Local Wind Damage

We were relaxing in the local non-Starbucks coffee shop early this afternoon after a walk around town on this windy day, when a fire truck and a couple police cars went by and stopped just on the next block. We didn't see any smoke and just assumed someone had a kitchen fire or smelled gas or something. After we finished our coffee we went out to discover what the fuss was about.

The roof of one of the buildings had half blown off, and there were broken bricks on the ground. The police were blocking off access with tape when we arrived. I got some pictures. This was the best view of the roof damage. It was blowing up from time to time. I tried to get video, but never got it more than just sitting there wobbling a bit.

The building is, perhaps ironically, the Cafe New Orleans. I suppose it might end up with a blue tarp roof until repairs can be made. I asked a policeman what was upstairs, since sometimes people live above the businesses. He said it was a club. Another officer quipped that it was a sun room now.

A Belated Dad Update

We went to visit my brother and his family in Tennessee the weekend before Halloween. We usually visit earlier for our nephew's birthday party, but since My father couldn't make the trip we decided to wait until my parents' next visit. They're there this week. My father is looking better than we had anticipated, and is getting around pretty well. He used to look a bit like Justin Wilson, but he's leaning a bit more towards Larry King now.

Anyway, we all went to the zoo for a Halloween event they have for the kids. Basically they decorate the zoo and have a path you walk along and get a bit of candy and cheap toys at several stations along the way. My dad had to sit down a couple times along they way, but he got through pretty well. (He was a bit tired the next day.) It was fun, though a lot of the animals were tucked away for the event, lest the costumed crowds upset them. I got a few pictures and will be posting some to Flickr soon, possibly tonight.

So what did you do for Halloween?

A Day At The Pool

It's pretty hot today so we headed over to my in-laws' house for a swim in their pool. It's our first time since summer before last since we were so short-handed at Secret Headquarters last year. Maybe it's lie stuff, but I especially enjoy skimming along the bottom in goggles and flippers. It's like flying. I'm feeling pleasantly fatigued.

Forgot something...

I forgot we went on the Curse of DarKastle ride. Here's a video someone took of it. You wear 3-D glasses during the ride, so you'll notice lots of double images.

Last Weekend - Finally

I just realized I said I'd blog about what we did last weekend, but never did. I'm a bit restless in anticipation of tomorrow (see previous entry) so I guess I'll work a bit of that off by writing this entry.

It started off with an invitation to a birthday party for a cousin of my wife's who she hasn't seen for years. Turns out it was sent at the instigation of another cousin we saw at my wife's grandmother's recent funeral. It was to be in relatively unfamiliar territory for us, a couple hours' drive away in Williamsburg, and with mostly strangers attending, so at the last minute, in the hotel suite we shared with my in-laws, we decided to blow it off.

Instead of going to the party, we drove down the street to a K-Mart and bought swim suits, then hit the indoor pool at the hotel. It was nice, about 80 degrees, but a bit salty. I think maybe it was desalinated sea water, but maybe it was some weird chemical they were using. Who knows? We had fun, swimming back and forth (for the first time in a couple years) and playing around. Afterward we went out to eat, ending up at Chili's. On the way out there was a fife & drum playing next door.

Apparently, Jamestown was having its 400th anniversary, and Bush was there exploring his future career options. There were lots of people in town, taking shuttle buses to Jamestown for the celebrations.

While driving around deciding where to eat, we spotted some horses in a field surrounded by a split rail fence. We parked and walked across the street, hoping to put them a bit, but the wandered off to graze. One apparently had an itchy belly. He tried to scratch with his foot but couldn't reach, so he lowered himself to the ground and wriggled around. It was weird.

The next day we were trying to figure out what to do with our Sunday. We hadn't really found anything compelling in the brochures in the lobby. My sisters in law and their kids planned to go to Busch Gardens. My in-laws mentioned that they have a deal for residents where we can get a season pass for the price of a one-day ticket, so we figured what the heck, there's nothing to lose. We went and had fun.

We pretty much followed the same path through the park we followed last July, entering through the England area, then heading over to Italy. My wife insisted on riding the Escape From Pompei ride, getting herself splashed while I took her picture from a covered observation area. Then she rode some other rides. I didn't ride much since my back was twinging me a bit and I wanted to wait until it warmed up some. Did I mention it was sixty degrees when we arrived?

We rode the teacups, or Turkish Delight as it's called there, and hopped the train to the Canada area (or New France as they call it.) We could smell the smoked meat as we got off. Then we could smell the smoke from the designated smoking area and all the designated smokers who were there. We had arrived at the park around 11 AM, so we headed over to the German area and the Octoberfest food pavilion. We got in the cafeteria-style line and got fries, cake, drinks, and some institutional-grade pizzas. Yum! The carrot cake was pretty good. Lots of raisins, though I think it would have been better with a few less. There were German-style dancers and a band there entertaining the crowd and getting everyone to yell out "oi! oi! oi!" Her family showed up there and we talked and ate as families do, and the five-year-old refused to eat as five-year-olds do.

We headed out and took a spin on the bumper cars. I bumped my wife pretty good a few times, and she gave as good as she got. It was fun. The back of my head was hurting from smiling the whole time. After that we rode the Katapult (or Scrambler as the painted-over plate on the center structure read.) Man, that thing really whips you around. It felt like we were about to be flung across the park every time we went around. It was great. If it wasn't such a line I would have liked to go on it again. The bumper cars too.

After that we had about an hour or so before the time we wanted to head out so we'd get home right around sunset. We thought about taking a round trip on the skycars, but we asked and found out we would have to get out and get back in line at each of the other two stations. We skipped that, vowing to ride them next time, and headed toward the park entrance. When we got there it was near time for the Pirates 4-D show to begin, so we headed in.

The seats were wet, so we knew we were in for a little splashing. We picked a pair of dry seats and waited. I marveled at with the 3-D glasses on my hand looked like it was coming right at me. My wife didn't find it quite so marvelous, so I stopped. The show started. It starred Leslie Nielson and Eric Idle (who wrote it) and was obviously made with the kids in mind. The 3-D was decent, and the additional effects - spraying water, blowing air, buzzing seats, added a lot of fun to it. It was actually enjoyable having Leslie Nielson spit water on us.

After the show it was time to go, and we headed out right on schedule. There was a bit of traffic on the way home, but ultimately it only took a half hour extra.

I'm not sure when we're going to go again, but I am looking forward to it. My wife is going to be really stressed in the coming month, and more if we have to try the IVF more than once, so a little fun escape at the right time will be just the ticket.

The picture above is the Griffin, Busch Garden's latest roller coaster, as seen from the train. It was open for a one-day sneak preview opening on Mother's Day. Top center you can see the sigle car, three rows of ten seats each, I believe, poised at the top of the big drop 250 feet up. We watched it a few times from various vantage points. The car stops, hanging over the edge for a few seconds, building the suspense for the riders. The it drops plunging straight down for a portion of the drop, as you can see by the track. We did not go on that ride, though I believe one of my sisters in law did. She's a friggin nut.

A Walk With My Wife - And Who We Met

As part of our attempt to get in better shape leading up to our attempt(s) at parenthood, we've taken to taking walks, ostensibly every day. This weekend the weather forced us into the mall on one day. As soon as we had entered, we were flagged down by my mother in law who was there at the Chick-fil-a with my sister in law. We sat down with them to say hi, and then, at my wife's request, I went and got the two of us some pizza from Sbarro. I also got me a mint cookies & cream shake from Chick-fil-a. (I'm so weak. Gotta be stronger than that. :P ) After lunch and a conversation that largely revolved around the Akon/Snoop Dogg song "I wanna ---- you", we went our separate ways and continued our walk, with a little store browsing along the way. (Didn't buy anything.)

The other two days we were able to do our walking around a 3/4 mile dirt track at the local university's athletic field. At the end of our lap today, we spotted a baby bird on the track. As we approached, it took off and flew slowly a short distance and landed on one of the railroad ties lining the track. After imitating its calls (and those of the birds in the tree above) for a little bit, I approached slowly and poured a little bit of water on the end of the tie, making a small puddle a few inches across. The baby bird hopped hesitantly toward the water, but when it got within a few inches of it I guess it decided drinking in with people so near wasn't something it was comfortable with, and it flew up into the tree. We smiled and hugged a little and went on our way.