Thursday, October 8, 2009

Survivor: Nags Head

It came so slow and has gone by so quickly, but it definitely happened - Beach Week 2009. As Leah had been appropriately trained to say, Beach Week was "legendary." I'd been aching for this one way more than last year for various reasons. First, prior to driving down to NC, my most recent trip and break from was was to TX for a funeral. That doesn't count as a break at all. Also, work has been pretty stressful over the last few quarters. I needed this one. I needed it BAD!

That being said, this legendary entry will sum up our legendary trip in the same fashion as last year's. No real plot or sequence of events, but rather a shot-gunning of random happenings, observations and maybe a gripe or two. But rest assured: we still came out in the positive this year, and I'm so happy we went. Game on!

-You can chalk it up to whatever excuse you like, but I was first to the house. Yelling "FIRST!" kinda solidified that.
-I DID NOT LOCK MYSELF OUT ON THE BALCONY THIS YEAR! (I know you all wondered/hoped...)
-Eating lunch at Pierce's Pitt BBQ (in Jamestown, VA) does not suck at all. It sucks so little, I made sure to do it on the way back.
-I'm still awful at shooting pool, but I've gotten slightly more tactical about my approach. I found it also takes me about 30 games to finish a round without scratching once.
-Lars' head and the glass-topped tables did battle numerous times. I believe the tables dominated.
-Dad and I hit up the Wright Bros. Museum, listened to a story-telling and saw lots of killer historical spots.
-I found that you can still get blisters from walking on just sand. Seriously. I also thought my calves were gonna rupture for several days.
-Our new lottery system for assigning dinner duties worked very well. I see no reason to change that in years to come.
-If one person in the family gets sick, then we ALL get sick. Of course, some people gotta 1-up everyone with sinus infections and intestinal whammy (not naming names).
-Weather was amazing every day. Some humidity and clouds here and there, but c'mon. Also got footage of some SERIOUS lightning storm action.
-I believe it is worth $100 to run and jump in the ocean in the dark, windy night. Chris does not share that belief, though he was willing to ponder it for a while.
-I believe we made a record number of trips to Duneburger this year. I personally experimented with their shakes. Cherry: fantastic; butterscotch: pretty good; pineapple: meh.
-Sleeping in (past 8:30) was not an option.
-I love the movies Horton Hears a Who! and Finding Nemo... but after this trip, I need some time away from them. They'll understand.

INTERMISSION (Just linked the first thing YouTube gave me - go figure it's by the "My spoon is too big" guy... Honestly, it was either this or the Monty Python segment. I apologize.)

-Stack 'Em High now has pancakes with both chocolate chips and shredded coconut. "Dear Diary... JACKPOT!"
-Again, driving home was terrible. Just felt so much longer with nothing but a work week to look forward to. And I-64 jammed up like a mother.
-Some people don't yet grasp the internet. Some people sound a little like George W. Bush. Coincidence?
-I felt personally offended when I fell asleep to Family Guy, then woke up to Seinfeld.
-I managed to go the entire trip without shaving... kinda liberating.
-The ocean did not kick my ass this time around when I went boogie-boarding. I win.
-I don't EVER want to watch Dora or Diego again. Swear I got dumber...
-Some dogs are just too ugly to live. I learned that "brachycephalic" translates to either "Nature kicked your dog's face in" or "will likely die from breathing complications." No thanks.
-This book is farkin' amazing. I couldn't read anything else the whole time!
-Sometimes the hot tub isn't exactly hot, thus effectively making it a tepid tub. Temperature fail!
-There was something incredibly funny about getting my parents to drink shots.
-The Cheat is a super-finicky car passenger. He started fussing and grumbling at random nothings. He also doesn't like the roadside rumble strips.
-700+ miles and zero speeding tickets. Same as last year, but still worth noting.
-I may not be her all-time favorite, but I don't mind at all when Leah shares snuggles.
-We caught a couple more crabs that were "sleeping" at the bottom of the pool. Seeing Leah pick one up and pantomime with it = teh hilarious!
-Terry Anderson wins the first annual I Went to the Beach and All I Got was This Tan from the Computer award.

That's all for this year. Can't wait to do it again. People should be getting jealous enough to want to join in. Honestly, it wouldn't be such a bad thing if I had to make another trip before I went with the family. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Oh - and if I can trick my cameras into working/editing, pics and video will follow soon.

PS - I know I still need to post pics from Warped. They're coming.

1 comment:

csexton said...

While it might change depending on her mood, you should know there are times when you are the clear favorite in Leah's world.