Meeting the Canyon
One of the biggest highlights of 2010 was all the fun I had with my family. There were many events which made it special and I wouldn’t trade my family time for anything.
The biggest highlight was our March vacation to Sedona, Arizona. We joined Kelly’s family for a week of sightseeing and hiking around this beautiful desert community. We did a ton of hiking around the local mountains. We also took a trip to see Montezuma’s Castle and took a train to the Grand Canyon. Later we took a trip up to Flagstaff to see the Lowell Observatory. When we weren’t running around, we were relaxing at our rental house, including making use of the hot tub. It was a wonderful visit to a place far more beautiful than I had expected.
In late August, we took a mini-vacation out to Emerald Isle for three days of fun. We enjoyed body-surfing in the waves and eating at the beachside restaurants (and at our beach house). Just getting out of town is relaxing but there’s something special about being at the beach. The crashing waves make whatever troubles that might be on your mind seem small. It was great to get some beach time in, as it’s obvious that our kids love it dearly.
Hallie after her first ride on Thunder Road
In the middle of summer we had some creative fun, too. At the end of May, I claimed some discount tickets to Carowinds and we took a day trip to Charlotte to visit the park. Though many of my old haunts were long gone, other landmarks remained. I smiled as I pondered bringing my kids to the place I once worked as a 16-year-old kid. We all had a great time, too, in spite of a few roller coasters being a bit too fast for the kids. I look forward to our return some day.
At the end of June we joined our friends the Serozis for a day taking our bikes to Durham on the train and biking around the city. NCDOT offered reduced fares to introduce its new mid-day service, so we took advantage of the great prices. Though it was sweltering hot that day, we enjoyed touring Durham by bike. We especially enjoyed the great Amtrak service we enjoyed getting there and back!
Ready to ride
This was the first year both kids attended Conn Elementary together. After tagging along for years with Hallie and Kelly at the school, Travis knew his way around as well as many of the teachers there. He’s adjusted nicely to the routine, and so has Hallie. It’s been great playing an active role in the school, too. In the fall, we spent a few hours on a Saturday helping with some landscaping at the school, making the school’s bike rack usable for the first time in years.
I’ve also been happy to support Kelly’s efforts toward competing in triathlons. I told her early on that whatever she needed to do to achieve her goal, I was willing to assist. And I did. When she crossed the finish line of her first triathlon in May I was so proud.
We’ve also done some exercising together, of course, with many family bike rides on our beloved greenways. In August, Kelly and I took a mid-day epic bike ride from our home clear across town to Umstead Park. It was exhausting but I’m so glad we attempted it. I’ll never be able to eat at Neomonde again without thinking of the lunch we had there.
There was a fun visit with Kelly’s parents at Thanksgiving, followed by a delightful visit with my parents at Christmas Eve, followed by another fun visit with Kelly’s parents over New Year’s. I’m very fortunate to have such great parents and great parents-in-law, too.
It’s been an exceptional year for family time and the future only looks brighter. I’m really appreciating my family!