Sea World here we come!!! The kids were very excited to be headed out to their adventure “under the sea”. The drive was about one hour and they kept themselves busy doing what all twenty-first century kids do in the car – watch movies and play games.
After a day in the car the kiddos were revved up to get out and burn some energy. I think they would have been happy doing anything but we decided that a good dip in the ocean would do them all some good. It takes a while to get us all lathered up in sunblock and out to the sand but we eventually made it right around the time the sun was a massive ball of fire directly overhead.
Today we left for our family vacation at the beach. We had plans to be in bed early and on the road by four so that we could get the kids out of bed, still sleeping, drive most of the early morning and arrive around lunch with an afternoon of swimming to look forward to. But after finally getting into bed somewhere near three-thirty four didn’t sound so appealing. We did eventually get on the road but not until after nine. Not too far down the road, right before pulling onto the expressway, Carol was curious if I shut the garage door. Of course I did…right? We had to go back into the house several times for this or that prior to leaving and neither of us could remember if we shut the door the final time. We called in a favor and the thought paid off – sure enough I had left the door wide open to the world.
I am never sure whether to feel happy or sad whenever I get to visit the Ranch. On one hand I am happy that these animals get to live, basically get a second chance, and at the same time provide some up close encounters for the kids, sort of entertainment. On the other it makes me feel that this is just another form of making money that, while providing entertainment, lacks what it is perceived to offer. Many of the animals are caged indefinitely without even the chance of freedom. I can only hope that our kids take the time to appreciate Nature for what it is and the impact that We can have on it in both large and small scale.
Now enough of me on a soap box. All the kiddos were going to be away for some or all of Spring Break this year so we thought it would be fun to do something out of the ordinary with them before seeing them off. We didn’t tell them what we were doing until we got there and even then I don’t think they really understood what we were going to do until we started seeing and feeding the animals. We packed a backpack full of old food stuff and picked up some corn and apples at the concession as well.
Well…this is certainly a case of better late than never. A post that should have happened months back never did. I started and stopped writing it several times but never finished. So in lieu of keeping it perpetually updated and eventually posted, here it is:
Labor Day weekend was fantastic. The family, all six of us, took a road trip to Indiana. Specifically the greater Indianapolis area. I wanted to introduce Carol, Isaac, Jacob and even Violet to my grandfather, aunts and uncles, cousins and the various kids they have all produced or acquired. I also wanted a chance to show Carol around the areas that I grew up. In all cases, and in contrast to the Bush definition of such, the trip was a “mission accomplished”.
The trip was indeed fantastic, regardless of how many months ago it might have been. We were able to visit most of not all of my family, the Indianapolis Zoo, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (the Atlanta version could learn a great deal from this place), eat ice cream from Mrs. Curls, and inhale a particular northern culinary delicacy – The White Castle.
A special treat this weekend. Stone Mountain Park was hosting the 10th annual Indian Festival and Pow-Wow. An interesting assortment of Indian cultures and traditions. Right inside the gate we walked into a show getting ready to start called “East vs. West”. Two Indians, one from the eastern tribes and one from the western Sioux tribes, compared and contrasted the lifestyles and traditions of their ancestors. Seems the eastern Indians were more civilized, happy to barter and trade to make life easier, while the western ones, the Sioux in particular, raided and pillaged to get what they wanted, or to advance their lifestyle. I am sure this is a gross over exaggeration about the differences but it was neat to hear what they had to say and see the difference in the everyday tools used by each.
Fall is here…although sometimes I think fall actually skips the southeast and winter tries desperately to blow in early, dragging wind and rain with it. Such was this particular day. With winter…fall, comes the annual Dahlonega Gold Rush festival. This was a new festival for the girls and I. We have been to the Duluth Fall Festival and the Norcross Art Festival but hadn’t ventured out much beyond. It was fun from the beginning and much, much larger than the others – not to mention more organized. There were certainly some planned destinations as well. Carol and Bonnie wanted to eat lunch at the “Smith House“, watch the parade on Main Street, and checkout the goodies offered by the hundreds of vendors.
We recently packed up the van and headed to Moccasin Creek State Park in northern Georgia for a weekend of camping. Certainly a well needed trip away from work and the daily grind. Carol had planned this trip six weeks in advance and it seemed to take an eternity to arrive. Unfortunately not everyone got to go. Violet had to stay behind from the get-go. Even though this was a short trip, it was to relax a bit – take deep breaths – wash – rinse – repeat…. and while camping with Violet would certainly prove fun it would also, at least until she is a bit older, be exhausting. Jacob also stayed behind, opting out the night before, choosing to hang out with Nana, Troy and Violet (we missed you buddy!).
