At the Corner of Cloverhurst & Cloverhurst

I'm not really sure what happened to Spring, but it seems that we went straight from Winter to Summer. It's ridiculous to think that we took a seven hour (in each direction) road trip on one of the hottest weekends of the year...and it's still APRIL!!!

We did hit the road to see Kenny and Amanda (Aunt Amanda and Uncle Kenny, if Julia is reading) down in Winston-Salem, NC. I realized a couple things on the ride. First...it still kinda cracks me up that when you cross into Virginia on the Eastern Shore, there's a big Confederate Flag Billboard that reads, "The South Starts Here"...just to prove to all of you that we actually live in the Northeast.

The other thing that gets me is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. I've now been over it probably 6 or 8 times and I'm never any less in awe. I always have the urge to stop, fish off the pier, take lots of photos and watch the ships go by. That bridge is truly awesome. I'm waiting for two opportunities. I can't wait until Julia is old enough to share my awe of the bridge and I really want to take my dad over it.

So travel across that Bay Bridge-Tunnel and take a right at Virginia Beach. Travel west-southwest for a while and eventually you come to Winston-Salem, NC in the heart of ACC Country. As a Big East guy, I felt like I should be doing something to sabotage the ACC, like Luke Skywalker visiting the Death Star, but I refrained.

When you get into W-S, NC you will come to the Cloverhurst neighborhood. Seriously...every street is a Cloverhurst. You start our on Cloverhurst Way and take a left onto Cloverhurst Blvd. Follow that to Cloverhurst Avenue and then a quick left onto Cloverhurst Street and there you will find Kenny and Amanda!

Julia made a new friend this weekend. He's just her size and boy did he like her. His name is Ripken and he's a Shorkie. It was absolutely priceless when Julia went upstairs to get a bath and he sat at the bottom of the stairs and just barked. I guess he missed his new buddy.

Julia and Ripken hung out, played, chased each other and even shared toys. At times it seemed that anything Ripken put in his mouth, Julia would too. (And sweetheart, when you read this, I hope you are as grossed out as Daddy was this weekend). They shared a beanie turtle, squeeze toys, ice cubes and probably most hysterically...a pacifier!!!

We hoped that Julia would be taking her first steps in NC this weekend, but sadly she's still not quite ready. She was taking half steps at one point, but never did follow through with the other leg. We have tempted her with everything...food, toys, cans, bottles and TV remotes, but she's just not quite there.

All in all, the trip to visit the Becks was in a word...short. I think I can speak for Courtney in saying that we really miss having them around. I'm just happy that things are going so well for them. They have a beautiful home in a great area of the country. Amanda has just gotten a new job and they have a super cool puppy (and that means a lot, considering that I'm really not a dog guy).

Uncle Kenny and Julia seem to be pals now too. We knew that Aunt Amanda would do just fine, but I wondered what Kenny's interaction level would be like (having been recently petrified of infants/toddlers myself). Well he took to Julia like the Red Sox taking to Yankee relievers. He did great!

All in all, we had a wonderful trip. Many thanks to the Becks for their hospitality and friendship! We didn't get the chance to play Settlers, but there is always next time. In fact, I would say that the only downer from the whole trip was the fact that I'm actually sore today from our Bocce World Series yesterday!!!

-Andy