It's been a busy few months, and we've been lucky to spend some quality time with family and friends. Back in July, to celebrate Independence Day, Z, Em and I headed out of town and caught up with Joe and Rebecca Guinn in Foley, with a couple of nice beach excursions to Gulf Shores. Thankfully, the beach looks great, no BP oil to be found there. In the water there were swarms of small jelly fish though, so had to keep your wits about you in the surf, at the risk of stings and welts. Z avoided them all, and had a great time cooling off in the Gulf, an activity we all really missed last year.
Then, in the middle of July, we made the loooong trip up to Kentucky, and spent about a week
with Anne and Jack Montgomery (known to Z as Omi and Gramps). It was a whirlwind visit, marked by Zoe's first camp out, held at General Burnside Island State Park. Jack had the campsite completely decked out, with a hammock, plenty of chairs, the grill, and a TEN PERSON COLEMAN TENT. It was ginormous.
Except for the rude awakening by marauding racoons (who got into the food bin, then the garbage at about 3am), it was a nice intro to camping for Z. We then headed out onto Lake Cumberland in a pontoon, for a fantastic, restful afternoon on the water, under Captain Jack's piloting.
The trip continued with an afternoon with Uncle Nick, some swimming at the City of Somerset's family center (Z jumped off the diving board on her own, no floaties), a couple of movies (Pooh for Z and Anne, Harry Potter for Em and I), and a really nice little music festival (thanks for that tip Anne, I NEVER would have guessed Somerset was hiding the gem that is the Master Musicians Festival. Z and Anne hung out for a couple acts (including up and coming David Mayfield Parade), then as darkness set, left Em and I to enjoy Chris Knight and Treme's own Steve Earle (of "Copperhead Road" fame).
It was a fantastic couple of weeks, and check out the album on Snapfish for the images.
The end of July found me in the Northwest, to take part in the ceremonial, middle-age commencement ceremony known as my 20th high school reunion. Great to catch up with folks, see how folks have aged, and see a little bit of the wisdom we've accumulated. I organized a tour of the 'new' Mount Rainier HS, which was rebuilt in 2007 due to an $80 million bond from the local voters. Beautiful facility.
I added a couple more stops to the trip, and caught up with pals Cedric Cole and Dan Obermiller over a bleak Mariner's game. I think the Mount Rainier Rams could give them a run for their money (though another beautiful facility). Got to see Jason Rauch and his tribe for a minute on their way to some family time on the Washington Coast. The highlight was a gorgeous hike to Buckhorn Mountain on the Olympic Peninsula with Dan and my Uncle Dave. Wow. Had amazing weather. A couple days after the 12 mile hike, I'm still sore. But it was absolutely worth it. More photos from the Seattle trip here.
We're all planning on a trip to the Northwest soon, as due to Em's work, and my dear Grandmother's passing, I've been to Seattle three times in the past few months without my wife and daughter, so I've pretty much worn out my welcome unless I bring the cute and amazing Z and equally amazing Em.
Just in: Zola Grace Viles just read her first book!!! It's called 'Cat' and there's not a lot of plot or character development, but Z's ability to read "cat can tap pots" was pretty impressive to me!
So that's the update!
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