Hacked by California

I have taken over the blog! mmmwwwwaaaahhhhhhhh (evil laugh).

We thought it would only be fitting if we hacked into the blog and updated our parents on what is happening in California. So what have they been missing out on?

Absolutely NOTHING! Well at least nothing monumental. The summer has finally hit us with 100 degree days and high humidity which makes you sticky and gross. 

Here are some updates:

Vickie

She has moved her kitty Monty into Grams house to live with her. It was a little tough at first. Monty was not the most happy camper with a new environment. Lots of sleepless nights due to a very vocal kitty. But Monty has since acclimated and has been doing much better. Her and Tom go to the movies a lot due to Tom's movie card and needing to hit his quotas to make the card worth it. She hangs out with her best friend Jen and has a lot of down time. She has submitted a few applications for employment but no interviews yet. I will have to try to find other pictures of her in case you forgot what she looked like. My library is lacking. I "borrowed" this on from her facebook.

Tom:

Like the picture? This is for the most part how i see Tom these days when i see him. Most cases his camera is glued to his face. But he does look normal to. 

He is living like a bachelor in parents house with the two other kitties. Lots of movies for him! Most weekends we spend at the movies and getting lunch. Lately it has been too hot to actually go out and take pictures. Well at least for me, he goes out on his own at times with his weekend vehicle (parents banana yellow Jeep). Someone has to drive it now and then right? He is still employed, no girlfriend he is admitting to, and has another security camera job lined up :) Always good to get extra pocket money. 

Me

I have been super busy this summer since parents left for their grand adventure a little over a month ago. I have work, Dave's shows with his band and now........new floors! Lets start with Dave. He has been feeling better and has begun new medication for his UC (ulcerative colitis). They are self injections every two weeks. We had to go through a little training class to learn how to administer them, but so far it is really easy. They are spring loaded pens you just put on the top of your thigh in the "meaty" portion. His band has been doing well and has a lot of shows. There is talk of doing a show in October at the marine base by San Diego for the troops. Not sure if his singer has updated their site but here is the link: KillSET They have been working on some new music and you can listen to their songs on their site as well as see pictures from their show. 

Now to the project i am excited about NEW FLOORS. We are taking out all the carpet and bathroom floors. The only floor remaining will be the black tile in the kitchen. We have two crews scheduled. One to install the Luxury Vinyl Planks in the living room, hallway and bathroom. Then new carpet in the bedrooms. And new baseboards throughout the house. Here is a picture of the colors we picked. 

WP318 Carbo Wood Luxury Vinyl Planks

crushed gravel

Alright, i will fess up. Mom said i could hack into her blog she even in a moment of weakness gave me her password! She requested some pictures to be added of the wedding etc.
So here you are mom:

Bye for now!!! xoxo

Kid #1 :)

Milepost 4154a: A Day of Rest

Yesterday, I made reservations for a campsite in Williamsburg, VA, for two nights with the intention of visiting Yorktown and Jamestown today. There is a bus from this campground that will take us there – A distinct advantage to trying to navigate the possibly narrow roads! However, after doing the laundry and other necessary chores, I was pretty tired and John was completely wiped out. So, we “stayed home” today, opting to do our sightseeing tomorrow, instead.

It’s a nice campground, filled with the whistles and chirps of the local wildlife. Our spot is nicely shaded and our neighbors are quiet. Today I took some pictures from the back window of the motor home of the campsite and the wildlife:

    Nice, huh?

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They rumbled all day and all night long, some with whistles!

Milepost 4154: About Labor on Labor Day

Yippee! We finally found a plantation that I can photograph! John thought maybe they’d all be closed because it’s a holiday, but we found a working plantation open!

We visited Shirley Plantation off hwy 5 in Virginia. I’ve forgotten just how many acres it is, but I know it’s several hundred along the James River. It was a long, long drive through a forest, then cotton and soybean fields and a vineyard to the house – on a dirt road….

Finally in sight of the plantation!

It is the oldest working plantation in Virginia, with the same owners since the 1600’s! The “Great House” was built in 1723 to replace a wooden one and is occupied by the 11th generation… They have graciously allowed tourists on the first floor of the house and in all the buildings on the property. There are 5 major buildings (Great House, Kitchen, Laundry, Ice House, and Store House) as well as a stable, corn crib, smokehouse, dovecote, and root cellar. Here are a couple of views of the Great House. No photos were allowed inside, but I can say it has a large entry and 3 rooms off it: dining, living room, and bedroom – the bedroom was alternately used as a library by some.

 

Oh, and for the history buffs, General Lee’s grandfather lived there, and General Lee spent some time there. Yes, they were Confederates, complete with slaves. Their “next door neighbor” (3 miles away) was a general in the Union army.

Here are pictures of the other plantation buildings:

  The Great House is on the Right and the kitchen is on the far left. The laundry is in the middle… What a walk to serve dinner! The very distant building is the store house, and opposite it, unseen, is the ice house.

 The corn crib, now a chicken coop, and the stable, now empty except for old equipment.

John is standing next to the fireplace in the kitchen building. I could not believe its size! But, it makes sense, since all the cooking for the plantation was done here and in an identical room on the other side of a hall. The cooks lived upstairs.

We spent the night in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Milepost 4026: Hurray! Virginia at Last!

After accidentally attending the 10am Spanish Mass at the Sacred Heart Church in Dunn, NC, (Either I mis-read the masstimes.org schedule, or it changed to Spanish recently – and it was too late to find an English one), we started our race to Virginia. On the way, we attempted yet another museum. It, too, was closed. It’s Sunday, and labor day weekend, so we sort of expected that.

Memories of North Carolina… There were poor houses and mansions, almost nothing in between.

This is the Roanoke River in North Carolina.

We made it past the Virginia state line at 4pm and spent the night in Emporia, VA. We even got to enjoy pouring rain and lightening when we stopped.