Hi again. We spent a WONDERFUL week at Julie's. We rested, read, went to downtown Richmond and walked along the river - huge boulders and some small rapids. A teacher and his student were kayaking through them - that was interesting. And one nut who went through on his intertube. We were surprised he didn't break something. It was a really beautiful area and you reach it by walking on a bridge suspended underneath the car bridges. I have never seen anything like that. We also went to Williamsburg where we saw a blacksmith, a gunsmith, a brick maker, and watched the 'regiment' fire a cannon and their muskets. The pipe and drum corp were really great. I had never heard anyone play more than one song on the pipe. They were quite good. Some people actually live down in that area where all the touristy stuff goes on. That would be an interesting neighborhood to live in. We left the historic area and drove past William & Mary (yes - we had visited their bookstore also since they are next door to the historic area. Dylan may remember this as the vacation of collegiate bookstores :) and found a great little mexican place. Brad, Dylan, and I have been wary of mexican places since we have left the south but Julie & Austin had eaten here before. It was really great. They had a huge assortment of hot sauces to try. Austin and Jacob tried one that brought tears to their eyes for quite a while.
The next day we went to a great park called King's Dominion. It is an amusement park and a water park all in one. We all rode "the Italian Job" which puts you in cars that looked like mini-coopers. It was very fast and a lot of fun. There was a really unique water ride also. You ride down a short water slide in an big raft of 3 or 4 people and it drops you in this huge funnel that is sitting on its side. The drop and slide down one side of the funnel is enough that it drives you up past the 1/2 way mark on the opposite side of the funnel. It was scary and fun. The wave pool made huge waves so it was fun too. There were several great rollercoasters that Jake rode (the rest of us kept to tamer stuff). It was a great day and we closed the park down.
We rested some and played with Oliver (Julie's dog) a lot. He loves socks and loves the boys so in the morning when you let him in where the boys were sleeping, he would run in, lick the boys, steal a sock and run out. I think hoping they would chase him. Ha Ha! They were sleeping! They would just rolll over and keep sleeping.
Julie, Jake, & Austin went to Kitty Hawk with us. It was HOT but we climbed the hill where the Wright brothers tested their glider and there they got the controls right for flying and then walked down to the flat ground where they first flew an airplane by engine a year or two later. It was very interesting but we were ready to get out of the heat and on the beach. The water around Nags Head, North Carolina is freezing cold!! Austin and Dylan rode boogie boards and Jake rode his skim board. Austin and Dylan tried skim boarding but it is tough to get started. We grownups mostly sat in the sun with our feet in the cold water and enjoyed watching. Brad boogie boarded some.
We had planned to spend some time on the outer banks, visiting lighthouses, etc. and driving down the coast bit by bit. We have decided however, that the most tiring thing about this vacation is staying in a different place every night. So -- we skipped the outer banks and drove all the way to Charlotte and will stay here for at least three nights. Our last 10 days will be less about the sightseeing and more about the vacation part. :) Dylan is still sleeping for instance. When asked if he was awake, he replied "No". Do you want breakfast? "No" (short silence) "No. No. No. No. No." He rolls over, pulling covers over head. The teenager has spoken. :)
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