So, rather abruptly, we decided to host some relatives that were in the area and it turned into a big family reunion and a trip to the lake.
Grandpa Ron and Aunt Lanette were touring the eastern seaboard. They traveled up to Maine to see the old lighthouse that they used to live in when Dad was a boy, and then they made their way down south. They brought with them some real Maine blueberries, and while I'm not much of a blueberry fan, I have never had tastier muffins or biscuits. Anyhow, the parents showed them their house despite its perpetual state of incompleteness. They seem impressed with it, particularly the fact that we had our own pool. Though it is quite clearly becoming Fall now, the weather is still warm enough that the pool should still see plenty of use for at least another month. We certainly made use of it while the relatives were down.
Then a day later, everyone went down to the Santee River System down between Columbia and Charleston, where we had rented several cabins for the weekend. The cabins were built right on the dock, so Dad had his boat moored outside. The Santee River System feeds two lakes made by the hydroelectric power plant (Santee-Cooper), and I believe the lake we resided on was Lake Marion. In any case, these lakes and rivers are famous for their robust populations of wildlife. There are supposedly state and world record fish living in the lake, but after venturing out several times over three days, none of the family caught a bite. We did, however, see several fishing cranes, some turtles, deer, and even a raccoon which was running around on the docks. There were also alligators lurking nearby, but we only ever saw them once. At the cabins, we were joined by more family; Aunt Lisa and her daughter Ashley, Uncle Chris and his wife and young children, Connor and Olivia...I can't believe how big those kids have gotten. It seems like only yesterday I heard about them being born. Now Connor is very rambunctious and energetic, and Olivia is old enough to talk to. On the second day of our stay, we had insect problems because the children kept going in and out while the lights of the cabin drew a screen of flying bugs to the door. By the time everyone had left our cabin to bed down ourselves, there were dozens of bugs crawling all over the walls of the cabin. Since I had to sleep in the living room, they kept me up all night by crawling all over my face and in my hair. Though it pained me to do so, I took the opportunity to go home early with Mom, since I did not want to run the risk of becoming increasingly irritable on the final day of the stay.
All said though, it was a rather pleasant vacation and family reunion. Short, but it was great seeing the family again, and wonderful to get out of the house for a change! I had lots of fun, and probably more alchohol than I usually drink in a year. :p
Though next time we rent a cabin at a place with bugs that out of control, I think I am going to invest in one of those plug-in sonic devices that is supposed to drive them off.
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Now playing:
Journey - Still She Criesvia FoxyTunes A moon rock supposedly brought back by United States Astronauts and given to the Dutch Prime Minister in 1969 was recently discovered to have been
a chunk of petrified wood all along. The rock, now owned by a Dutch museum, had been insured for over half a million dollars, but an investigation into the stone determined it was actually worth no more than euro 50 (about $70). I wonder if this will damage US-Dutch relations any?
Want free music? Russian glam rockers
Jack Riot released some downloadables from their upcoming debut album.
Speaking of music,
Oasis broke up almost a week ago when the two brothers that form the core of the band got into a huge fight. With only a minute to stage time, vocalist Liam Gallagher smashed Noel's guitar, causing the guitarist to walk out of the festival and not come back. In spite of a statement his brother made recently that the band was not going to break up, it was publicly announced that the band's European tour was canceled and that the group no longer exists. Noel later released a statement claiming he would never work with his brother again.