Monday, July 03, 2006

What I Learned on My Summer Vacation -- Part One

You saw a bunch of blogs by muh wife where she made a list of things that she learned while on her summer vacation. My version of the trip to the Outerbanks was four days shorter (as I had a pressing work engagement), but I was still extremely happy to have learned a bunch of stuff muhself.

1. People have much different expectations of the same place. Tangent Woman and I went out to lunch at a place named Tomato Patch to meet some friends who happened to be a mile away at the same time. We expected somewhat crappy yet decent food, got it, and were happy. My sister-in-law, her husband, and three kids went to dinner there the last night (not knowing we had been there) and thought it was one of the worst dining experiences of their lives... It's really all about expectations.

2. I haven't been in a kayak or canoe since I was in high school so I was a bit scared at the thought of going in one in the tranquil waters of a local sound. Muh wife and I braved the extremely peaceful and calm waters and paddled around for an hour. We wished we had our camera, but we were a bit scared to take our camera into a possible "sinking" opportunity. Nothing bad happened and we returned unscathed after witnessing a really cool looking bird. It was black like a crow, but there were two bright red blotches right were its "shoulders" are.

3. Media rooms are cool and I really want to get one if muh wife and I ever decide to move. The house that we were staying in had a twelve seat media room with a movie screen. You could play DVDs, videos, satellite television, and the XBOX 360. I do not have a video game system at my house and never have, but the wireless controllers made Madden 2006 incredibly awesome. It really was like watching a football game on television and I was controlling it. Hey wife.... I need ... oh heck... forget about it... especially if you ever want to see me again.

4. I used to hate the beach. I really did. I hated the idea of sand and stuff in muh cracks and crevices. Muh wife basically convinced me to start joining her on trips to the beach a few years ago. Over the years, I have begun to like it more. At the house, there was a beach nearby (without lifeguards) and a heated pool. There was no real need to go to the beach and it appeared to me through discussions that she didn't really care if we went. I basically dragged her to the beach so that we could swim in the waves. I even body surfed a bunch of times -- something that I would have avoided just a few years ago.

5. I brought down four bottles of wine down to the beach -- bottles that I received from a club I am a member of -- Wine of the Month from wine.com. It was a gift from someone and I enjoy receiving two bottles of wine each month as each bottle comes with a description. When we would crack one of these open at the house, four to six people would all have a glass and we would talk about it. It was really neat and I was happy to see that the latest person in the family was able to contribute something so popular.

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