sunday in CH

We spent most of today in Chapel Hill, starting with lunch with the Faris family, which included a fire truck sighting.

Then we met Lucy and Oliver and their family at Paperhand Puppet Intervention's matinee. (Jed asked if Teddie was coming, too.) Caroline and I were somewhat concerned about how our little mascot-haters would fare, but they all seemed enchanted. 

Oliver is not afraid to sweat. 

Macon might appear a little uptight, put-out, or maybe annoyed, but this is his focused look.

And if you're wondering why my blog posting has slowed, it's because it takes this much work . . . 

. . . to get this shot.

(And if Macon's left eye looks a little puffy in this picture, trust me, it looks puffier and blacker and bluer in person thanks to a tumble out of bed last night.) 

At the end, the play's namesake, The Painted Bird, processed up the aisle. 

I was certain the boys would cower, but not only did they welcome the bird's wings brushing over their heads, they were disappointed that they hadn't gotten to touch its beak. 

and we're off . . .

. . . to first grade! Can you believe it? 

sand in my shoes

We set out for the Kitty Hawk last week. It was misty and sprinkled the whole drive down and once we were down there, it rained a lot that afternoon and into our first whole day. Then, on the drive home, it poured. But in between rains, and even during, a good time was had by all. 

Enjoy the photos, and note the links on the place names: they will open the Gazetteer entry about that place in a nod to my proposed cross-state road trip inspired by Bill Powell's dedication of the Gazetteer's first edition.

First stop on our trek: Woodard! Yes, in Bertie County there is a crossroads called Woodard. One defunct turn-of-the-twentieth-century church stands just west of the intersection, but that's it. It's just a crossroads in the middle of fields. With a sign.

But it's right on the way to the Sans Souci Ferry, one of three cable or tow ferries left in North Carolina. Crossing the Cashie River without a care in the world (except some concerns about the engine's volume), is a good way to start a vacation. 

The boys headed straight to the surf, despite the rain. 

Grandma gamely ventures out.

Eventually, the rain stopped . . . 

 . . . and the sun came out in time for a visit to Manteo where an impressive yacht was docked. 

on the Elizabeth II

Jed working the lathe in the "early settlement" exhibit at Festival Park, which interprets Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke Voyages. 

They have a new indoor museum that moves beyond the 1500s and tells the story of Roanoke Island into the twentieth century. The museum is very hands-on and includes a duck-hunting exhibit where (avert your eyes here, Marmie) visitors can "shoot" ducks using lasers "fired" fired from faux shotguns. When the laser contacts a sensor on the duck's chest, the duck lights up and squawks. The boys l-o-v-e-d it (despite Jed having walked out of the introductory film when a Native American started hunting a deer only an hour earlier).

Finally, some sun at the beach!  

 (and a flashback to 2013)

On Friday, Grandpa and I joined Jed on his first putt-putt outing . . . 

. . . where he scored a hole-in-one on 14!

ice cream with Grandpa

heading in for the evening 

one last dune crossing on Saturday morning

bidding Grandma and Grandpa bon voyage

 a final underwater shot for the road

i will post pictures soon! really!

Our beach trip began and ended the same way: 

but we had some sun in between and I promise to get some pictures up soon! 

beach trip 2014 begins

 

Fingers crossed for improvement.

rainy-day blues? yes and no

No rainy-day blues yesterday because we spent part of our afternoon driving around Raleigh with the sole purpose of driving through deep puddles as fast as possible!

But today, we're singing the blues: we'd planned to head to the beach, but the forecast was calling for monsoons, so we've postponed for a day. This is beyond the boys' comprehension especially because it is not actually raining (yet).

However, thoughts of travel combined with a chance reading of a book dedication this morning have me thinking about next summer. You know how people dream of and sometimes even pull off a cross-country roadtrip of weeks or even months or years? I'm thinking that next summer, I will take the boys on a cross-state trip inspired by Bill Powell's 1968 dedication of The North Carolina Gazetteer to his parents, "who from summer to summer took me on vacation trips from one end of North Carolina to the other. I cannot remember when I did not know and love the coast, the mountains, and many special places in between."

Mr. Powell's parents sound a lot like mine. Time to get out the atlas!