and he's off . . .

Our second grader headed off to school this morning, but not before taking Macon's lead when it comes to smiling for pictures. 

(Don't worry. We all wore helmets when it was time to ride.) 

4:15, after school, update: I haven't gotten a lot of detail except that he had a really good day, Griffin has the same lunch box (R2 D2), there's one trouble maker, and Mr. Harvey is really nice.

beach bums

We got home yesterday with a car full of sand, wet bathing suits, damp towels, and empty sunscreen bottles, which is the best way to come home from the beach two days before the start of school!

golfing with Grandpa

Jed scored a hole-in-one!

Relaxing in Kitty Hawk Woods, but his rest was short-lived because he insisted on doing 90% of the paddling himself. 

Yes, that's a real live cotton mouth water moccasin. 

And I have a video, but blogger won't let me post it, so click here if you're interested.

 Later in the day, I took Macon out on an expedition. This trek took us out into the Roanoke Sound so it got a bit choppy (note the cloudy sky), which Macon did not like, but he was, by Macon-standards, a trooper.

heading into the sound

And that evening, we had a sound-side dinner of shrimp, shrimp, and more shrimp.
"We" meaning everyone except Grandma and Jed, who opted for chicken. 

Thanks for the slingshots, Grandma. 

Jed wanted to visit the Wright Brothers Memorial, so we arrived promptly at 9 only to discover something wonderful: National Aviation Day! With the added bonus for Jed: Macon didn't want to come so Jed was the lone King of the Copters!

at the beach . . . 

and at the pool

On Thursday, we climbed 257 steps to the top of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse!

Looking out to the actual cape where the Gulf Stream meets the Labrador Current.

Proof that Jed, Macon, and Grandma made it.

And we felt that such hard work deserved a reward.

Back to the beach. 

And on our last day, Jed got down to business. This was his last dive of the morning, and I think he was getting a bit tired, so I didn't capture his best form, but we now have a diver in our midst!

When Jed climbed out and spread his towel, I knew it was time to head home. 

tweetsie!!!!!!!!!!

We've just returned from a mountain vacation, during which we took in the Parkway's views, drove U.S. 221 until motion sickness set in, drove the Linn Cove Viaduct in thick fog, did some gem "mining," went to Linville Caverns and Linville Falls, and spent a day at . . . drumroll, please . . . TWEETSIE! 

I've wanted to take the boys to Tweetsie since they were babies, and I think they had as much fun as I did in 1977. We rode the train three times, acquired cap guns with holsters, and did almost everything the park had to offer. At this very moment, Jed is upstairs in bed shedding tears because he's home and not at Tweetsie. 

first photo of the trip, at the Moses Cone House on the Parkway

turning in for the first night

Tweetsie opens at 9. We arrived at 8:45. 

way back when . . . 

The train chuffing in for the first run of the day. 

Yes, we were on the very first and very last runs of the day.

Jed's commentary: I didn't know you could get on top.

That's me inside. I have no idea who the boys are on the outside. 

No. 12, the older of the park's two steam engines, wasn't running during this visit, so the engines are slightly different. Otherwise, not much has changed. 

(I don't know who the other girl is.)

Brand new cap guns. Smile harder, boys.

Eric and Macon taking off while Jed takes aim.

But don't worry. It's Tweetsie: everyone's armed. 

back on the train, with arms to help with the shootout at Fort Boone.

an "Indian" sneaks through our car

We did gem mining (sifting through dirt from a nearby mine) vs. gold panning. I don't know if I came home with gold in 1977, but this time, we came home with all sorts of goodies including a cut-worthy sapphire!

at Linville Falls

I have no idea what they are doing here.

at Linville Caverns

One last shot . . . 

and one last creekside picture before hitting the road for Raleigh.