Cullen's Coupe

On the way back from vacation, we stopped to look at a new used car for Cullen. We saw it for sale at the side of the road. It was something he had always wanted, ever since he saw one when he was (where else?) at his Uncle Norm's house.

It was kind of humorous. Jim (Cullen's grandpa) and I were looking over the car to see if it was in acceptable condition. We checked out the tires, examined whether the horn worked, noted the overall condition... finally I realized, you know, we're talking about a kid's toy here.

Cullen took the whole thing just as seriously, however. In true Uncle Norm style, he even got underneath and checked it out himself!

It's a good thing we bought the car, too. This past week our van died. So reassuring to know that we have a second vehicle!

Outer Banks, Part Two: Cullen Was There Too!

Yes, Cullen was present and accounted for at the Outer Banks! He enjoyed his moment in the sun...


And we enjoyed him!

The Shomos including Cullen especially enjoyed Roanoke Island/Manteo. We found a little restaurant along the bay.

Cullen's grandparents were there, too. In fact, they were a pretty important piece of the pie...

We including Cullen are back now, although we would appreciate another vacation sometime soon!

Outer Banks, Part One: Making the Climb

So we went to North Carolina's Outer Banks. People there like to surf, ride bikes, walk along the beach, and generally enjoy life at sea level.

To celebrate, I wore my South Carolina flip flops. (Thanks, jandatell!) Those flip flops ended up doing a lot of unexpected climbing, however...

For example. On Wednesday we drove to Corolla where the highlight was the Currituck lighthouse.



For the low price of $7/person you could climb the stairs to the top. Great view!


Below: Same great view, but with me photoshopped in. (Easy way to photoshop yourself into a picture: take two pictures, one with you in it.)


Cheryl climbed with me.


We were given stickers.


(Notice the famed flip flop?)

On Thursday we drove the opposite direction. The tallest lighthouse in the country is apparently this one, located on Cape Hatteras:


More climbing!


Friday I visited the Wright Brothers memorial with my father-in-law Jim. In the picture below, we are standing at the first airplane's take off point, and the white stones in the background mark how far the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th flights went.



I was pretty impressed with Wilbur and Orville, these guys invented motorized flight and documented it with photos back in the day before cameras were a common companion--industrious, intelligent, tech-savvy, revolutionary guys. (I never met them--this is just my impression.)

And lo and behold... another climb awaited me. This time, to the top of the hill that the Wright brothers used for hang gliding in their spare time.



Here's a picture of the Wright brothers' plane, and that same hill in the background.



Here's a closeup of the memorial on top of the hill...






And the view from the top. You can see those white stones again, and the Wright brothers' hanger and hangout.



And for the Shomo family: See the rentals and the ocean in the distance? You could be staying there Summer 2010! Bring flip flops!

Summer's Over, Time for Vacation!

That looks about right...

Yes, it's time for a belated vacation. It has been an incredibly busy summer. Someone said to me last week "I hope you have good weather," and I said, "I really don't care!" Well, now I kind of care. Some nice weather would be, well, nice. But really, I'm mainly looking forward to some time to recharge, read, spend time with Cullen and Cheryl and her family, and take some walks. That's all. Everything else will be a bonus.

And I can't think of a better place to go than a strip of sand that jets out into the ocean and, as luck would have it, stays just barely above sea level. Also known as the Outer Banks.

I'll only be able to be reached by carrier pidgeon. But feel free to send one if you really need me.

See ya!

Who Had the Funnest Summer?

This is not as easy a question to answer as you might think.

Of course, Cullen has had a great summer. Enjoying the outdoors:



Learning to take a picture of himself with the digital camera:


Figuring out new devices:

And playing with Dad:


Cullen clearly had a great summer. But, there's a dark horse in this contest. Or rather, a red one (who is not technically a horse).

Coming in at least a close second in the "funnest summer" contest is Smarty, who has been enjoying all the benefits of Camp Anne!

If "enjoying" is the right word...


Hang in there, Smarty, you'll make it!

Hopefully...