Beach Vacay...Downtown Wilmington

I'm still blogging about our North Carolina trip. I...can't...stop. We spent some time, two different days, in the downtown historic district. It's definitely a great place to visit.

my dad

I always love taking trolley/boat/bus tours because it's such a relaxing and cool (temperature-wise) way to see more city and learn fun little facts.
The boys, especially, really enjoyed the narrated trolley tour ride.
I was so disappointed that Sissy had much whinier moments than normal this week. I'm sure it had to do with her naptimes, etc. being a little off.

The Cotton Exchange, a really cute shopping area...and that's Dash there, to the right

Isn't downtown Wilmington lovely? Cary and Winnie are posing in front of a Dawson's Creek "point of interest" (incidentally, also the Matlock courthouse to the left). The riverfront area is really pretty. We ate outside at a water front restaurant one day.
Clothes Over Bros (formerly Karen's Cafe), significant only to my fellow OTH fans

taking a break for smoothies...these pictures are in very random order

One day we took a narrated boat ride on the Cape Fear River.

Sissy, playing with Uncle Andy

fun little boat ride

the U.S.S North Carolina, which is across from the riverfront area (didn't get to take the boys on it, like I wanted to...will next time...ran out of time to do a lot of things I wanted to do, but that's probably because I always try to cram too many things in)...just to the left of this is the "River Court (another OTH reference)"

Beach Vacay...One Tree Hill

Wilmington, NC happens to be the home of the largest movie and television production facility east of Los Angeles. Over 300 films such as Firestarter, The Secret Life of Bees, Nights in Rodanthe, Weekend at Bernie's, A Walk to Remember, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Empire Records, and 28 Days, etc. have been filmed here. Cary and I took the studio tour, which included a little video about the history of the studio and the different films and shows that were made here.

This is also where Dawson's Creek (yes, I watched that) was filmed, which is very obvious as you are spending time in downtown Wilmington. Currently, the CW network's One Tree Hill (yes, I also watch that. no, it isn't about high schoolers anymore; they're now professionals in their 20's so it's fine that I watch it :)...) is also filmed here. The sets we visited on the tour were all from OTH - Lucas's house, Peyton's recording studio, Brooke's house, etc...which means nothing to you if you don't watch the show. The tour, which included "inside" trivia, wouldn't be too exciting for someone who doesn't watch One Tree Hill (which I have for 6 seasons so it was pretty fun for me).

Then one day, just down from our condo, they were filming a scene from OTH on Causeway Drive Bridge. Curiously, I went to check it out. I couldn't tell for sure, at first, who was who from far away so a paparazzi guy let me look through his big lens, then I could tell that it was Robert Buckley, (who is new to the show, but he was also on Lipstick Jungle...which I also watched...wow, it sounds like I watch a lot of television, but I actually really don't - I'm pretty picky about what types of shows I like) standing on the edge. Anyway...
When I walked across the bridge, I also spotted James Lafferty, who plays Nathan Scott on the show. He was directing the scene. Don't worry; I played it cool. ha.

A news reporter asked me if she could interview me regarding my thoughts on watching the scene being filmed. I thought about it for a second...she even gave me ideas about what to say, but I chickened about. I'm self-conscious like that.

Those of you who read about my New York trip probably think I stalk celebrities on all my vacations. But honestly, it was just a coincidence we happened to vacation in another spot with actors milling around. Here's Robert Buckley again...you know, just walkin' right by me; he looks a little stressed here but not because I'm so close taking his picture. :) He actually was smiling as he passed. He was drying off because the pair had to jump off the bridge into the Banks Channel, for the scene. I heard him talking about how fun it was.

Trip adventures to be continued...

Beach Vacay...the pool

We don't get to swim in pools very often. We aren't members anywhere, we don't have any friends with pools, and we don't have a local public pool. We usually go swimming in creeks and rivers, and the kids usually don't go into the water too deep alone. The boys have taken swimming lessons the past two years, but neither of them can swim on their own. But I feel like a switch was flipped this week. They really gained a lot of confidence in the water. I think it was because of the life jackets (and having a full week to devote, of course). Wearing them allowed them to move around freely (and was much less stressful on our end), and then after awhile, they seemed more confident whether they had on the jackets or not. Here they are, all doing a great job trying to take care of their little cousin Winnie. They thought they all had to hold onto her ring. And she, as usual, is doing her best to keep up with the big kids. Thanks for letting us borrow your boat, Matt and Michele; it was so much fun.

Dash really impressed me this week. For someone who usually clings to an adult in the pool, he was jumping off the side into the water and letting people throw him up in the air to land in the water. He even did flips underwater. Tornado wasn't to that point, but he did work really hard trying to paddle and kick. There was a lot of, "I'm doing it! I'm swimming!" and "Look, Googie!"

Dribble Castles

I felt like the Dribble Castle deserved its own post. Andy taught us how to make them, and I became obsessed one day making this. Soon others joined in because it is so addicting.

We use and make a lot of substances around here - clay, play dough, oobleck, gak, moon sand, whatever...nothing compares to dribble sand, though. I'm telling you: it's the coolest substance I've ever played with. I've been to the beach dozens of times. How did I ever make it 34 years without knowing about this phenomenon?

It feels like magic watching it form. Just get a handful of really soupy wet sand in your fist or fingers and let it drip down...if you let a portion dry, you can add on to make your column really tall. And it's even more challenging to build arches. Fascinating stuff, huh? I just, out of curiosity, googled "dribble castle" and found a youtube video on how to make a dribble castle. I'm already making plans for next year's dribble castle...

Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

She wore an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow polka-dot bikini...
You KNOW I bought it JUST so I could write that.

Beach Vacay Part 2...the beach!

Like I said, our Wrightsville Beach week was fabulous. It had been five years since we'd had a beach trip with my family (and we used to go every year). This was the best kind of trip for our kids. They were the perfect ages to get the most out of it. Of course, sand and water are universal favorites of children - even if just in a sandbox or bathtub...so when you have THIS amount of sand and water, of course it's going to be a perfect trip for them. That's the condo we stayed in - the tan one on the left.

There was plenty of running in the wide-open spaces

(especially for our Baywatch dude, Dash...

...which would ultimately wear him out each day),

lounging,

feeding the birds,
body surfing and boogie boarding (here: Dash and Ryan...and the 3 men always went out in the ocean much further than I was comfortable with...I was so nervous about it - but they had fun...the water was really nice and clear),

picking up seashells (it's funny how you never outgrow this),

warming up peacefully on the overcast, sleepy days,

kite flying,

playing in the sand and building castles,

metal detecting,

boat riding (So fun! I was screaming it was so scary/fun.),

and burying people in the sand...

...it never got old.

Weren't Papaw and Uncle Andy such good sports?

To be continued...

Beach Vacay Part 1...Atlanta

Our family has returned from a fabulous week in North Carolina. The five of us met up with my parents and my sister and brother-in-law plus their two kids and stayed in a condo on Wrightsville Beach. Since, for some reason, it's about impossible for me to summarize (although my sister did a great job of doing that on her blog if you want to take a look), I'm going to have to break it down...We drove as far as Birmingham the first night, which was a real accomplishment since we didn't leave town until after 7. The next morning, we stopped in Atlanta. We ate lunch at Cafe Sunflower, a great-looking place. When we walked in, we were a little like - oh, no - are we dressed nice enough? are our kids going to behave? (Ryan always worries about those things more than I do, though.) We ordered a bunch of food and all kind of shared it, which is always my favorite thing to do. This was the tofu and seaweed appetizer. The seaweed tasted like pasta; it was pretty plain but good!The only reason I wouldn't give this restaurant perfect marks is I didn't feel totally confident when the waiter would tell me if something was vegan or not. I always feel a bit nervous when they hedge a little. (And I'm not a fan of menus that aren't clearly marked.) I questioned him further about the fried green tomatoes after he told me they use no eggs, and he went back to check; indeed there was eggs in the batter. This spinach artichoke dip was labeled vegan, though, so I was able to enjoy it wholeheartedly (and isn't it so pretty, too?). When the waiter started to take away the plate with a few olives left, I said, "Oh, wait! They wanted those," and I plucked them right off the plate. And when I said "they," I really meant "I."

Dash picked the soy nuggets. This was one of things I felt skeptical about whether they were vegan or just vegetarian. If there is any question in my mind, I won't be able to enjoy something.

I wish you could have seen Tornado's face light up when they set this plate in front of him. He was very sure he wanted to order the orzo eggplant lasagna (he always wants eggplant anything). It was probably one of the "prettiest" (and largest) meals he's ever had at a restaurant (the lasagna had no noodles; it was layers of vegetables), and he was so excited. I helped him eat some of it, but he did really well putting it down. He kept holding his stomach and uncomfortably moaning, and I reminded him to stop eating if he was full. But he did NOT want to leave any of this delectable dish.

Ryan ordered the BBQ seitan sandwich, green bean fries, and gazpacho. Sissy got the kids' pasta with broccoli.

We got a little carried away when ordering desserts, especially since they were $6 apiece. (Ryan and I were reminded how much it costs to feed the whole family at a restaurant like this - when we'd rather the kids order the healthier entrees than the so-so kids' meals and desserts are a must.) We should have just ordered 3 pieces because we were struggling at the end. Poor little skinny Tornado loved that strawberry shortcake so much (it WAS delish) he gave it all he had. My favorite was the key-lime pie. When we were finishing up, a man who had been sitting with other people nearby came up to our table and complimented us on how well-behaved our children were. Ryan and I felt so proud. That hasn't happened too often!! :)

We spent a lot of time at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. We all really enjoyed it and got a lot out of the experience (wish we would have had time for the Imax shows). Ryan and Dash were the biggest fans, though. They would have stayed all day, I'm sure. Ryan used to have a really cool saltwater tank (and, truth be told, would love to have one again). Dash was super cute - he kept trying to run ahead, and then he'd come back to us and proclaim (these exact words), "Look, Daddy! I'm going to show you the most amazing thing ever!" and "Look! You can't believe this!" It really was spectacular, and the pictures do not do it justice.

Tornado, looking at the Beluga Whales

So...I definitely have mixed feelings about the whole "aquarium" thing - much like how I feel about zoos. On one hand, most - if not all - of the exhibits look very well done. I think a sea animal might kind of LIKE living there...maybe I'd rather be a whale shark in the Georgia Aquarium than be one vulnerable to overfishing and exploitation in certain parts of the world. They're safe in one way (although I know a lot of creatures die in captivity for other reasons, like chemicals in the water or stress...sigh) and cared for and have a lot of room to swim (but obviously nothing like they're used to - I read this example: it's like having your whole house in which to live, then suddenly having to spend all of your time in your bedroom).

amazing, right?

This is the world's largest aquarium, and there has clearly been a lot of money invested. I know the people involved clearly know and understand the situations better than I do, and I am sure that in a place like this, every attempt is made to be the most ethical and humane possible. I'd probably feel okay about aquariums...but then I saw their video that showed how they flew a whale shark from Taiwan to the aquarium...and it makes me feel pretty sad about the whole thing. (However, the aquarium's first four whale sharks were purchased/saved from being used for human consumption in Taiwan. And I think two of the original beluga whales were rescued from a amusement park in Mexico.) I wish, at this point, they could only use captive-bred sea life, instead of continuing to hunt/obtain them from their natural habitats (don't even get me started about dolphins who live together in groups in the wild - capturing one disrupts the entire family)...but I know there are definitely factors with that (Ryan said not all fish can reproduce in a tank because of issues with filters/size/space, etc. Man only knows a fraction of the details of an ocean ecosystem. God is great, eh?), as well, and I generally look at things with (too) idealistic eyes. And if you are grimacing thinking, WHAT is she even talking about?...I know...just a little glimpse into the brain of Jenny....please don't get annoyed about how I feel regarding food and animals, etc., especially if you got on here to just look at cute pictures of my kids (hi, Mom!). I can't help from thinking, considering, and worrying about these kinds of things...it's how I've always been. Another positive side note, though...(here is Dash, getting to pet the horseshoe crabs; there were a few different interactive spots, including little sharks and sting rays to pet) I'm grateful that we (the world) are becoming more and more educated about animals and protecting them, etc. I know that the Georgia Aquarium does a lot with rescuing and rehabilitating marine life, and a lot of their animals were rescued or born there (thought obviously many were bought or captured). Relating it back to Dash...We always assumed that Dash was going to be our "kill bugs! yum - where's the meat?" kid because he is so stubborn and just...such a boy. And there is really no way to be sure what decisions he will make for himself one day (which I will support regardless), but he has really surprised us. He loves animals and insects of all kinds. He catches flies on the window and carries them outside. He says he wants to be a marine biologist, zookeeper, or animal doctor one day. And he got mad at Googie the other day for not telling him that the cookies he ate had "rotten eggs" in them. (For the record, I have never referred to eggs as rotten, whether I've thought it in my head or not.) I know that having the opportunity to become face to face with these creatures only fuels his love for them. Places like this, right or wrong, generally cause more people to become aware of the problems contributing to threatened or endangered animals. I hope that with every step, the methods and means will vastly improve...I sure said a lot to say "I have mixed feelings about the whole aquarium thing," and if we're in error, we'd like to err on the side of ensuring our kids have compassion for all of God's creatures.

outside the aquarium, by Centennial Park...this is a really nice little area, with other attractions in the vicinity...we enjoyed our little stop-off, but then we got back in the car for the rest of our drive to the East Coast.

The next morning, these two were the first to wake up (Sissy still had sleepy/cranky eyes.), and they were very anxious for their first glimpse of the beach (since it was dark/bedtime when we arrived). Although Dash was at the beach in California when he was about 20 months old, this was really the first beach trip for either of them, and needless to say, they were READY! For the past month, at random times throughout the day, one of them would say, "I'm so excited about the beach!" or "Wanna go beach (that one was Sissy, of course)." To be continued...