So much for updating this regularly... we're not exactly getting stuff up on a regular basis. Maybe once a season instead... ugh. Quick update on the summer, working forward from the Spring...
- Got to take a cruise for our anniversary in April. Was quick and easy, left work at 2 on Friday and was back (unfortunately) by 10 on Monday. It was relaxing and fun, did some wandering around Nassau town and over to the Atlantis. One day when we're not putting all our dough into this house and other assorted debts, we'll get over there and not have to sneak onto Paradise Island.
- Went camping in the Keys for my 34th birthday - Mom and Dad came down for the weekend, and on Sunday on the way back, we caught Jim Morris playing in Doral for the Miami PHC. For all those who have attended a Morris show with us, you know the deal - among the drinking songs (Sangria Wine) and the tropical songs (Laid Back and Key Wasted) there's another Jerry Jeff Walker/Ray Wiley Hubbard song that gets played. "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother" wasn't exactly written for Mom and I, but I think she uses it as a chance to give me the Italian Mother Pointer Finger. One line did fit the weekend perfect - "he's 34 and drinking in a honkey tonk" - but I suppose it's been about a ten year build up of seeing Jim's shows with my parents, so there was no way we could miss a show in our own backyard the day after the 34th anniversary of May 2, 1975.
- We had a looooooooong road trip - 1,200 miles or so - all the way up 95 from exit 27 in Fort Lauderdale to exit 30 off the Garden State Parkway in Somers Point. There's no way to recap it all (hopefully a future blog post w/pics, likely months after the fact) but here's the highlights:
* A night in Orlando with the Covingtons, followed by a day at MGM with the Montgomery's and Lamons
* Friday to Sunday at Tybee Island with the Williams family and Amanda and Conner. They have a fantastic "little" place on this little barrier island 30 minutes east of Savannah. We had a a great time at their beach house, which also could be its own blog. We'll be back there soon.
* We drove our longest leg on Monday afternoon, 7 hours from Tybee to Richmond, and got to spend a night with Po and Josh.
* A quick jaunt up from Richmond and we were in Norther Va - hopped on the Metro for a half-day in DC (WWII Monument was great to see) and then back the Christine's to have a little BBQ with a whole bunch of friends. Thanks to CHab for tossing us that little one-night party.
* Wednesday we headed towards NJ - but had to stop at the Inner Harbor first to catch an O's game and have a few with Steve and Seamus, and the young Sharpe cousins too. Would have liked to stay longer, but the Garden State was calling.
* Got to spend a round of golf with said Sharpe cousins and Uncle Jerry, then headed to the shore with a bunch of hoagies in tow for the Best of Philly, Sharpe edition, contest. Jen and Dad ran all over creation getting them, and it was sooooo worth it (says me, the one who shot 18)
* Spent the weekend at the baby-friendly Tiki Bar with lil' Tyler. It was definitely great to see how big he's gotten (3 months) and how much more he responds to everything. Aunt Jen and Uncle T.J. certainly LOVED our Lil' T.J. time!!! It was a fun, relaxing weekend - got to see the whole family, Scott and Cheryl stopped by on their way to DE, fireworks on the deck on the 4th, even had the predictable 3-hour cruise aboard one of our barely-seaworthy vessels and had to get towed in. It was a great weekend, and although we didn't want our vacation to end, it was nice to be home and in our own bed after 11 nights on the road. - Oh yea, we got the one way rental car up to NJ for $1 a day. One of the best deals I've ever gotten, and I'm notorious for looking for a better deal in just about anything I spend a buck on.
- Phillies game - FINALLY - down here. Fred, Mike and I went, saw a near-no hitter by Moyer, and behaved pretty well... almost. Until we had to go pick up Doreen at her cousin's... and the beers turned to rum... and the pool cues got broken out...
- Tyler's Baptism. Jen's got a blog post for that half-started so I'll let her post.
- Lobster Mini-Season. Fred and I scoped out the Florida spiny Lobsters, and then got in the water by 630am to hunt crustaceans. 2 tanks each, and there were 21 in our bags (limit is 12 per person). It was a great way to start a Wednesday, although I was dragging by mid-afternoon. Was totally worth it though, we hit one spot at the end of our first tank (literally at the end - I ran out of air surfacing) and went back down and cleaned house. It was a pretty cool experience going back down and seeing about a dozen lobster sticking out from various crevices in a 20 foot area. Here's the GPS Coordin... uh, nevermind. Fred would ban me from the Lost Boys for good if I give those out.
- And finally, the first annual Sharpe Summer Splash... Taken inspiration from the BaratBashes that Avi has hosted for years, we started this out as a small BBQ and ended up with a blow-up water slide that was live video streamed on ustream.com. Plenty of stories out of that one too (including Jay feeding Tyler at midnight watching our beer pong games in FL)
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