section.

Newly Minted…
last update: 10/08 @ 18:27

This time, no trouble clearing his ears and he’s now certified!!!

We plan one more day of diving here before we head back to DC.

It’s been a fun trip and I expect there may be more photos later.

And if you see Robert, ask about the sharks…

End of an Era
last update: 09/20 @ 22:32

Robert and I came back from the last class trip to the West Virginia campus. The weather was spectacular and we saw the milky way on top of the bald.

The class of 2018 has a Wilderness Adventure in the spring rather than returning to the West Virginia site. It’s been a whole lot of fun and I’m sure we’ll be back for opening and closing weekends. But it’s sad to think there will be no more class trips there.

Check out big dipper over the campfire…

Salmon River!
last update: 07/30 @ 22:49

Back from a great trip to Idaho: ~90 miles paddling, 6071 driven and 3 weeks with no work worries! Many more photos in three pages of the vacation section.

Early Rafting Pictures…
last update: 07/24 @ 23:41

Someone will have to correct my spelling (and I’ll update this post) — thank you Robert.

Sarah and I were talked into buying an inflatable alligator (later named Gary) to take on the trip. But Robert decided klawboautoman the lobster was more stable.

Sarah preferred Felecia the Flamingo (there may be stories about her flight and recovery when the main posting goes up).

And Annie managed to tame Gary the Gator (mostly).

Which was good because they all were towed through some fun rapids on the Lower Salmon last week.

All the inflatable critter riders reported having a good time. Robert, perhaps, the best time if for no other reason than he was mostly able to stay out of water. It was “refreshing.”

But an excellent counter to the hot air.

Everyone (rafters, hard boaters, IK1ers and inflatable critter riders) had a great time. While the weather was hot, it could have been hotter; the water was cool and high — but not too high.

Of course, for the bigger rapids, the pool toys (inflatable critters) were strapped to the rafts (which made the rafts extra fun to look at).

More later when I join Robert and Sarah who are already back in Alexandria.

Teenager
last update: 07/22 @ 10:33

This is from our drive out to Idaho; we stopped a Devil’s Tower (after watching Close Encounters before we left.

This was all the Park Service had on hand recognizing the role Devil’s Tower played in that movie.

Beach trip
last update: 07/02 @ 12:29

They said it was really windy and a bit cool — frigid compared to last year’s oppressive heat.

The wind kept the mosquitoes down. And being a week early meant a bit less crowded. but not actually being there for the fourth.

But in exchange for missing the fireworks over the beach (Ocean City is close enough to see), they saw a cool rocket that planted huge, colorful clouds in the night sky.

Night sky, sorry, no pictures. But it sounded really cool.

West Virginia Field Trip
last update: 05/26 @ 17:21

Robert (and I) are back from the Seventh Grade’s last visit to the West Virginia campus of his school.

The kids hiked up to the bald and camped there the first night (in the rain). We came down with sleeping bags the next morning for a hot breakfast back the lodge.

Wednesday was a full day of activities:

• a really cool group survey, mapping exercise of the creek,
• a climb up into the tree canopy
• and then a mock town hall meeting to discuss the pros and cons of building a dam on the property.

Robert did a good job pointing the strong risk of the dam being undermined due to the soft rock that would form the foundation.

With thunderstorms predicted, they decided to stay in the dorms the second night.

The next morning, everyone got up early, hiked back up to the bald and recovered the damp tents before breakfast. Then, a bit of clean up, making lunch (for the trip back), and a closing activity in the barn to finish out a great trip.

While the weather could have been better, the kids, faculty and staff had a great time.

Waking up on the bald meant getting to experience this incredible fog shrouding the mountaintop. It was astoundingly pretty. I loved getting the chance to get up and wander a bit before the day really started.

Mother’s Day in NYC
last update: 05/15 @ 21:30

We took the train up to New York for the weekend. It was a chance to say, “Hi!” to David Z., Ian, Elle and Sophie and family. And Sarah cut some secret deal to let her brother pick up the last ticket to Sweeney Todd in exchange for Hamilton tickets for Sarah as a Mother’s Day / Birthday present.

While the weather could have been better Saturday, we made the most of it with a visit to the Tenement Museum (which has been on Sarah’s list for a while) and back to the Math Museum. We looked for the cool number line that they brought to the Math Festival last month.

While we didn’t find that, we did find plenty to keep us entertained and out of the rain.

Getting to visit briefly Saturday night with David Z. before the show was an unexpected a treat. (We knew we were going to get together for Sunday brunch.)

The weather was much better Sunday and we had time before brunch to hang out in Bryant Park and play Scrabble. Not to gloat (at least not too much), but I lucked into a 68 point queen play…

Sarah can’t have all the fun on Mother’s Day, right?

Speaking of Mother’s Day fun… Robert and I stopped by the M&M store that was just a block from our hotel. They had custom printing while you wait. So Sarah has a small cup of Happy Mom Day M&Ms (not enough space for Mother’s Day).

That was a pretty fun surprise. The M&Ms came out of the printer and filled up the cup in what looked like a fire hydrant. All-in-all, it was pretty cool.

And, of course, Mother’s Day brunch was great! We got to meet Sophie’s parents and sister. And Sophie seemed to really enjoy the games Robert picked out for her birthday: Timeline and Swish (both highly recommended).

Cloister Heather Gardens
last update: 05/15 @ 21:11

On our quick trip to New York over Mother’s Day weekend, we stopped by The Cloisters. This is the Heather Garden where we sprinkled some of Lois Zapolsky’s ashes many years ago.

It seemed perfect to visit on Mother’s Day and add some tulips, surreptitiously, to the grounds overlooking the Hudson and GW Bridge.

It was pretty impressive how quickly a storm blew in while were there, started to chase us out, then cleared completely to let us spend a bit more time in the garden.

Cool of the West Virginia Hills
last update: 05/01 @ 19:35

Lots of cleaning…

Sweeping…

Mopping…

Raking…

Moving stuff around…

Trail Clearing…

But some fun jobs, like making the sign for the 2017 compost pile (ORTS, I thought it stood for something, but it’s Middle Low German for scrap of food).

And then there was the high tea Saturday afternoon — always a tasty fun treat.

And the great weather to enjoy (it’s been a lot colder and a lot rainier other times we’ve been there).

Robert’s class is headed that way later in the month — I think at least one other class goes there first.

Math Festival
last update: 04/22 @ 15:43

We met up with Travis and his mom and headed into to DC to the Math Festival. It’s not as crazy big as the Science and Engieering Festival.

That meant almost no line for the Oobleck Olympics, which included a huge air cannon as the final challenge — knock over the cups with a puff of fog.

Robert was on the Eagles team. They did really well. Travis was ensconced at the origami table.

Step one was pouring 2.5 gallons of water from one bottle to the next, step two was making a huge bubble, step three was a run across Oobleck (from which comes the name).

There was plenty of other fun to be had:

Tangrams, puzzles, games, right turn only maps,

And several speakers and presentations that we skipped.

It was more manageable than the bigger science festival.

And we ran into one of the math teachers from Robert’s school.

The only downside was after running around there, the rain was more of a setback for our plans to join the science march. We were there in spirit and cheered on friends who marched.

Final space camp photos
last update: 03/28 @ 11:15

Robert as GNC for Space Shuttle mission.

And in his suit, ready for EVA and visit to moon base.

Back from space …
last update: 03/27 @ 19:48

Sipsey River II
last update: 03/21 @ 18:22

Today, I went to the Sipsey River picnic area and trailhead. It’s the normal put in for the run. Again, I paddled upstream for a while before heading back to the car.

It’s just as pretty in this stretch as close to the take out, where I was yesterday.

There was a little riffle right at the bridge and picnic park. That was fun to play in: a little more current and some eddies.

I think that’s Thompson Creek coming in on the left. I poked up there a bit before going up the Sipsey a bit further.

I saw more fish in this stretch. I think there were more and deeper pools as well — probably those are related. Even with the deeper pools, most of the river was pretty shallow and I ended up polling upstream a couple times.

Very pretty, and with the steady, good current, going upstream was good exercise as well. If I happen to back here with two shuttle vehicles and there is at least this much water, I’d do the full run. There is supposed to be one class II rapid in the middle.

Space Camp!
last update: 03/20 @ 19:17

Sarah arranged for Robert to get into Space Camp. I thought it might be a nice drive.

It was not a bad drive, and I’ve done my part to warp Robert’s mind: we listened to all of Moon Over Morocco on the way down.

With a few stops, it turned into just about exactly 12 hours.

As we were there Saturday night, we got to check out the museum Sunday morning before registration and orientation.

That gave Robert a chance to try our several command modules. Mercury was kind of cool, but clearly a mock-up. The control panel was wooden.

Apollo was cooler: space for three and real switches to switch (some even activated lights — I warned him about the switch that turned on the red light).

There were rockets outside to look at; the first full scale space shuttle mockup (used to figure out how to move it around).

And a really impressive Saturn V inside, suspended sideways overhead. It takes a while to walk from one end to the other.

After a surprisingly good lunch in the Mars Cafe, we joined the rest of the trainees: found the assigned dorm room and scored an excellent bed, picked up the cool flight suit, found his book, took one more look at the museum displays.

Then joined in the orientation. The first part of the orientation was leading the parents away (many of the kids had flown in and so parents were were the minority). The parents were told it would all be fine, see you in a week.

What the trainees were told… we’ll have to wait and find out.

Sipsey River
last update: 03/20 @ 18:53

The weather was fantastic!

The Sipsey is the only Wild and Scenic river in Alabama. It was pretty low. And with just me, I decided to see how far up I could get from the take out.

I’ll have to consult the GPS location that hopefully the camera captured, but I’m going to guess about three quarters of a mile.

The current was not too strong, but it was steady. And I had to get out at one spot (my canoe is not a speedy boat, designed to turn rather than track or go fast).

As you can see, it was beautiful!

There were several spots where the rocks overhanging the river dripped in water. This waterfall was just at the bridge.

Further up, there were a couple small creeks that tumbled down to the stream bed.

One I could hear in the woods just a little ways back from the shore, but it disappeared underground before it made it to the river bank. I thought that was odd, but probably part of it being a bit low.

Eventually, I thought I’d had enough going against the flow and found myself at another spot I would have to get out and pull the boat upstream.

so I headed back down (after a snack of a couple Mandarin oranges — thanks SZap).

All in all, a very nice afternoon in a very pretty spot.

(Don’t be fooled by the selfie, it really wasn’t that narrow, but the rocks made a good perch for the camera on timer.)

Shakespeare
last update: 03/09 @ 21:33

(That’s Robert is his current fav red fedora.)

Robert ready for model UN
last update: 02/25 @ 22:00

(Note the unseasonable February weather: Williamsburg is a little south, but 80 in late February is just wrong. Nice, but wrong.)

Interesting Juxtaposition…
last update: 02/03 @ 19:57

Sarah and Robert had a blast and now it may be hard to keep him off the slopes.

Last Cayman photo
last update: 01/24 @ 20:14

(Having lights clearly helps, but that’s a lot of stuff to keep track of if you’re really there for the fun of diving.)

Cayman Trip!!!
last update: 12/28 @ 22:07

The SCUBA Dab
last update: 12/23 @ 21:32

I’m sure Wikipedia has lots to say, I’ll leave the explanation and background to them.

Robert’s SCUBA dab was so spot on and fantastic, it blew Amy away — see her falling over there in the background?

Sarah knew what was coming and got into the scene while she and I waited for Robert and Amy to drop down to our level.

Will there be (or is there already) a Wikipedia article on underwater dabs? Our collection is now complete with both snorkel and SCUBA dabs.

Friday wound down with this…
last update: 12/23 @ 21:23

And Amy, our dive instructor, was happy to take Robert along even though he’s not (yet) certified.

That’s Amy leading Robert with Sarah trailing along behind.

It was great fun. Again, Robert had a great time (and had no issues with equalizing the pressure in his ears).

Amy later apologized about the visibility — which seemed great to us but was apparently more limited than is often the case around here.

Seeing a turtle and a friend working on finding something to munch on was way cool!!!

I was having too much fun taking pictures and was going through my air faster than Robert and Sarah so I missed the nurse shark they saw just after I started back up.

But I still enjoyed myself a lot and I’m very happy we got to enjoy the dive.

Amy even indulged us with this shot of the three of us (it may make a reprise appearence in the Tax Day Letter).

We started Friday with this…
last update: 12/23 @ 21:10

…a trip across Grand Cayman to Rum Point.

Rum Point is a sheltered spot on the north east side of the bay. The water was calm at the beach (and there were lots of beach chairs). Getting a little bit out from the shore, and out of the shelter of the point, and the wind driven current picked up.

Robert had noted in the Explore Cayman magazine that the fish liked to congregate under the dock. So we got our snorkels out to go look for ourselves.

There were serveral schools of fish (and they didn’t seem to mind us swimming by at all).

There were even a couple small (we learned yesterday, male, stingrays).

And even a trumpet fish under the dock.

Stingray Sandbar
last update: 12/22 @ 20:04

Stingray sandbar is very popular.

Almost, maybe too popular.

Given a choice, we’d rather have had it just for our our boat of 50 folks (or all to ourselves).

But if we had to choose between sharing it with a lot of folks or not going, we are happy to share.

All that sun and excitement can wear you out…

Stingrays!!!
last update: 12/22 @ 20:00

Today we took a short boat trip to Stingray Sandbar. This is not the same spot Sarah and I visited 15 years ago — that was Stingray City, 12 feet deep, a really shallow dive. This was the sandbar, about 2 feet deep.

Too shallow really to snorkel, but we tried; actually it was possible but it was easier to spot the rays standing and looking into the water, then ducking down to see them swimming around.

It was pretty popular, even on a day with a good breeze and more waves and current than normal for this spot.

It lived up to the reputation:

We saw stingrays.

We swam with stingrays (they can swim really fast).

Robert got to hold a stingray.

And Robert got seven years of good luck by kissing a stingray.

It is really cool to be underwater with stingrays (or similarly sized fishes). Robert and I both tried to get pictures of the rays as they swam by us.

His pictures are a bit harder to get so those will come after we get back home (too soon, I’m afraid).

(Yes, we did buy the photo of the stingray kiss.)

Today, snorkling
last update: 12/21 @ 17:04

We had a mellow start to the day and then headed to Smith Cove — down on the southern end of the west coast.

That was a very cool beach: sand, rocks, coral, ironshore. It had it all. We got out the masks, fins and snorkles to check out the coral.

The visibility was not good right at the beach, but after a short swim, we were past the sand churn and the visibility got a lot better.

This is Robert doing his underwater Dab.

And this is me doing my underwater shrug.

After a lot of swimming around, some laying in the sun to warm up and dry off, we headed to Sunset House for lunch.

While we munched, we watched the cruise ships load and unload. I guess the docks in George Town are not big enough: the ships anchored and ferried folks back and forth to shore.

There was some coral for snorkling, but it was depressing to see folks coming out of the water with fan coral in their hands.

Diving!!!
last update: 12/20 @ 18:28

Robert’s online classes and first round of pool work showed off and he was ready for the ocean after just a few minutes in the pool. Sarah and I recalled enough of what we used to know to convince Glen, our guide to let us out in the ocean as well.

Robert, clearly, had a blast!

And Sarah had to rescue my tank which wanted to stay on the surface.

Once we got underway — which really was not that hard — we saw reefs, cool tropical fish, and even a couple snorkelers who were swimming out from the beach.

Good Morning Cayman
last update: 12/20 @ 08:56

And woke up this morning to wildlife staring in our window.

We have the east facing condo (across the road from the dive shop and ocean). Apparently that makes for a nice perch for an iguana first thing in the morning.

Robert named him, Ivan Ivanavitch the Iguana.

He (or she) has been well immortalized.

Passing of a Giant
last update: 09/19 @ 20:36

Fortunately for him Sarah was there to keep the doctors following his wishes when they were starting to stray.

Robert and I headed up Friday evening and there was a lovely open house Saturday for local friends. The memorial will come in a few weeks.

One unexpected moment was when the Zapolskys decided Robert should get Harry’s pool cue. There was a bit of an introduction and expectation setting and then later, Robert had a chance to try it out, with lots of help and good advice from his uncle and cousin.

Now we’re charged with finding a local pool hall for him to practice in. The Zapolsky are serious about their pool.

I don’t think will find a place as nice as the community pool room in New Jersey.

Boom!
last update: 09/10 @ 16:06

We drove up Braddock Road to Fort Ward for their artillery demonstration. The discussion of the different kinds of projectiles — and the fuses used on them — was interesting.

But the highlight was firing the canon!

The canon did not disappoint. We were a little further away than at Petersburg, and so it was loud but not as bad this time around.

The Dream Comes True
last update: 09/04 @ 20:29

(They have very long tongues.)

(Fortunately, cell phones don’t taste like leaves.)

Back from the beach
last update: 07/09 @ 14:55

The shore break was pretty impressive at times. We got some boogie boarding in along with just jumping over, under and through the waves.

Robert did a lot of body surfing as well.

Robert also got on his sit-a-top kayak and had fun in the waves and one really excellent surf. The shore break, though, was tough.

Not to be outdone, Sarah brought her new toy: her inflatable Stand Up Paddle board. Which she really enjoyed (and on which she took Robert for a couple rides).

It was pretty cool how smooth it looked just past the shore break. But there were rollers out there to remind you you were in the water.

July 4th Beach Trip
last update: 07/09 @ 14:55

But this year the heat got to us and we left early. It was just too hard to sleep with the temperature staying as high as it was.

On our way home Friday, we passed a time/temperature sign saying it was an even 100 degrees. While the beach may have been cooler, it was not a whole lot cooler.

That’s our pair of tents in the foreground — note the lack of air conditioning.

We do enjoy the company and the waves, though.

And the sand, did I mention we enjoy the sand too? Best place for building castles.

This year, Robert was digging on the beach and stumbled onto this cache of soldiers. They were in pretty good shape so we don’t think they’ve been around too long.

They quickly turned the castles into forts.

But as is often the case, the water eventually overtakes the sand castle/fort.

Then there is nothing left to do but get out into the water…

Break from the heat
last update: 06/27 @ 20:05

And spent several days on the Isle of Mull (beautiful weather there for a walk in the woods and pony trek).

And even ride the Hogwart’s Express — or the Jacobite, a close impostor.

Most fun: meeting up with Sam, Lynn and David Z. across the pond.

Our London hotel was perfectly located, we just strolled by Buckingham Palace for this selfie after we checked in.

And the museums we had time to see were all great fun and very informative.

Way too many more photos in the vacations section (be patient, it will take a while to load all the pictures). I really hope we go back with more time on our hands.

Back from West Virginia
last update: 05/11 @ 16:07

Draft Day Dash
last update: 04/30 @ 17:23

Sarah and Robert signed up for another 5K race: the Redskins Draft Day Dash.

Part of the appeal is the chance to run on the grass at Fed Ex Field.

No one knew they’s get to run through the giant inflatable helmet. (OK, the picture below was staged before the race.)

Others also had similar plans, but the lines moved quickly and pretty soon the racers were off…

… and the spectators were let into the stadium and onto to field to cheer them on.

And get sucked into all the Draft Day festivities at the park.

It was pretty impressive how quickly the field filled up. By the time the racers were in the stadium, it was getting hard to move around through the crowd.

Of course, they kept the race lane clear for the racers.

Motivation!!!
last update: 04/30 @ 17:23

It’s not every race that has NFL cheerleaders cheering the racers across the finish line.

In the Zapolsky / Williams class, with a time of 35:34, Sarah wins again!!!

The official results.

(There were about 1200 runners who finished this race; more sane than the Parkway Classic.)

Robert finished well (in 39:12); and also enjoyed the cheering.

And there was lots to do on the field and in the stadium after the race: more obstacle courses (you have to ask Robert about the obstacles on the race course), a chance to kick a field goal, food and beer.

Inside, the race bib got Sarah and Robert into the Fast Track lane for autographs (from Derek Manning and Chris Baker).

Parkway Classic
last update: 04/24 @ 11:33

It was a beautiful day for a running race. Sarah and Robert took one of Robert’s schoolmates on the GW Parkway Classic.

The GW Parkway was closed for several hours for the race so the runners had the treat of that pretty road for much of the race.

And this was the first point-to-point race Sarah and Robert have been in. Starting from one spot and rather than turning around halfway or making a big loop, a straight shot up the river to Founder’s Park, close to the foot of King St.

This time Sarah won with 35:40.

It was a sold out race with about 7,000 racers finishing (combined between the 5K and the 10M races).

Check out the cool medal Robert is sporting below:

Science and Engineering Festival
last update: 04/17 @ 21:15

Back from the Break
last update: 03/28 @ 14:45

Hiccup in Plans
last update: 03/26 @ 17:57

Spring Break Break
last update: 03/22 @ 11:05

We had a chance to visit with Harry and Elle in NJ, enjoying some meals (Robert designated March 21st National Jelly Doughnut Day) and movies.

And enjoy a cool thing Harry clued us into: Kidtooning with New Yorker cartoonists. We ended up on the 34th floor of One World Financial Center — the Condé Nast headquarters — with just a few other families, the kids gave the cartoonists ideas and each kid got their own to take home.

More later on that.

Yes, that’s Robert driving a backhoe; with minimal instruction, they put him in the drivers seat. He gave his mom a ride. I got a ride too. It seems little early for him to driving us around…

We were able to drive all sorts of construction vehicles. It was an entertaining (in a good way) afternoon.

They even have some non-construction things, like this ropes course (similar style to Stone Mountain, where we were last Spring Break).

The Dictator
last update: 02/01 @ 12:06

Christmas!!!
last update: 01/01 @ 16:55

SMom
last update: 12/16 @ 09:13

Decatur
last update: 12/12 @ 13:55

Aquarium Sleepover
last update: 11/22 @ 14:36

Back from West Virginia
last update: 11/08 @ 22:58

As we helped close down the WV campus, the younger kids put on a Haunted House in one of the bunk houses. Robert thought he should join in wearing this PJs (which was his dragon costume from Halloween).

Then he was invited to play the part of Kurt in the Mad Libs presentation of Challenge of the Yukon.

As for why the after dinner entertainment was an old time radio show, I’m less clear. But it was fun, the kids and adults enjoyed it — the kids a bit too much as they supplied many of the Mad Lib moments and Robert was not the only 4th - 6th grade boy…

Good Works on the Water
last update: 10/12 @ 19:02

Clearly, the weather was spectacular!

And it looks like they have quite a haul of trash.

I’m out of town for the week so they get some mother, son, kitty, kitty, kitty bonding time.

Rafting
last update: 10/11 @ 17:49

One more Slyder photo
last update: 09/24 @ 21:54

Making Movies
last update: 09/20 @ 16:24

We met at the Long Branch Nature Center parking lot and took several smooth tracking shots along the creek.

Robert seemed to be having fun, and Bob was having a blast with this nifty gadget. I even got in on the fun.

An unexpected treat: Bob had a small video camera as a gift for Robert. He seems quite taken by it — I expect we’ll be looking for video editing software shortly…

It really was a lot of fun to do and Bob promised to share the video when he’s edited it.

Robert is already talking about wanting to go back to the park. Clearly a win all around.

Ropes Course to Round out the Week
last update: 09/05 @ 22:55

We’ve been several times before and this was as much fun as any of the other trips — but maybe the lines were a bit longer.

We started with a moderate green then the kids talked us into a Blue course, Waterfall.

Waterfall was entertaining — in the sense of a challenging rapid.

Sometimes ingeniously.

After one element ended with Eleanor just barely able to stand on tippy toes to get disconnected, we reconfigured the group to surround the kids with adults. That worked well; with a helping hand available as needed (which was not often).

Ropes Course
last update: 09/05 @ 22:54

And you can tell from the smiles that the kids were loving it.

I think the adults were too.

Check out Robert’s form as he rope swinged into the cargo net towards the end of the course.

Outer Banks Trip
last update: 09/05 @ 22:37

After a full day at the beach…
last update: 09/04 @ 21:07

I hope to pop up photos from the trip sometime this weekend. We had a blast (an exhausting blast). We even stayed an extra day because the weather was so perfect and it gave us a chance to hang out with friends who also wanted one last shot of beach summertime fun before school starts.

Gliding Along
last update: 09/03 @ 11:04

Up, Up and Away…
last update: 09/02 @ 08:47

Surprising twist: Robert decided to be the first of the Williams-Zapolskys to give it a go…

Rude Awakening
last update: 09/01 @ 08:34

Not in Alexandria
last update: 09/01 @ 08:29

Festivities Continue
last update: 07/20 @ 20:19

We saw these characters on our way in and snapped a photo or two. (Sarah found out after the fact that there were small fans in the costumes — a good thing as it was the hottest day of the year).

We had Robert’s favorite seats: up in the rafters were you can see the whole game. And catch a breeze. And be in the shade.

It was a nice time even if we did loose.

We ended up leaving while it was still resptable (1-0 Dodgers) and stopped off at the water park. By the time we got there, the score was 5-0 and I was too hot to think about getting a photos of the guys in the wading pool.

That’s Robert, Travis and Will (we’re sorry that Will is heading to a new school next year).

Back From Assateague
last update: 07/04 @ 21:03

Great weather (mostly) and fantastic boogie boarding waves.

We all had a blast.

This year, the blog photos were curated by our almost 11 year old, Robert.

I’m sensing a pattern in the photo selection.

It may be hard to see, but Robert is about to be swallowed up by that wave — he’s in the shadows in the photo above.

On the right, is the aftermath.

The photo below is a better run on a different day. Clearly, that’s a happy Robert.

More photos in the trips section.

Fountain
last update: 06/26 @ 21:44

Robert and Eleanor hanging out in the fountain after dinner. They asked for permission first; something about how all the other kids were doing it…

(The adults — other than Sasha — deep in meaningful conversation in the background.)

Premier
last update: 05/31 @ 01:06

It was great to join in Martha and all her friends in this first screening. I’m looking forward to seeing it finally released, and it sounds like there may be more in the works…

(And yes, there is a story to the eagle on the left of the photo.)

Back in the Present
last update: 05/29 @ 21:04

Thanks, Balca, for the great photo!

Preparing to go Back in Time
last update: 05/29 @ 21:02

Nationals Win
last update: 05/10 @ 23:50

Smiling at the end of the game!

Happy Mother’s Day!!!
last update: 05/10 @ 20:10

We headed into DC to see the Nationals take on the Braves for Mother’s Day. And were joined by Hank and Sally, which made it even more fun.

On the way in, we ran into Jefferson and he conceded to a photo op.

It was too bad the baseball boat wasn’t running, it was a great day for a boat ride to the game. I think the company may have rented the water taxi out for a Mother’s Day cruise — our loss.

Our seats were up on the First Base Line; perfect for seeing the game. And it was a fun game too.

The Nats came on strong taking a 3-0 lead but then the Braves tied it up and went ahead.

Robert and I decided to check out the view from the top of stadium and that was nice too. Today it had the benefit of a nice breeze coming through. It was a bit hot in the sun and the very little bit of ran didn’t cool it down much.

Finally, the Nats rallied for the 5-4 win to sweep the Braves back to Atlanta.

After the game, we went by the splash park since it was a hot day. Robert had lots of fun running through the waterfall. Sarah and I only waded while he did what he could to swim in the 12 inches of water.

Formal Aquarium Photo
last update: 03/29 @ 11:43

This seemed like a nice photo that the Aquarium put together (green screen on the way in), so I was talked into buying it.

That completes our Spring Break. Robert is now hard at work on his science fair project; the big event is Thursday.

Spring Break Burger Trip
last update: 03/28 @ 19:04
We’re back safe and sound from our Spring Break jaunt to Decatur and have more photos in the vacations section.

Train to Hotlanta
last update: 03/25 @ 10:41
Robert is on spring break this week and we decided to take the train to Atlanta. Well… I decided and convinced Robert — though it did not take too much convincing.

We went for seats rather than the expensive but more comfortable sleeper car. It takes a bit longer than driving and is cheaper and in many ways easier than flying. And no seatbelts (more comfortable, and generally seems pretty safe) makes it possible to get up and walk around.

No need to stop for dinner: they have a cafe and a dining car on the train. It’s vacation so we can get away with less than the healhiest meals (Robert did eat a burger to go along with his soda and cookies).

The foot rest wouldn’t stay up so Robert slept sideways much of the night. Eventually, I flipped up the footrest in the “occupied” sign and Robert tucked himself into the nest that made.

Lights out was a little late and he had trouble getting to sleep until lights out. (And even with the lights out, the “night lights” were kind of bright.)

An adventure it is. We’ll see what the trip back brings (it leaves a little later still so we’ll probably dine before the train or bring something with us).

The reason for heading to Atlanta is to provide an extra set of eyes for my mom while my brother and sister-in-law are gallivanting around the world. Extra bonus points, we got to see cousin Sam (W) and Omar before they headed back to Nashville. And Sally is here so we get to hang with her (and maybe try some of the ice cream where she works).

Robert was happy to join in Balloon Ball at the assisted living facility while we visited with my mom.

Beautiful Day
last update: 03/21 @ 22:45

So we took advantage of the weather and headed the Ropes Course in Sandy Spring.

We went several times last year, and I can see a strong chance we’ll be back several times this year.

This was the first time we’ve all been able to go together.

It was about 60 and perfectly blue skies; and with the wild weather recently, not crowded at all.

We had lots of fun and did a great job of wearing ourselves out.

Game of Drones
last update: 02/07 @ 16:16
We went by the Building Museum today to check out the drones.

They were there in all shapes and sizes, taking up about a third of the space.

I didn’t believe Robert when he said that was the downdraft we were feeling — I was sure it was the building ventilation. But I was clearly wrong.

Those rotors move a whole lot of air!

Then they talked a little bit about all the beneficial uses of drones (other than military and spying on your neighbors).

Then they had a race…

Which was kind of slow as they had to get all the frequency settings set up to show the video from the drones on a couple big screens.

Actually, there was time taken off if you completed the course single-handedly rather than with a pilot and camera operator.

Drone Spectators
last update: 02/07 @ 16:16
Robert and I took metro in to see the drones while Sarah was volunteering at his school.

We met up, watched the show had a snack or lunch (depending) and watched the race that closed it out.

I thought the violin drone showed real style on the part of the owner / builder. He flew it a couple times but not for as long as I was hoping to see it.

I got a closer look, but like this photo better; he took the back off and filled it with the wires and electronics but the strings stayed.

And no, not a very fancy violin, he said he picked up from eBay.

The Met
last update: 01/19 @ 21:25

We just got back from a trip up to NJ to visit with Harry and Elle. On Sunday, we took Robert to the Met. We went to see the Arms and Armor. But they also have some Mayan artifacts and Robert’s class is about to take a deep dive into Mayan culture.

And Sarah enjoyed Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire. I thought it rather dark.

Anyway, we stopped by the Jewels of India and I got Robert to pose with this splendid crown.

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