So, how was your week? Our Week was highlighted by the trip that we just returned from to Wake Forest, North Carolina, to visit our son Bill, our Daughter-in-Law Lori, and our 3 Grandchildren, 9 year old Layla, almost 8 year old Henry, and 4 year old Annabelle! It was also very appropriate that one of the days we were there was National Grandparents Day!

Always fun for Susie and I to be back on the road again, and the trip to North Carolina is really about 9 hours for us, including bathroom breaks and lunch stops. We’ve had it with Interstate 95, and the constant traffic around Washington, DC, and are more than happy to go over the Delaware Memorial Bridge, and then immediately get off in Delaware and travel over to US 301, and take that to bypass Baltimore, Washington, DC, Richmond, and Fredericksburg and the very busy I-95 corridor. In fact, on this trip, we didn’t ride one mile on I-95! One good thing about retirement is that your time is your own, so you do what you enjoy and don’t worry if it might be a bit slower!

There is nothing better than to hear our three Grandkids yell “Grandma and Grandpa,” when we get out of the car! It was a busy 3 day stay with Arcade time, lunches out, hockey practice (Henry) a soccer game (Layla), and a museum visit. Even though we also had 3 kids, you forget as you and they get older, what it was like when they were under 10. Combine that with the fact that these 3 kids are a lot more advanced than our 3 were at the same age, and you truly know why you have kids when you are young! They have so much energy and a thirst to know and do everything!

After a nice Family dinner Friday night, Saturday we were off to a combo Bowling Alley/Arcade/Restaurant. When we watched our three Grandkids playing games at the arcade, it was easy to think back to our three kids a long time ago playing pinball and the like at Nathan’s on Long Island, or on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, each with their handful of quarters. Of course, today you just use a swipe of a card to start the machines, but I think it was always fun to look at the quarters and know exactly how many you had left! All 4 kids (including 40 year old son Billy) gravitated to a modern version of Ski Ball, which they’ve all played along the Ocean City Boardwalk! Henry was very good, Annabelle not so much!

They wanted to go bowling, but all the alleys were taken, so Billy thought perhaps they’d like Bocce Ball. It took them a bit to understand the logic of throwing the little white ball, and then rolling the bigger balls at it, but eventually they got it…except for Annabelle who thought she should chase the little ball! Layla was very good at rolling her ball right next to the white ball, and was happy….till her Dad ran his ball into her’s and sent them all flying…that she didn’t like! After the arcade, Billy took us to Old Downtown Wake Forest, which we’d never seen before. The lunch spot was a place called Shorty’s Famous Hot Dogs, that just had it’s 106 birthday and is still run by the original family! I think the kids were a little taken back because it didn’t look like a McDonalds, but rather what a local food joint might have looked like back in the 50s when we were kids! The hot dogs and crinkle fries were good, but Susie, Layla and I discovered the cheeseburgers were even better (Layla enhanced here’s by putting the fries on the burger)!

That night, it was time for our kids (Lori and Billy) and some of their fellow parents to have an Adult Night, while Grandma and Grandpa and the kids had Dominos Pizza and Movie Night! Grandma thought Toy Story would be a great movie to watch, but of course our oldest Layla had much different ideas! The movies were good, the pizza was enjoyed by all, and Mom and Dad had a nice night out!

Sunday started early with Henry’s Hockey Practice. Billy is the coach of the team and his buddy Adam is the assistant couch. We’d seen Henry on ice before and continue to be amazed at how good this little guy is at skating. He won’t be 8 til next month, and he’s small, but this kid can skate! I think his Dad wishes he’d been that good this age! The girls were with us, and Annabelle wanted Chick-Fil-A for lunch, and couldn’t understand, and frankly didn’t care, that it was Sunday and it was closed! Not always easy to argue with a 4 year old! We went to a local food hall with lots of choices, and that wasn’t the best solution either, but we made it work. Burgers and fries worked till Annabelle discovered there were “green things” (parsley) on the fries! Grandma and Dad tried to convince her that was green salt, and after picking it off a dozen or so, she ate two and said she was full! Next on our very full agenda was the North Carolina Museum of History. We enjoyed our stroll through the history of North Carolina, but as always, the Gift Shop was probably their favorite! After a brief rest, it was time for Layla’s soccer game! We saw her play the first half as the Goalie and the second half on defense. It was a good game, and Layla’s team won by a score of 3 to 1.

Within minutes of the game ending, the clouds came rolling in and the skies opened and it poured cats and dogs! A fitting end to our weekend in North Carolina!

The weather on the ride home was spectacular and the traffic was light, so a great trip for us back to Ocean City! The one bad part was we were planning on having Chinese take- out when we got back, only to discover that our favorite Chinese place is now closed on Monday!

So how was your week?