This morning I was awakened by the sound of 29 voices chirping. It was cute for about 25 minutes, but they just don't stop. Molly does not like it
and has taken to hiding as far as possible from the overpowering noise. Pictures will can be found on
Cara's blog.
23 March 2008 - The Long Drive Home
Okay, so actually it's not that much driving at all. We still bisected the day with a trip to Virginia's natural bridge, which surprisingly lives
up to the hype. Was is worth $36 to see? Well, maybe once. Unfortunately the owners of the place sensationalized it with a wax museum and
religious displays. One can only cringe at the life size figure of a man riding a dinosaur and the claim that the bridge has been around since
god created the world thousands of years ago. Nevertheless, the natural beauty of bridge itself was basically unmarred as the gaudiness was
confined to the area around the parking lot. Of course, we didn't stick around for the evening light show including a "booming voice from above"
recounting the Judeo-Christian creation myth.
Maxwell quote of the day:
Me: Maxwell, why are there ball stickers on your face?
Maxwell: I'm cool and awesome. That's why.
22 March 2008
Today is the Craig-King-McKnew-Wogsland Easter Spectacular! Geege is hosting and has been busily preparing food for the past few days. Aunt Cindy
has been getting Easter eggs ready for the lil Wogslands and McKnews to hunt out in the yard (unless it rains, in which case we'll repair to the
basement instead). We'll also be celebrating Uncle Tim's birthday which was earlier this week and we saved some of the cake that Amy made so
Maxwell won't feel left out. They'll be 20 of us as Bobby is of course bringing his fiance Aaren and Christie's bringing her boyfriend Randy.
The Easter Egg Hunters
Alora, Nathan, Morgan, Maxwell, Zara, Brittan
21 March 2008
Evie loves her Mommy.
3 cousins up to no good.
(Courtesy of Maxwell)
Last night we ate at the Parthenon in Annapolis, which is owned by Steve Tsiopanos' dad. This was, of course, with Steve, Brenna, Hannah and cute
little Evie. We stayed in Annapolis way too late in the evening trading stories of puke, poop and the other travails of parenthood. The girls had
a roaring good time with Hannah while the younger threesome (Evie is 21 months) followed them around and shared toys. Afterward we drove back to
Geege's on the fairly lonely midnight highways of Maryland.
Today is another lazy day at Geege's. Cara and the girls are working on their photography projects. Maxwell is watching TV. Zara is playing the
piano. Surprisingly, she is a gentle player with a seemingly innate sense of music, playing scales and little diddies softly. Perhaps we should
give her lessons so she can be a savant playing soldout concert halls by her eighth birthday. But then I thought about how she might feel at 20
when she'd spent her whole childhood honing one skill to the detriment of others. Sometimes parents have the oddest fantasies about their children.
She could, of course, merely learn more about the piano and enjoy playing it.
When my thoughts weren't wondering about the future paths of Zara's life I read Steve Martin's autobiographical sketch of his stand-up career,
Born Standing Up. I figured I ought to read something upbeat between the biography of
Hamilton I just finished and the biography of Stonewall Jackson I picked up when we stopped at Chancellorsville the other day. Despite being a book
about stand-up it was a rather somber tome though.
Tomorrow will be our last day of vacation . . .
20 March 2008
Today we are taking a respite from hectic pursuits which have hitherto marked this vacation. We are at Geege's and the kids are enjoying running
around the yard with sticks in hand while I took the time to finish reading Ron Chernow's excellent biography of
Alexander Hamilton. We got here late yester evening and stayed up talking to Geege - catching
up since the last time we visited nearly two years ago. Geege is as jovial a host as ever despite the recent loss of her dog.
Geege
Yesterday we spent the day playing with Amy. First she treated Cara, Alora and Brittan to one of her Yoga lessons in which the girls learned many
stretch positions named for animals they resembled. Thereafter we had a breakfast of pancakes before setting out to
Blackwater Wildlife Refuge
to do a bit of birding. We saw a great variety of birds, including the famed bald eagles, as well as turtles and squirrels but alas no
muskrats or nutrias.
Birding at Blackwater.
19 March 2008
Today we live in a world without Arthur C. Clarke, whose books were the dominate works of fiction I read during my childhood. Unlike many authors,
Clarke always adhered to things that were physically possible with unbounded imagination. I'll never forget when the Galileo probe flew past
Jupiter's moon Europa just a few years ago and discovered magnetic fields indicative of an ocean under its icy surface, predicted by Clarke back
in the 1960's.
Throwing the ball for Java near the Choptank.
18 March 2008
Cambridge, MD - This morning we said goodbye to Uncle Alan, heading into Maryland and across the Chesapeake to visit Amy & Kirk. I surely don't
miss traffic. We waited about 30 minutes to cross the Bay Bridge. Being a land person I've always thought that the Eastern Shore was a weird name
for the western side of the Delmarva Peninsula. Standing
on the deck of a ship in the middle of the Chesapeake I can see how one would see the water ending to the east and the name comes naturally . . .
but I tend to see the ending of the land. Kirk & Amy have restored a lovely old house in view of the Choptank River. Having seen pictures of what
a rundown place it was before they got ahold of it I am amazed at the beautiful building it has become, including many reproduced period details
on the interior.
17 March 2008
After a fun morning at Lake Anna we headed out on the road again toward Maryland. We stopped in Fredericksburg for lunch at a place
appropriately called The Blarney Stone. We managed to sit in the snug next to an employee of Guiness's local distributor as well as his Irish
friend. Corned beef and cabbage behind us (but not in my belly) we headed toward Uncle Alan's place in Burke, VA. There we found the
convivial bachelor well-prepared for our visit. We enjoyed a lovely pasta dinner over a bottle of Virginia Cabernet Franc. Then the kids headed
down to the hot tub...
Cara, Zara, Emma, Brittan, Papa
Molly, Brad, Alora, Maxwell
Getting silly in Uncle Alan's hot tub.
Zara, Brad, Cara, Alan
(Believe it or not, Maxwell took this picture as well as the one of me reading at the top of this page. He's becoming quite the artiste!)
16 March 2008
We spent today hangin out with Papa and Emma at their house, the log cabin they run their businesses out of, and a rental house they're
renovating. It was an interesting day, but the kids got a little bored so in the afternoon we visited Lake Anna State Park.
15 March 2008 - Monticello
We headed out from Waynesboro this morning to taste the wines of Virginia. Our morning did not start off auspiciously as the first winery we went
to actually opened at 11 AM rather than 9 AM as advertised on the Monticello Wine Trail website. Leaving
King Family Vineyards we encountered one of the owners, Ellen King. Sitting on the board of said wine trail she was
dismayed that we'd been led astray and offered to let us taste anyway. Which was good, because this was probably the best winery we'd visit all
day. We talked to Ellen about the everything from the best grapes to grow in this part of Virginia
(Cabernet Franc and
Viognier) to the infant
wine industry in China (there's a good reason they don't bother exporting it). After that we went on to
Afton Mountain Vineyards, which was less than spectacular but opened at 10 AM. Most other wineries didn't open until
11AM.
Veritas Winery was our next stop of distinction, producing a number of well-done reds. They also operate as an event
center, which allowed for some lovely photographs by Alora and Brittan for their 4-H photography project. (The picture above is one of Brittan's,
not one of mine.) Next it was
Cardinal Point Winery, with mixed results, and
Sugerleaf Vineyards, which produces some good wines although the small production leads them to be a bit overpriced.
For lunch we stopped at the exceedingly beautiful
Kluge Winery which Ellen King had recommended as a good place to eat. It was. Not cheap though. Kluge produces mainly
sparkling wines, which are the equal of some from France and California in every attribute except price. Close to Charlottesville, they're
aiming at a more high-end clientele. As we left a group of college girls arrived for the start of a bachelorette party. Not to be beaten, our
next stop at
Jefferson Vineyards featured college kids passed out on the lawn. Being located in the same spot where Thomas Jefferson
once tried to grow wine, they have been somewhat more successful. The $5 tasting fee seems to have kept anyone from passing out in the tasting
room, too.
Barboursville Vineyards, who seem to be the only Italians around, was our last stop and probably run the largest show. It
was difficult to get up to the tasting counter through the throng. Apparently the glass provided with my $4 tasting fee is good for life though.
I'll definitely be back as their selection of reds was really quite good ... but I must hold my judgment here suspect as it was the last winery
we visited.
Tonight we're spending the night at Papa and Grandma Emma's. Right now Papa is teaching Zara to walk her fingers across the organ keys.
14 March 2008
Waynesboro, VA - Today is our first day of Spring Break! We're going up to Maryland to visit all our relatives there as well as those here in
Virginia. Tomorrow, though, is my day to winetaste in the
Monticello AVA in the hills near Thomas
Jefferson's former residence. We left K-Town after the girls got home and spent the afternoon driving up here. Now it's about 10 o'clock and
we're tucking the kids into their hotel beds ... er, bed that is:
14 March 2008 - Happy Pi Day!
One of these days I'm going to get around to posting a complete list of all the books I've read since I was 16. Yes, I know only a dork would
compile a chronological list of books he's read from his journals. Until then you'll just have to read
my critique of Grover Norquist's latest polemic.
12 March 2008 - Knoxville Zoo
Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh my! Okay, so the tigers were hiding inside away from the cold and we didn't get a chance to see the bears, but
Zara really enjoying watching the lions. None of us has been to a zoo since we were in San Diego over
a year ago. Needless to say today was a new and exciting experience for Zara. Her eyes got wide as saucers when she spotted the first animal,
an elephant. And, since everyone else was at school, we went at a leisurely
pace and saw less than half of the animals there. Zara's favorite by far were the zebras. She watched one eat for a while, then we went to look
at the giraffes. Then she watched another zebra stand and sun itself for awhile. Next we headed off to see some other animals (like the lions, which
Zara was very glad were in a cage). Zara enjoyed seeing the different kinds of monkeys too, but she was happy to get back to the zebras. In our
absence one had pooped near the edge of the enclosure. When Zara learned that these magical zebras pooped just like she did, she couldn't help but
proclaim it to all passing by. Of course, the only other people at the zoo on a morning during the school year are other little children and their
parents, so this information was well-received. On the way to pickup Maxwell Zara fell asleep in the car. Maybe next time we'll have enough energy
to see the tigers and bears too!
9 March 2008
I know many of you live in states where you can freely order wine to be shipped directly to your house, circumventing the US's 3-tier system of
producers, wholesalers and retailers. Tennessee, however, is not such a state. Yet. There are currently a pair of bills making their way
through the Tennessee House and Senate which would allow consumers to deal directly with producers, avoiding the markups and product choices of wholesalers and
retailers. This would be a boon to consumers like myself as well as Tennessee wineries, which are currently excluded from the internet market
and wine club sales. So I wrote a letter to my state senator and representative. I am not optimistic
about their support though, because I discussed the issue at length with Rep. Bill Dunn this past summer at the Karns Fair. He was under the sway of
the wholesalers who spend lavish amounts on "public service" messages which claim that the 3-tier system protects children rather than protecting
the monopoly of the wholesalers. Nevertheless, since the Knoxville News Sentinel published a front page story yesterday detailing the wholesaler's
role in foisting this "protect the children" argument upon the public I don't know that Rep. Dunn will continue to hide behind it.
8 March 2008
Today was a beautifully snowy day, from little snow (like Zara!) in the morning to big clumps in the morning and flurries still continuing as I
write this afternoon. Unfortunately, it rained quite a bit last night so little of the snow has stuck. Thus it was a perfect day to run my first
race of the spring, the Adam Downen Race. Having not trained much over the winter, I ran it in 35:07 and my feet are a little sore this afternoon.
The kids enjoyed playing on the playground in the snow while I ran.
5 March 2008 - Boosterthon
Today is the kid's Boosterthon where they run laps to raise money for their school. Thanks to everybody who donated! Today is also bone-chillingly
cold after we've been enjoying temperatures in the seventies for the past few days. Zara got all wrapped up in a blanket to watch her siblings run.