Day 1: North Carolina

Since Mary Grace is still waiting for the Europe trip travelogue (and it's still on my to-do list 9 months later) I figured I'd better type up this one ASAP. As before, each day will be its own post. I may add some photos later, but I'd rather go ahead and get this posted. Here is the journal from my trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks, Shenandoah National Park, and Delaware. Why? Because I've never been to Delaware :)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

On Tuesday morning, I awoke to find Bailey had snugly packed herself during the night and was ready to go in my suitcase. My flight to Chicago was oversold but on time. Since they were only offering the face value of your ticket as a voucher, I did not volunteer to take a later flight. (My ticket was free). My flight to Norfolk was also on time, and the only eventful thing was when the top on my water bottle popped open and started spilling on my foot and backpack. Too much pressure I guess.

As I was walking through the airport, I caught the announcement on the news that George Steinbrenner had died of a heart attack. I feel like I frequently find out people have died in the airport. But as mom pointed out, I’m frequently in airports.

I got my rental car, a blue Chevy Aveo, which probably had no idea what kind of trip it was in for, and we headed off for North Carolina. It took about 20 minutes to get to the border, and then I had my 47th state. There was no place to pull over near the sign, so I had to park and walk back and take a self portrait. It started raining as I was driving, which pretty much set the tone for my NC leg.

I made it to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills about 5:00, which was perfect since they close at 6:00. It was hot and muggy but not raining when I got out of the car, still wearing jeans from traveling. The visitor center wasn’t much, but I walked out to the field that showed where they took off from and where each of the flights landed, including the longest one. Then I went up to the memorial, which is on a hill that’s pretty much made of sand. Once I’d seen it, it was time to head to the hotel and food.

I found my room at the Rodeway Inn in Nags Head, which was exceptionally adequate for my purposes. I had dinner and ice cream at Fatboyz next to the hotel, then walked across the street to the beach. It was cloudy but not raining and starting to cool down a little.

I walked along the beach and then watched a couple guys with metal detectors searching the sand. One started digging a pretty big hole, but I couldn’t tell if he found anything.

I made it back to my hotel room to find it so humid all my paper was curling on the edges. Luckily I was tired enough that I was able to sleep easily enough.

So far I have seen 27 state license plates and 2 Canadian provinces.

Disruptions

I am on vacation, and I did not plan to get up early today. Several forces united to thwart my plans. First, Bailey got her head caught in a plastic bag around 4:30. She proceeded to paw at the bag until I got up and freed her. I lured both of them downstairs and "let" them go play in the garage.

About 20 minutes later, after I had fallen back to sleep, the low battery alarm on the carbon monoxide detector went off. It is right next to my bed, and it beeps until you take the battery out. I don't know why that battery drains so fast, since the thing is plugged into the wall. I left it in pieces on the floor and went back to sleep.

Finally about 6:00, I woke up to find Boo (a squirrel who lives in my yard) standing on his hind legs, looking in the bedroom door, and tapping on the window. Not sure what he wanted, but at least everyone was in the garage or it would have been a wild time.

Alas, my early morning was not as restless as planned.

The Reverse Bucket List

As I've been preparing for my trip, I thought of a few things for my bucket list. As I was browsing the interwebs looking for more cool things to put on my list, I came across lots of things that people had on theirs' that I had already done.

So I had the idea to make a list of all the cool things I've already done or have happened to me as a way of reflecting on the successes and opportunities I've already had. Kinda like a gratuity journal on a grander scale. Turns out I've had more fun thinking of things for the list I've already done than what I want to do. Now, there are probably lots more places I've been that could be added, but I tried not to go over the top in that category. So, here's what I've come up with so far, in no particular order.

1. See a platypus in the wild.
2. Go snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef.
3. Be in a parade.
4. Learn a second language.
5. Be in a wedding.
6. Attend a Final Four.
7. Live in another country.
8. Swim in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico.
9. See a show on Broadway.
10. Be on TV.
11. Get a master's degree.
12. Own my own house.
13. Go backpacking in the mountains.
14. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
15. Be in a circus.
16. Swim with stingrays in the Caribbean.
17. Go to an authentic Hawaiian luau.
18. Play three musical instruments.
19. Be a camp counselor.
20. Be president of an organization.
21. Go skiing.
22. Win an award.
23. Meet Bob Dole.
24. Go on a cross country bus trip.
25. Get Mickey Mouse ears with my name on them.
26. Learn to hang drywall.
27. Go to Europe.
    
28. Tile a bathroom.
29. Sleep outside under the stars.
30. Give a sermon.
31. Page in the Kansas Senate.
32. Ride an elephant.
33. Go zip lining.
34. Tour a brewery.
35. See a moose.
    
36. Travel by ferry.
37. Go water tubing.
38. Fly first class.
39. Read the Bible all the way through.
40. See a drive-in movie.
41. Visit the National Football Hall of Fame.
42. Take ice skating lessons.
43. Learn archery.
44. Have a white Christmas.
45. Go to a Monday Night Football game.
46. See the Penguin Parade on Philip Island.
    

I keep thinking of more things to add, and it's been a lot fun reflecting on all these things. It just goes to show that life happens when you're making other plans!

Green Day

Not as in When I Come Around and 21 Guns fame, but as in small environmental footprint day. I had to work from home today and I had the opportunity to air dry my laundry on the deck. After work I decided to make it a no-driving day and walk to the library to pick up a book I had on hold. Well, when I got there, there were 5 books waiting for me that I hadn't received notices for yet, and one of them turned out to be a large coffee table book! I opted to only take a few that would fit in my bag and pick the others up tomorrow. Go figure!

Happy Birthday Bailey!

While many things Bailey does have been captured on this blog, and while she often has more adventures than Riley, she rarely allows herself to be photographed during these adventures so I don't have much to share.








Nonetheless, I am one day late in recognizing Bailey's birthday, which was yesterday. Happy Birthday Bailey!

Happy Birthday Riley!

Today I am featuring Riley, and things Riley does, because it is her birthday!

Happy Winter, I Mean Spring!

Spring is here! And so is a good 8 inches of snow, with more on the way. I went out to take a few pictures because I could see this crazy snowdrift from the window and wanted to check it out. It doesn't look nearly as dramatic in the pictures as real life.



It is reassuring to know this snow won't last forever like all the others. So if I skip shoveling the drive, it won't still be there in three weeks!