Souvenirs

aaaaaaaahhhh.... now THAT'S what I call a good time.


this morning, my parents hit the road... headin' north to the promised land of New Jersey. They drove down last week and have been staying (PLAYING?) with us since last Tuesday. and like I said... we've had fun.


First off... I do need to stop and crown the Pig... though I have to say... I'm very disappointed. I was really pulling for Lucy. I was kinda shocked that SO MANY of you chose a side of bacon.... but hey.... some valid points were made. I still like Lucy better, though, and think she would be a force to be reckoned with.


ok.... back to this past week.


we did SO MUCH!!!! I kinda feel like that Johnny Cash song.... I've been everywhere, man! so... in case you plan on hanging out with a bunch of Polacks in North Carolina... I've prepared this little commentary guide for you. hell... even if you DON'T plan on touring around... you're welcome to read along. it should at least pass a few minutes of you're bored at work!


***disclaimer**** I'm not putting days on these, cause I forget what days we went where... so if you're one of those anal types that needs to know what day we did what... feel free to make up a day in your head.


The Carolina Raptor Center....

At first glance, this seemed like a good idea. Owls and vultures and eagles and well... other raptors all in one place. It was definitely very cool to see all these types of birds... but this bird sanctuary is located OUTSIDE in the woods.... and in case anyone hasn't noticed.... it's been HOTTER THAN SHIT HERE lately. strapping a baby to your body and trekking through the woods was probably not my finest idea. I was sweaty. Rhena was sweaty. Mom and Dad were sweaty. damn... I think I even saw the eagles wiping their heads a few times.

One of the signs for the vultures said that since it didn't have sweat glands, it often craps on itself to cool off. after that one, we decided to head for the car and turn the AC on full blast. all in all, though... it was interesting. I'll probably bring Rhena back there when she's like 8 and in the girl scouts or something. oh, and when it's not 1000 degrees out.



The Biltmore Estate.....

another very cool attraction for the central-slash-western Carolina region. The Biltmore estate is big. ....nay... I say... FREAKING HUGE!!!!! .....I linked to their website, so you can read up on the history of the house.... it was about a 2 hour drive from our house, and we actually spent the whole day on the Biltmore grounds. They have the house itself, the gardens, a winery... and a bunch of other stuff like trails and a horse show and some other stuff that was going on.

The house was a marvel. we did a lot of walking that day... which would have been fine if IT WASN'T 100 DEGREES OUTSIDE!!!!!!

Once again, I had Rhena strapped to me, so I became quite the heat box as we walked through this house. I guess I didn't think it through.. cause I knew we would be inside... but didn't realize there would be no A/C. there were some fans, but I couldn't help but hum the campy song by Buster Poindexter over and over and over (and over) again! HOT HOT HOT!!!!

Seriously, though... the mansion was very interesting. .....from the architecture to the decorative features... and just the history contained in the house. If you ever go--- get the audio guided tour. it's worth it. oh... and go when it's a little cooler out.




The Pool....

ok... no--- it wasn't a major attraction or anything, but even the pool was hot. I mean... this weather has been ridiculous. Seriously.... who SWEATS in the pool??????

insane, I tell you.

But... Rhena invited one of her little girlfriends over, and we swam for a little while. Since Concerned Mom didn't seem to be around.... we decided it was 'safe' to put the girls under. So here's some proof of my horrible-ness!




The rest of the visit was spent playing with Rhena's new toys, eating, playing cards, eating, playing with rhena's new toys, and then eating. I have a few more pictures posted in the photo-blog, if you're interested. But overall.... Gramma and Granpa got some good solid time in with the pooper, and I'm going to have a tough time living up to their antics now that they're gone. but that's ok. Grandparents are supposed to spoil. that's their job.


So maybe it wasn't all action-packed-non-stop-tourism-delight, but I think everybody should have visits like this. well... minus the 9th-circle-of-hell-heat-index... but you get the idea. This week was one of those weeks where you take a minute or two to really soak in the smiles, the laughter and love going on. good shit, you know?

so that's it for now. We're here for another week, then we''re off to see Troy's family for a week. Like I said... good shit!




today's title brought to you by Voyage, 1978