Cold Spaghetti

We are safely in Duck, North Carolina. The rain and wind poses limitations to beach outtings, but we are having a great trip.

No wireless… so no pictures yet. We’re using my in-laws dial up for outside contact.

Friends Christie, David, Steph, and Mike all came down and spent the weekend… full of great laughs. It was so wonderful to connect with old friends and we had a great time. Amy and Kevin (Paul’s sister and brother-in-law) were here, too, and we all got to bond with Will.

We took Will to the North Carolina Aquarium in Manteo today. Although he’d been to the NOLA Aquarium of the Americas before, this time, he really got into the fact that there were “fishies” in the tanks. Before, he was much more interested in the children’s exhibits and various pushable buttons than in any animal. Of particular obsession: otters. Much time was spent at the otter tank, with Will taking great delight in announcing the presences of “otters!” to all who came by.

We haven’t spoken much of our plans and are decompressing from the week. Maybe after we both finish our novels (Paul reading a Terry Pratchet, me the book “Wicked”) we can reconnect to our real lives. Until then, it’s just a day at the beach!

Paul returned to Mobile this afternoon, safe and sound, but clearly shaken. After seeing the video and several hundred pictures they took, I am feeling a bit shaken myself.

We are scrambling to get ready for tomorrow… we are leaving for a week in Duck, NC, where we will stay with Paul’s folks in their co-owned house in Ship’s Watch. The trip was a gift from Paul’s parents — it was suppose to be a congratulatory gift as I was going to be taking my comprehensive exams today and tomorrow.

We are looking forward to a relaxing week. I’m bummed that the weather is suppose to suck. Something about me and Duck… this is the third time I’ve been and I don’t think we’ve seen good weather for any of the trips! It sort of blows my idea of just spending all day walking on the beach. Regardless, we are ready for a serious break and hope that the time we have will allow us to reflect on all of this and make some choices.

After a nice conversation yesterday with my Grandma Betty, we were suprised this morning to get a call from her doctor with very bad news. She is declining rapidly. Tests are being run. Unless they can find evidence of infection or stroke, her doctor is recommending hospice care. I’m not sure how much more heartbreak we can take right now.

Paul and Alex sent about 60 photos last night, below are some of them. Paul has my computer, so I had to go back to Flickr to get them on the blog. You can click on one of the photos and be linked to the Flickr site to see the rest (under my photostream).

Paul tells me that the pictures are somewhat disappointing because they are positively antiseptic compared to the reality.