Sunday, September 15th 2024 posted at 8:32 PM
Enjoying the cooler weather and smooth sailing with back to school things so far. Shea and I enjoyed seeing Megadeth last weekend. He fully embraced the pit mosh scene but not too crazy. I of course hung out on the side in the otherwise chill pit.
Sarah and I, along with some other couples, enjoyed a great Oktoberfest party in Durham. We try to do this each year and they do a great job. Sarah takes the extra step of getting flower crowns made for the ladies. Good times!
Looking forward to some NC mountains camping this weekend and hoping its not a complete rain out.
Monday, September 2nd 2024 posted at 3:02 PM
Back to school going well for both kids. Riley has been busy with pi beta phi activities prior to starting school last week and settled into her pretty sweet Tue-Thu class schedule. Shea was granted a parking pass in his H.S. parking permit lottery and is driving to school this year. He has started back at guitar lessons and has been practicing with a new band.
Sarah and I had a few dates out at concerts in the area over the past few weeks. Sarah and Shea traveled to NY then PA for some white water rafting with the NY buds. We had a quick visit with NY buds the Antonuccio's while moving in their son in at Duke.
We also hosted some family (Mo and Aunt Dori) for a long weekend visiting during a delightful patch of cooler weather.
Lastly, Shea's group performed a two song set at a open mic even at a local brewery this past Sunday. A well shot video of their first cover courtesy of the bassists mom.
Saturday, August 3rd 2024 posted at 11:16 AM
Hot hot hot. Dreaming of fall weather and successful rising juniors (Riley and Shea).
Just a few pics. Some concerts and some biking. We went to our local theater to see Twisters which was just fine. The theater has the 4dx seats which is something NetFlix can't replicate at home but just a fun gimmick.
Riley has been traveling a bit in-between working, visiting fam in Pgh and a girls trip to Puerto Rico.
Its wild how many times the Trump shooter was observed prior to him shooting. Very disappointing protection for a former president / gop candidate. The wiki article has a good breakdown of the time line.
Tuesday, July 9th 2024 posted at 12:46 AM
Having a good summer with some away from work time. Riley is working hard waitressing but also got away to visit a friend in NY. Sarah and Shea have settled in VT for a long visit with G&T and Riley joining them soon after finishing some school obligations. Shea also recently got his level 2 NC drivers license.
Shea and I joined some friends for a semi regular rafting trip in WV. This time the tamer New River with some new DDaLD kids. Much enjoyed. We also a did a family trip to OBX - Ocracoke with another DDaLD family. Lovely stars and plenty of sunshine but also a good coastal breeze.
Some TR6 driving time with Shea.
Happy belated 4th!
Saturday, June 15th 2024 posted at 12:15 AM
A couple birthdays followed by summer vacation. Shea also completed his confirmation obligations and we enjoyed visits with G&T, Aunt HTL and Aunt Sandy to celebrate.
Enjoyed a DTR concert with old timer performers George Thorogood and John Fogerty (CCR). My friends and I were definitely on the younger side of the crowd. Growing up in western PA classic rock was always on and CCR and GT were staples of my early teen years.
Riley and I had a fun trip to Vegas for a concert and we did the vegas touristy stuff. Super hot but still fun.
Happy Fathers Day!
Monday, May 13th 2024 posted at 1:04 AM
Nice week with some fun adulting and finally picking up our (Grandad's) vintage restored convertible. Riley got some work shifts in and Shea got a lot of driving time and some stick lessons.
One of the more unexpected joys was getting into the stuck glove box and finding a time capsule of documents. Car (1976 TR6 - Mimosa Yellow) is running great and makes a grocery run fun again.
We had a nice family dinner our to celebrate Sarah's awesomeness. Happy Mothers Day to all!
Sunday, May 5th 2024 posted at 3:50 PM
I had a nice long weekend with friends in Vegas this past weekend for a music festival. Relatively mild weather compared to the previous years festival (they moved a month earlier). Lots of fun walking about with some good food, entertainment and some gambling. We managed some hiking the first day in a nearby nature preserve.
The only thing missing from a Vegas guys trip is another vacation to recover.
Riley is back home for the summer and we are enjoying catching up with here. Shea has been upgrading some of his music gear with a relatively new guitar and some new drum equipment. He has about 5 weeks left of school.
Brood XIX is alive and well in central NC.
Hoping the Canes can slay the mighty Rangers in round 2!
We did finally pick up the TR6 from its long restoration but only made it about 6 miles. Fuel issues. Luckily mechanic nearby and came and picked up the car for further repairs. Hope to get it back for good soon.
Friday, April 19th 2024 posted at 12:45 AM
Collection of pics from the past few weeks. We enjoyed a partial solar eclipse here in Raleigh. Dragged out the telescope (with the high density Mylar solar filter) and grabbed a few snaps. The black spot on the bottom of the pic is about the size of 1 earth!
Riley visited us for a couple days while attending the dreamville festival here in DTR.
I spent a long weekend with Mo in PA changing light bulbs and visiting with family. Lovely visit and snuck away for a couple hours to PA Pinball down the road.
Looking forward to some playoff hockey and a guys trip to LV next week for SNW. Go Canes!
Monday, April 1st 2024 posted at 1:02 AM
Lots of pics queued up.
We had a nice visit with Grandad and Glamma here in NC while sister/aunt Julie was performing in Durham in the Mrs. Doubtfire tour. We celebrated St. Patrick's day here in Apex and had some yummy dinners out. We all went to see Julie perform at DPAC and got a back stage tour, very fun!
Shea, Sarah and I spent part of spring break in Sedona. Lots of hiking and some mountain biking in between sunshine, rain, snow and sleet. For sure a 4 season visit. The hiking around Sedona is awesome and very different from the east coast but was very crowded with lots of other spring breakers. Our airbnb in town was a nice refuge.
Lastly we visited Grandma and Tim for Easter and had lovely weather and great food. We enjoyed some nice walks with Grandma, Shea and Tim got some golf practice in. Riley flew in from SC and we got some good near coast family time.
Back to work!
Tuesday, March 12th 2024 posted at 12:11 AM
A few pics from late winter. No snow this year. I do miss it but the mild southern winters not so bad. Lets just not talk about July/August.
We had gotten a 1/2 cord of wood sometime ago and did a stop motion stacking it. Forgot to post that till now.
Looking forward to some midwest visitors later this week and seeing Aunt Julie perform in the Mrs. Doubtfire tour at DPAC next week!
Monday, February 26th 2024 posted at 1:22 AM
The AI era is happening and its amazing and annoying at the same time. At the end of the day its another tech tool that a human can leverage. Generative AI is fun thing to play with. AI is not substitute for human creativity, a hard work ethic and certainly not integrity but it is happening and affecting peoples livelihood for the better or worse.
In the tech space AI feels like its becoming one of those innovations that you either accept and leverage or you ignore and eventually get left behind. I'm towards the end of my career, SO lets see if I can keep up.
This is a novelty post including some imagined pictures of Sarah and I (I'll do the kids later when I am better at this). They are not particularly flattering or very good but a fun afternoon was had for $20. You can see how the AI generated images have hard time with hands, fingers and certain details. A hint to telling whats real and fake. This is all evolving and improving very quickly so enjoy but be-wary my fellow human!
Your regularly scheduled kavfam post will return next week ;)
Monday, February 19th 2024 posted at 1:03 AM
Trying to get my post picture production back to snuff. Lots of working and not so much picture taking. But its not like they are still 5 years old right? Still a solid family diary at ~720 posts and loads of pictures with some videos mixed in.
Chill Valentines day this past week and Shea hanging with his girl friend this weekend. Had a nice DTR visit today with some Galaga time at Boxcar. We like to go early to beat the Millennial crowd. They do like the mimosa Sunday Special but grateful they ignore the classics game section.
Some action happening on our lovely gifted car from G&G. Long long ago during the start of the global pandemic that eventually killed about 3 million people we managed to get Granddad's used '76 TR6 shipped from its 40 year STL crypt to us here in NC. Its been at a British repair shop for the past 3+ years mostly sitting idle in way way North North Raleigh. This long delay has been a disappointment but the number of Triumph 70s specialty shops around is exceeding few.
The repair shop has shared some recent updates in a most annoying iOS format (cause that is what Apple does). We've assembled these photos in video format which includes some shop talk. We are hopeful a working car end of March!
GrandDad please click the following links:
https://youtube.com/shorts/FmII_aiX_Ak?feature=share
https://youtube.com/shorts/er28nQCAZT4?feature=share
Sunday, February 11th 2024 posted at 11:10 PM
A few pics from the past couple weeks.
Riley's sorority (Pi Beta Phi) has a valentines cocktail party and we snagged a few pics.
Shea performed at the Apex HS winter formal with the rock club and we have few pics of that. They had been practicing at school and here over the past few weeks in preparation. They did 3 songs and it turned out great! (Shea is on guitar and the drummer is using his Xmas drum set)
a little bon jovi
a little paramore
a little journey
We usually host a super bowl party but decided not to this year given the rainy weather here today as we'd prefer to have it outside if weather permits, last year was a super-spreader :/
Better luck next year.
Monday, January 29th 2024 posted at 1:05 AM
We celebrated Sarah's 50th b-day a couple weekends ago. Good times with multiple events over the weekend. Grateful for friends attending and enjoying some chill time together. Special guests G&T, Aunt HLT and Clemson bud Julie in attendance 🐯.
Riley dropped in for a quick visit while having a hangout with some other DDaLD college buds in nearby ECU.
Pleased that Haley has not caved to agent orange just yet. Also props to NC's Thom Tillis for calling BS on unwanted meddling.
Shea started his second 1/2 of 10th and looking forward to springly things (but we'd be OK with a little snow y'all).
Saturday, January 6th 2024 posted at 2:12 AM
We had a real nice Christmas with G&T visiting. Lots of good food and family time.
We had big plans for after Christmas but Shea got covid for xmas (no longer a no-vid) and I got it a few days later (2 timer). This prevented a Mo visit and all of us from traveling to Fla to visit family and we general could not do shit which was a major bummer (we are grateful for airline credits in the covid era). Sarah and Riley were spared. We had all gotten the spike vax in the last 2 months or so our symptoms were very mild and we were fully functional but sadly contagious so no going out fun for Shea or I. We did have several fires down at the KavFlats and watched a few canes games which was not so bad.
Good new years while still semi quarantining (aka could not do fun stuff). We did our annual "reading of the notes", where we read out notes anonymously placed in a jar throughout the year. There is a video around here some where.
Rye headed back to school Sunday and we will miss her!
Its a sad anniversary tomorrow as the DOJ is still doing good work to identify and charge rioters from 1/6. I'm making my facial hair great again to set an example that not all burly white dudes want to hang Mike Pence (and that is a beautiful thing).
Sunday, December 24th 2023 posted at 2:05 PM
Some Dec snaps. #53 for me, holiday party with some DDaLD friends and many college aged kids (that used to be toddlers).
Lucky to have G&T visiting for Christmas, then Mo and then a trip to Fla to visit some family.
Dusted of my road bike and enjoyed a lovely afternoon with some friends on the Cary greenways and visit to a downtown Cary brewery. Cary opened their long planned downtown park and it is pretty great.
KavFam wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Saturday, December 9th 2023 posted at 12:17 PM
We had a nice long weekend with family for Thanksgiving. Mo visiting from PA and all of us visiting G&T. Lovely weather and delicious food.
Break went by all too quickly. Looking forward to Riley coming back from school and a longer EOY break.
Thursday, November 23rd 2023 posted at 12:12 PM
I am grateful at this moment as my son works on clearing of the continuous stream of falling leaves from the lawn.
Some friends and I enjoyed a very fun guys trip to LA for a 80s era music festival. Many important bands from our teen years. Headlined by New Order which was amazing to see live. Definitely our "oldies" and lots of similarly aged faces around the crowded festival. We had a great time.
We spent one more day around Hollywood / Beverly Hills to explore and enjoy the lovely Cali weather.
Looking forward to Thanksgiving break with family here in NC!
Wednesday, November 8th 2023 posted at 12:30 AM
We had an uneventful Halloween with some cool / soggy weather but Shea and his friend still got out.
Shea and I traveled to St. Louis to visit Grandad and Glamma, we also attend Metallica's stadium tour. We had a nice long weekend visit with G&G and enjoyed some lovely fall mid west weather.
The Metallica tickets were a 2022 Christmas present for Shea and it was a good show. They did two nights with two unique openers. We had floor tickets in the round and was able to get pretty close to the action.
Take from my RayBan digital sun glasses:
pantera
holier than thou
fade to black
shadows follow
Back to work for a bit and looking forward to Thanksgiving break!
Wednesday, October 25th 2023 posted at 12:59 AM
Nice nice weather here. Its sad to be stuck at a desk with such nice weekday weather but we do try to get outside a bit during the day time.
We are good here. Sarah traveled with some friends to greater New England for a get away weekend. Shea had some friends over for some music jamming / sleep over / fair day. Riley is doing her thing in SC but visiting NC this coming weekend. We hope to see her :)
The state fair (at the fair grounds outside of downtown Raleigh) can be fun but it can also be very crowded, as was the case this past exceptionally beautiful Saturday. Happy to take Shea and his friends, but oh man, I really don't like to be packed in a crowd. I was able to chill in some less crowded spaces while the boys rode some rides and did boy stuff. I bribed them to leave with some Bojangles take away.
We are looking forward to Halloween related events. We have no trick or treaters here but its still a fun evening. Shea's school has wisely picked a teacher workday for next Wed.
Wishing you all treats, no tricks and a a moderate GOP leader in the house.
Tuesday, October 3rd 2023 posted at 12:42 AM
Sarah and I had a nice weekend away camping near blowing rock NC at a NPS campground that I love off the blue ridge parkway.
G&T stopped on their way back from VT and watched Shea who went to his H.S. homecoming dance with his friends Sat.
Was able to do some hiking Sat. morning and Riley drove up from Clemson to spend the afternoon with us in Blowing Rock.
It was good to get away from the desk/screen/cell coverage and enjoy some immersive outside time with lovely fall NC mountain weather.
Saturday, September 23rd 2023 posted at 1:04 AM
Had a nice (but soggy) day in DTR with DDaLD bud Mark for the multi-day festival .
No big names but a nice small town festival with lots of interesting nooks and crannies venues scattered about downtown Raleigh.
My knee is almost back to 100% so participated in a friend group annual tour de donuts ride (DDaLD, etc. friends). For sure worn out after the ~28 mile ride but good to be out with friends and enjoy some donuts. Looking forward to getting back to regular exercise, but not much running :( in my future.
Lovely cool down here and looking forward to delightful fall weather.
Monday, September 4th 2023 posted at 11:20 PM
First false fall followed by some hot hot days. We did an overnight in Durham (Shea, Sarah and I) this past weekend. Happy to get back out on my bike and trailer hauling duty.
The front yard maples thinking about fall colors but still some weeks to go.
Lots of go kart time and taking care of normal boring stuff.
Go Tigers!, Go Cougars!
Saturday, August 26th 2023 posted at 12:35 PM
Long August with both kids back to college / school this and next week respectively (and both sophomores).
Shea and Sarah (and a NY bud w/ kid) had a great trip to Barcelona. Hot hot there but a well spent vacation. Some pics from Sarah's phone and a video of Shea enjoying the coast.
My knee still on the mend with more idle time then I care for. We are putting our ice machine to good use I suppose.
I went to visit an old teen friend in (middle) PA this past weekend. Its restorative to catch up with people you spent so much time with as a teenager and recall the good and bad.
Friday, August 4th 2023 posted at 12:50 AM
Hot hot hot, but not so bad the past few days. Shea having fun with his go kart and helping me around the house. He passed his DL test (1st try) and is pretty excited. We are very proud of him and the time he put in studying (only 2 wrong out of 25). We also took in some local short track racing this past weekend with friends while Rye and Sarah at the beach.
Riley is heading back to school this weekend, a couple weeks early to work for Clemson for student intake. She had a successful summer waitressing and baby sitting (and doing some chores for us). She is looking forward to off campus housing with her roomies from last year and her sophomore year schedule.
Some bonus photos of Shea's infected big toe, runs in the family. Should be all healed up before Shea and Sarah head to Barcelona as a back to school vaca treat.
Monday, July 24th 2023 posted at 1:00 AM
A few pics from the past two weeks or so, We did a poor job of keeping Shea active this summer. Though occupied with some travel and vaca but not much else. He has been working on building a go-kart (kit) which has been challenging and frustrating but definitely a good learning experience. We are on engine #2 (engine #1 is a future rebuild project 😊). Working OK but the brakes have issues, which is tomorrow's project.
I had been putting of a small out patient procedure (right knee meniscectomy) that I finally got that done post travel / vaca. Freakishly swollen but otherwise feeling good and looking forward to more regular exercise activity in the coming weeks post PT.
Riley has a couple more weeks @ home before heading back to Clemson and we will miss her for sure.
Shea and Sarah have a trip coming up to Barcelona which they are super excited for, joining a NY bud and son. I'll hold down the fort y'all.
We have a octogenarian in the family, happy 80th birthday Grandad!
Tuesday, July 11th 2023 posted at 1:00 AM
We had a big week of travel heading to slightly upstate NY for a family wedding. We had a great visit with Grandad and Glamma and Aunt Julie and Uncle (fka Julie's fiance) Bryan. We spent a few days in Kingston NY and had a good time with all the well done wedding festivities.
We then headed a bit further north to VT and spend a few more days with Grandma and Tim. Lots of lake time, hiking here and there, good food and exploring.
For sure things temp wise above normal but still nice to get away for more than just a long weekend.
Riley and I headed back this past Sunday with Sarah and Shea staying a few days longer with G&T. Rye and I got a unpleasant surprise as we got near ALB and both legs of our flight home was canceled with no re-book. With day delays on the horizon we extended the rental another day with a drop at RDU and Riley did the entire 14 hour drive. The 95 corridor can be a mess and this trip was no exception but she got it done. We can only dream of PJs someday.
Wednesday, June 21st 2023 posted at 1:20 AM
We had a nice long weekend in Ocracoke which is an island on the southern outer banks (OBX) of NC. We have done this trip several times in cars and just bikes. Not for novice camper with hot sun and hungry mosquito's but a lovely way to spend a long weekend if you like this sort of thing. Happy to have another family join us this trip.
Some beach time with paddle ball and a afternoon swim. Shea dabbiling at skin boarding
Biking into town for lunch / dinner and provisions made for an active weekend.
While we had pretty good weather and mostly clear skies (we did get dumped on once with rain) the remnants of the North American fires clouded the sky just enough to diminish the normally awesome views of the milky way. Still plenty of stars to enjoy and a reason to go back to the darkest sky on the east coast.
Thursday, June 15th 2023 posted at 1:21 AM
We alls spent jest da weekend in picksburg fer a family wedding and had a nice visit wit Mo and some dahntahn time n'at.
A few pics and shout out to subscriber Uncle Russ :)
We had a good time with some cousins at a Pirates game Friday with some post game win fireworks.
Would have liked to stay longer and: ridge ave visit, wave pool, kennywood, south side slopes, etc.
Looking forward to some beach camping and dark sky this coming weekend.
Friday, June 9th 2023 posted at 1:44 AM
Some Canes games before the 4 game sweep. Each a one goal game with many overtimes. Just not enough bounces in our favor. Still a happy fan but our conference finals record is not great.
Riley's job is going well (waitressing) and looking forward to Clemson year 2. Shea finished his end of year tests. We have two rising sophomores!
We celebrated some birthdays (Rye 19, Shea 15)
Shea and I did an overnight in Durham with some pool time and a Durham Bulls game.
Riley enjoyed a weekend in VA with some college buds doing college bud stuff, and that is awesome.
Sarah had a nice weekend away with NY buds in Nashville but no SFW photos available :), and that is acceptable.
Saturday, May 20th 2023 posted at 1:48 AM
A few weeks have passed. Some bike riding but not a lot of activity as my knee settles down.
Riley back from school and has started a summer job as a waitress and things going good so far. Shea has as couple weeks left of school.
Lots of canes hockey as they start the 3rd round (eastern conference finals). Down 1 game to 0 however the nearly 5OT game was a fun one to experience, the 6th longest in NHL history
Some friends and I did a guys trip to Las Vegas for a music festival this past long weekend and had a good time. Some sun burn and fatigue but all in the name of fun.
red rock caynon ride
godfather delivers
SNW early set
Monday, April 24th 2023 posted at 1:28 AM
The honeysuckle and pine in the warm southern sun fill the air this time of year. We had a nice visit with G&T for Easter. Riley flew in to Wilmington from Clemson (Greenville) and we had a nice weekend near beach.
Lots of hockey games and tailgates. With the Canes up 3-1 over that NY team, hopeful we will see round 2 against that other NY team, and definitely not talking about buffalo 😛
Busted right knee feeling a bit better (meniscus repair only post JRAK wedding) so managed a ride with some buds.
Looking forward to Riley's summer return in a couple weeks! and a guys trip to Vegas mid May.
As a society we made a conscious choice to make improvements to the motor vehicle safety of children through government directives, consumer demands and industry improvements. And we all would agree this was a good thing, yet we can't make the same progress on sensible gun control which is directly attributed to a self-willed conservative minority.
Thursday, March 30th 2023 posted at 12:33 AM
Busy early spring with work mostly with lots of nice weather to distract us, and pollen, lots of pollen. Nice visit with Riley for spring break and G&T came for a visit also. Tim is Shea's sponsor and the attending a church dinner related to Shea's Confirmation prep. Sarah also managed to sneak a way for an overnight in Atlanta for a Breeders show with Clemson bud Julie.
Riley is coming back this weekend for a music festival in Raleigh with some friends. All is good at school and we look forward to her summer break and being back home with us.
Shea got a new bike and is obsessed with perfecting a wheelie. WIP. Also breaking in a new long board (skate board). School also going well for him.
Sarah and I enjoyed a concert in DTR, one of our favorite bands Guster.
It was tough read about another school shooting this week. This pretty much sums up the consequence of in action by conservative leaders.
Tuesday, March 7th 2023 posted at 12:07 AM
Riley came home for a long weekend visit last week and happy to see her! All is well @ Clemson and we will be seeing her a few times over the next couple of months.
Sarah, Shea and I did a overnight in Durham on our bikes and enjoyed the unseasonable warm weather.
I relocated our wildlife cam to the creek and its caught some interesting critters including a raccon, fox, rabbit, coyote, owl and a egret.
Pollen and blooms coming a bit early this year. Hopefully not a sign of a super hot summer.
Tuesday, February 21st 2023 posted at 12:15 AM
Ordinary Jan and Feb with work and school and such. We hosted a superbowl party (inside this year due to rain and cooler temps).
I also enjoyed an outdoor Canes game w/ friends as part of the NHL stadium series. NHL / Canes / NC State did a good job with the event and it worked well. Albeit on bleachers and packed in tight.
Riley TCB in Clemson and Shea staying on course in his second semester.
Did a time lapse video of the Jan full moon and caught this commuter jet passing over.
Monday, January 23rd 2023 posted at 1:28 AM
A few pics since getting back to it. Riley has been back at school for a week and the rest of us a couple weeks into 2023 with h. school and work. Not too many blues this year but society is making a bigger deal out of mental health and the affects of post holiday blues, which we think is great.
We celebrated Sarah's actual 49th this past weekend with some casual friend hangout and a nice dinner. We also attended a show in Durham for her birthday (Giggly Squad).
I setup a raspberry pi zero in my office with a daily snap over the past year and created this short video. Resolution so-so but relatively cheap camera. Still pretty cool progression. Its pointing to our back yard with the garden / kavflats in focus.
Now, back to it.
Saturday, December 31st 2022 posted at 11:43 PM
We are enjoying our end of year work / school break. A couple Canes games and we hosted a DDaLD holiday party last week which was a blast. We enjoyed Christmas with Grandma and Tim at our house this year with lots of yummy food and some holiday movie necessities. Super cold temps starting to normalize a bit.
We also treated ourselves for a few days at a VA resort (Primland) only a couple hours away. Its lovely place in the VA blue ridge mtns. We were lucky enough to have some super clear evenings to enjoy the dark sky and their on site observatory.
some off-roading fun, and a bit more
rkk is the 5-stand winner (skeet shooting)
A couple more days off then back to it. We have Riley till mid Jan. before she heads back to her second semester!
Saturday, December 3rd 2022 posted at 1:17 AM
Great PA visit for Thanksgiving. Nice weather and good family hangouts. A chilly 5k followed by a great meal Thanksgiving day. Riley was able to join us, and while we have been up to the burgh for visits we have not been for Thanksgiving as a family since pre-covid.
A couple trips into town to enjoy city stuff and an awesome arcade discovery in near by aliquippa. Geeking out a bit in a sitdown star trek circa 1982
Riley and I enjoyed Canes win last weekend before she headed back to SC.
Monday, November 21st 2022 posted at 2:01 AM
Some pics from the past couple of weeks. Both of us busy working so the weekends are a bit more sacred then they used to be.
Sarah and I enjoyed the silver sun pickups in concert last weekend.
Sarah spent the weekend in CT with friends while Shea and I hung out and played some XBox and did some chores. Also did a short ride to Durham with biking bud Nic.
Looking forward to Riley coming home next week as part of our PA Thanksgiving visit. Weather looks decent so fingers crossed that our flights are mostly on time.
Monday, November 7th 2022 posted at 1:16 AM
Delightful fall weather ahead of the hellscape that is modern political elections. Some election denier / trump flirts on the ballot here. Enjoyed early voting last Sunday along with many others. Not looking forward to 24 hour election day news cycle. Keep NC purple please.
Not much happening on Halloween at home with my horror buddy off at college but did get Shea to watch a bit of horror with me (Barbarian). We did have a awesome time at our chapel hill friends annual Halloween party last week where I did a terrible job of taking pictures of all my friends wearing amazing costumes.
Shea has been skate boarding a fair amount and I sometimes tag along on the one wheel.
We reloaded our wood pile this past week and look forward to outdoor hangouts over the winter.
Sarah and Rye traveled to NY for a Buds event and are spending some time in NYC before heading back home. Some travel woes but this is the way.
Saturday, October 22nd 2022 posted at 3:20 AM
We did not make it camping due to work and other boring things but its all good. Home was still fun with some outside time and a great Oktoberfest afternoon in Durham with friends.
Canes opener and first win.
Sarah and I had planned to travel to Charlotte for mid week concert this past week and was super grateful for G&T to come and make sure Shea got off to school, but sadly the artist got bad Covid and cancelled her tour. Bonus was more G&T time and yummy food. Please more!
We hope all that are able will take advantage of the latest vaccines ahead of the winter season. We got our flu and omicron booster shots a couple of weeks ago so all set for whats next. And should we get sick, unlikely to miss much work.
Nice to see Riley last weekend and Shea is doing well in H.S.
Looking forward to mandatory / guilt free vaca as the year winds down.
Monday, October 3rd 2022 posted at 1:00 AM
We had a nice visit with Riley last weekend; hitching a ride home with Sarah's Clemson bud Julie while she and her daughter attended a concert with friends in Raleigh.
We did get some weather from Ian Friday that left us without power for a day and lots of yard clean-up, but nothing compared to the devastation that west Florida saw.
Looking forward to family fall camping (just the 3 of us I think) in one of my favorite places in NC this coming weekend.
Monday, September 19th 2022 posted at 12:45 AM
We had a nice visit with Riley in Clemson this past weekend. It was parents weekend which we were not completely prepared for but did manage a hotel room nearby and got to spend a lot of time with out little tiger.
We had a fun day around campus and in town. We also went to a game tailgate (one of Sarah's college friends) and the actual game, it was pretty awesome. A short visit but looking forward to seeing her again soon. She is doing amazing so far and we are very happy for her.
I finally learned how to ride Shea's one wheel and have been riding around with him a bit as he improves his skate boarding skills.
I also switched jobs after almost 4 years with my last company for a new opportunity in the very unfamiliar cyber security space. At the moment its another remote position.
Cooler temps have arrived and we are hoping for a long and enjoyable falli season.
Monday, September 5th 2022 posted at 11:32 PM
The hot and humid kind of never ending summer vs. the romantic teen beach thing.
Sarah and I enjoyed a evening dance party 5k nearby this past weekend and Shea started his public high school journey. So far so good. Sarah and I also had a fun evening with some DDaLD buds at the last RHPS at a beloved indy theater in Raleigh.
Shea and I also had a good time at the Black Keys concert this past week (school night).
We enjoyed the long weekend at home with some dinners out and some chores. Also got in a nice long brewery bike ride with some DDaLD buds.
I found poppy Biden's poorly televised speech just OK. It is was a good reminder to be aware of catching or spreading the MAGA. I say let's continue to keep politics effective and boring (again).
Monday, August 22nd 2022 posted at 12:27 AM
We helped Riley get all moved in at Clemson this past week. Went pretty well. Grateful for bud Julie letting us spend the night ahead of the 830 move in Friday.
She has a two bedroom suite (2 girls per room with shared bathroom, kitchen and common area). Its cozy but nice. Looking forward to seeing her in a couple of weeks for parent's weekend. I was delighted that I did not see a single stars and bars south of the border on this trip.
Also did a short bike ride with bud Nic and had a nice evening out with some fellow freshman parents in DTR.
Lastly Shea had his H.S. freshman orientation Thursday morning and is slightly less anxious about the start of the school year.
Monday, August 15th 2022 posted at 12:37 AM
Summer starting to wind down. Thoughts of cooler fall weather are in our minds.
Riley is preparing for her freshman year. We finally got her car (ordered about 3 months ago). She used the bulk of her savings plus a generous gift from G&T and we kicked in a bit as well. Its 2022 Honda Civic Sport (Greensburg, IN). Its odd to have waited 3 months for a new car but that is the state of things. Its a great first car that should serve her well.
We spent this last weekend near beach at G&T's. Sadly our first trip down there this year but glad to have made it.
We move Riley in at Clemson end of next week. Shea also has his H.S. orientation and then a quick visit with Mo in the Burgh before he starts high school.
Some DTR time at Boxcar and Galaga binging. Shea and I doing some beach paddle ball.
Friday, July 22nd 2022 posted at 12:52 AM
Italy part 2. Lots of pics from the charter (a turkish gullet for the boat nerds). Also a few more from Naples before we headed out. Great time with buds the Washburns on the boat. Having a boat to visit the amalfi coast, especially in the oppressive heat Italy was experiencing, was the way to go.
Boat route was something like this: exit from a port south of pompeii, sorrento, positano, amalfi, revello, ischia, procida, anacapri, nerano, sorrento, then back to near pompeii port.
We always had breakfast on the boat. Sometimes dinner on the boat and sometimes lunch, depending on our on land plan. Lots of swimming to cool off and some coastal exploring. The crew (captain, 1st mate, hostess and chef) were great. Its a basic cabin on the sea which worked well for us. The 1st mate showed us a good time with a couple cave and grotto tours ahead of the morning rush.
First 2 week vaca break for me (expect for my 3 week 2010 sabbatical). I really enjoyed this long of a break, especially given the cost and distance of travel.
A few videos (mostly captured using video capable sunglasses [ray ban stories]):
beach swim and explore
cove hangout
dingy procida arrival
cabin tour y'all
anacapri dinner ride
grotto swim with spike
arch visit
cave visit
Sunday, July 10th 2022 posted at 5:38 PM
While mostly an Italy post, did have a 2 year covid delayed concert date in Charlotte this past week with bud Chris for the stadium tour. Finally.
We are part way through our two week amaze vaca in Italy. Roma for a few days then a few more in Napoli. Its been a lot of fun. Also very hot. Its normally hot in July but its been about 10 degrees warmer then normal making it damn hot. We did a lot in Rome and met up with buds the Washburns (part 2 coming).
Naples is Rome on overdrive. Lots of people and things to do and see, Or at least eat. The food has been a joy. Some pics from the trip so far and few videos. Saluti da Napoli.
crue
spanish steps
trevi fountain
piazza navona
bike ride #1
bike ride #2
winery ride
Sunday, June 26th 2022 posted at 1:30 AM
We had a great celebration for Riley's graduation with Mo and Aunt Dori (w/ Maddie), Glama and Grandad. Earlier in the week we also attended a grad party for DDaLD bud Celia.
Followed by an excellent music festival: Bonnaroo. Hot but not too hot. Its a good time. Recommend to anyone remotely camping friendly and shower adverse. We had many of the DDaLD teens with us. A small blemish on the otherwise awesome weekend was my phone getting pick pocketed. I have never experienced that before but it was pretty amazing how they pulled it off in retrospect. It was awesome to have the kids with us as grad/pre-grad celebration.
We are for sure struggling with the SCOTUS reversal of Roe. This is a massive step backwards for women's rights and will doom states that ban abortion.
Thursday, June 2nd 2022 posted at 2:25 AM
We had a nice b-day celebration for Shea (14). We did some golf, he had some friends over and we enjoyed a yummy ice cream cake. Shea also graduated from 8th grade. Many of his classmates are headed to one of Raleigh's Catholic schools but he is psyched to try public high school following in his sister footsteps.
The Canes looked great on the road vs. the Rangers in R2 but struggled at home. And they had a bad Game 7. Sad but happy for the season and their accomplishments.
Riley's last days of H.S. are approaching and we are looking forward to her graduation (and heading to Bonnaroo).
We have been reflecting on the latest mass school shooting in TX. Its hard to imagine what that would be like as a parent. We do discuss these events at home and what the country could do to try and correct this awful trend. It does feel like conservatives run to the 2nd amendment as an absolute and are unable to compromise. The exceptional gun violence in the US (as compared to any other country) is a public health issue more than its a gun rights issue. Cars kill people but we don't ban cars, is a familiar argument (or variations of the same). We don't ban cars, but we do require licensing, assessments, insurance and safety checks for vehicles to minimize the chance for fatality. We also improve car safety over time. These are all reasonable things that no one has a problem with. We enjoy the benefit of knowing other drivers are minimally vetted when we share the road and that their vehicle is generally safe. Certainly cars are more complex than guns but as a society we agree that having licensed drivers and safe cars is a priority. If you want to have a rifle that looks like a GI Joe gun go for it. We are not for a ban on guns. But we must have some basic and universal gun controls that offer some speed bumps for those that have bad intentions. Just like we do for cars. That will not prevent all of these massacres but it will reduce them. The unwillingness of conservative leaders to join the moderate majority on addressing gun violence is perverse.
Wednesday, May 25th 2022 posted at 1:17 AM
Canes made it into round 2 with commanding wins at home. But doh, that road game right? Ahead in the series vs. Rangers but not looking good in game 4 tonight. May come back to Raleigh with series tied 2-2.
We celebrated Riley's 18th b-day this past weekend hanging low as she was mostly recovered from COVID.
We also attended Riley's AOIT banquet this evening celebrating 4 years of participation in Apex HS's nerd program. We are big fans. Shea was just accepted to the same program. This program just aligns kids that are seeking just a bit more out of high school and also parents who are engaged in their kids high school success. So fingers crossed for his cohort (class of 2026).
Sup? Ya, there are a lot more posts. Try searching for something.
