Vacation 2009 Begins

2009-07-04
Just about ready to go. Prius is crammed, Emily is heading towards the bathroom one last time, and David is wide awake and wearing an awesome outfit
Everyone is always so surprised to see how much stuff fits into the back of this car. Yes, there's a bike trailer down there at the bottom.
1:30am. Total Darkness, West Virginia. We meet a raccoon at 75mph. Morning light reveals this: duct tape, bungee cords, a radiator bent all to hell, and a missing lower grill.
Our ghetto vacation car. Sniff
Would have been a lovely shot had he not been pointing at (what else?) a plane in the distance
Karen and Emily (and David, who would not get out of the shot) enjoy a moment at the NC State Arboretum.
Same monkey, different tree
Test beds full of really beautiful coleus plants
Take him to a park, he'll find a digger. We really ought to just get one of these for our back yard
After a delicious lunch (at Old Time Barbecue, naturally) we met Danny, Yvonne, and Riley at Pullen Park. Danny and Emily were friends in college, and we wanted to catch up after 9 years!
Riley and David blast off. This cannot be good influence
And now they're both in orbit. Surely NASA would disapprove of these safety violations
Dads seem to have the same job, no matter where or when. Danny and Riley see if they can go higher than David and Chris
Riley and David try to see who can get their feet higher above their heads
Yeah, who likes the digger more?
Our son is horizontal. Again
A three way buffet at the Booth house
Sparky, the one we can't remember, and Nibbler all enjoy nomz
Rock Band: the best possible way to get grown-ups to make total fools of themselves
Mommy's had a cocktail. David has no rhythm. Together, we're going to get booed off the stage in 3...2...1...
Don't worry. It's an O'Douls
Surrounded by cords attached to expensive things, David makes an air cannon his seat. No wonder he looks so happy. Alan's living room is a three-year-old's dream come true
Does making that face help your performance at all?
Mommy's still rocking
With hair like that, shouldn't she be crawling on the hood of a car somewhere?
Stealing Mommy's Food: Part One. Miso soup
Stealing Mommy's Food: Part Two. Sushi that is not yours
Another stellar example of moments when any responsible parent would have put the camera down and immediately sprung into action. Not only did I not get the giant wad of Silly Putty out of his hair quickly, I actually rifled through the diaper bag to get the camera first, and then got the Silly Putty out. Note to parents: Silly Putty dissolves in hand sanitizer (thank you, Kevin Ring!)
If only every restaurant was as cool as the Farmer's Market Restaurant and had old John Deere tractor outside so you could climb while you waited for your artery-clogging breakfast
A little too much climbing. I'm not even sure what this livestock used to be, but now it's deadstock
It was enough to just sit in the Spider Man car; thank goodness we didn't have to turn it on
Mommy's Brute Strength: for when you're too cheap and tired to dig through the bag for a quarter to make the merry-go-round actually turn on