summers are sizzling in virginia and the capitol

So last week we wandered to Virginia. The Mama Seal had a class to attend at a school on the UVA campus; and, Papa Seal and the Pup went too. It was fun and all, but Virginia is really hot this time of the year.

On our way down to Charlottesville, we made a few quick stops. Papa Seal was able to sit down and chat with his mom briefly in Northern VA (oh, serendipitous travels).

The pup had fun playing with his cousin and aunt,

there were crayons.

There were also popsicles.

There were also new and exciting toys,

the likes of which we have never seen.

Clearly, someone had fun.

We also made a pit stop in the Portmouth area, just because.

You have to brainwash indoctrinate them early.

You will have a liking for sea and its lore young man, you will! It's in your genes!

After getting to the UVA campus. I spent all of my time in class in this building:

Kelly and the Anders had other enviable adventures on the UVA campus.
But most of them involved Anders trying to take part in the fun of the ball games of older boys.

Not yet little guy!

And food is always important...and dessert, especially so.

And because wandering was involved, I had to wander to a shop dealing in my own version of candy:

Great fun was had.

And then there was the site of supreme money suckage.

It's very dangerous to learn about chromolithography and chromolithographic prints one morning and seeing really gorgeous examples that afternoon. Especially when said examples are for sale.

On the way back north we stopped off in Washington DC so the Pup could say "hi" to our good friends George and Laura, we guessed they were too busy to.

While we got a chance to see a good friend while in the DC area, we had to cut the looking and wandering about a bit short. It was miserably hot. We will have to go back when the weather is more tolerable for seals.

As always, more pictures over in the flickr site.

seals in water

The seal pup is taking swimming lessons this summer.

He loves it. He is taking to water like a...

SEAL!

It's a good thing you retired Thorpedo.

new haven; or, cramming more into one day than some poeple fit into a week

On Saturday, the Seal Pup got his first professional haircut. He wasn't very excited about the prospect. No, not at all.

He had his hair cut by his halmony (Korean grandmother) for his birthday back in March, and we gave it a try a month or so ago (to disastrous results), and the shagginess was starting to be a problem where grooming was concerned. So he got it cut, much better, right?

Kelly likes the cut more than I do. I miss the little curls, and I think the haircut makes him look older...like he is 2 or something!

I think Anders likes it, and in the great scheme of things...that's what really matters--making sure the wants and desires of a 16 month old are met, right.

After the haircut, we headed to New Haven to adventure in our own backyard...and go to Ikea and find Vietnamese food. Who knew Ikea was a playground?

We certainly did not know about the huge playground posing as a furniture store (having never visited with kids--or even with kids in mind).

The pup had so much fun, it was scary. Playing around Ikea was clearly much better than getting his haircut by some stranger who just graduated high school (okay, maybe she isn't that young, but she was young).

Our friend APea often sites trying and traumatic experiences such as this as opportunities to "get a pony." We have no stable or barn, so the Pup will have to settle for a wooden moose.

I tried putting the moose together, Kelly took a look at it and asked if the moose was supposed to rock back and forth. "Well, of course, it is a rocking moose...oh..."

Not so much.

After dismantling the rocking portions and re-attaching them properly, we were in business.

We were able to find a creatively named yarn shop (clearly the most important part of any family trip).

We walked around the Yale University campus explaining to Anders the importance of a good education and the merits of earning scholarships to attain said education (sure, he isn't even 2 yet, but you have to start early, right?).

And we found our Pho connection.

A very delicious meal was consumed by the parental seals.

The Pup had his meal earlier at Ikea, the swedish meatballs were very popular.

Why do kids love these meatballs? Granted, I am a little more discriminating, but I didn't find them tasty at all...

I think ice cream from Michael's Dairy is much better. Anders found it more enjoyable too, I think.

Papa Seal wanted to enjoy some ice cream too, but clearly, he needed to get his priorities in order.

Ice cream, it's the taste of summer.

to portland; or, why we love southwest airlines

We wandered to the great northwest over the weekend, specifically, Oregon. This was how Anders felt about another cross country flight after getting back from Hawaii less than a week before:

obviously über excited.

We were all excited about the pup having his own seat on the longer (5 hours) legs of the journey--thank you Southwest Airlines, we love you. We love your pre-boarding policies for families traveling with lap children, and we really love your passengers "select-a-seat" philosophy. Because really, who is going to select a seat near a couple with a kid for 5 hours? No one, that's who; and, that is just the way we like it.
Portland, Oregon is a fun city. Our motivation for going traveling again so soon after our big trip to Hawaii was the birthday of a very good friend. She was getting a surprise party, we wanted to join in on the fun.

After partying it up, we did a little exploring. We visited the International Rose Test Garden on the most popular day to get married (07.07.07) and saw more brides than you could shake a stick at. The Test Garden is great for many reasons. 1) There are roses (lots of them), 2) it's pretty, and 3) it's free. Free fun rates pretty high in our book. Aside from bridal parties, there was a young girl getting photographs for her Quinceañera, Anders liked the uniforms of her escorts(?).

In direct contrast to the hustle and bustle of the Rose Test Garden was the nearby Japanese Garden. It was peaceful, relaxing and truly incredible.

At the suggestion of one of the surprise party attendees, we made a trip to Cannon Beach.
This was a beach that even the Mama Seal could love.
But the pup loved the beach the most.

Aside from beach time fun, Cannon Beach is a great town to walk around, shop and, of course, eat.
Our lunch time destination was Cranky Sue's, because it's the home of great crab cakes. Truly.

It was the best meal we have had in quite some time (well, since Indigo in Hawaii).

And since we can't go anywhere without the Mama Seal going to a yarn shop, we stopped at the best one in the city.

And of course, we had to go to Powell's Books, because you have to do that when you go to Portland, Oregon.

It was a great trip. And we can not wait to go back some time!

we wander to hawaii

More specifically, we wandered to the island of Oahu for a little vacation fun. Papa Seal (Kelly) had a conference to attend for the first few days there, but his conference attendance didn't hamper the adventuring of Mama(Nova) and the Pup (Anders).

The trip started out kind of rocky, Nova got a little case of conjunctivitis while flying to Hawaii, so the first stop on the island was an urgent care center. Nothing says paradise like pink eye! But after a night's rest, off to the beach.

Anders didn't love the beach the first day out, though he liked the pool at the hotel.


We tried daily trips to the beach, by week's end, he was a fan and walking in without any cajoling on the part of the 'rents (see video in previous post).

While on the island we did quite a bit of adventuring, more so after Kelly was done with his conference. The first few days (conference days) were concentrated in Waikiki, there were malls, markets, vendors, fancy places to shop (Harry Winston, Prada, Chanel, etc. the high end stores catered to the shopping needs of the Japanese tourists. Hawaii is considered a shopping mecca for them, I think maybe the U.S. main landers go for some good beach fun). Our favorite thing to see were the street performers, particularly the musicians.


Well, they were the Pup's favorite, anyways.

We checked out the Pearl Harbor area and downtown Honolulu after renting a car (though we could have used The Bus), and went to a few shops and our new favorite resturant Indigo, a great suggestion from friends who were once stationed in the area. Best buffet EVER (and totally worth the price given the high prices--some would say exorbitant--elsewhere on the island).

The next day (Friday) was spent exploring the North Shore of Oahu. This is the area for the iconic surfer and paradise-like imagery one generally associates with Hawaii. It's beautiful.

The Dole Plantation is there too. It's so touristy, but you kind of have to go if you are in the area. It's educational, and it is pretty; there are gardens, and you can buy a bunch of junk you don't need or really want (mostly pineapple related). But there is a train ride. And you can be a pineapple if you really want to (or if your parents make you).

We explored Waimea Bay quite a bit, particularly the Audubon Center there (thanks to a suggestion from Kelly's dad), gorgeous flora and fauna (birds, obviously).


Worth the drive (or the Bus ride --which would take forever from Waikiki, but it's doable-- should you want to use public transport).

Saturday we saw some friends on the east side of Oahu. They are currently finishing up their first year there. Anders made good use of the time. Can you say, "surfer in training?"




On Sunday we said "aloha" to Hawaii. We hope to go back one day, maybe another island next time. Should you have a conference in Hawaii, you should go and definately take your sig.o. and your kid(s). Voila, vacation!

Didn't get enough picture action? Go see more over on our flickr site.