Our Xtremis Adventures

My New Sport

2012-01-22T06:30:00.000-08:00

As you may know,Myron and I took up target shooting at the Wake County Range. I have joined the Ladies League and enjoy shooting with the ladies! I have decided to get competitive about it and so Myron bought me for my birthday a .22 Browning Buck Mark pistol. I had tried out a variety of pistols and found the action and accuracy of the Browning to be the best for me. We also purchased a pink gun case and pink range bag to have the appropriate feminine accoutrements. Here is a picture of my new pistol all ready for taking to the range. I also puchased a few targets and will keep you all apprised of my sharpshooter skills. Myron likes the Berretta 9mm so that will be his target pistol of choice. I might let him use my .22 if he lets me at least try the 9mm once he gets it.

Love you guys!!
Anna and Myron

We are Certified and Certifiable Open Water SCUBA Divers!!!

2012-01-17T07:12:00.000-08:00

Have we had quite the adventure!!! We drove to Florida, Gainesville area to get our open water Scuba certification. It was a whole lot more than we expected.

We passed our certification but it was a whole lot more than just that!!!
We arrived on Friday after driving the 9 hours to get there. On Saturday morning we left for the Ichetucknee River for a drift snorkel to pass our snorkel requirement. It was 32 degrees air temp and we had to change from our warm clothes into our 3mm wetsuits in an open air dressing room. BRRRRRRRRRRR ...I thought this was Florida! -- Anyway we got into the water which was 72 degrees ( supposedly) , we drifted for 1 hour in the river, and saw lots of fish, turtles and gar fish .Now came the tough part. We had to hike back to the cars in wet wetsuits for about 25 minutes. I was really shivering when we got back to the car but the temperature had risen to 50 degrees or thereabouts.
We dried off and then drove to Ginnie Springs for our first dive. It had warmed up to around 58-62 thank goodness and we got into our SCUBA gear. We did our required safety things at 15 feet, mask clears, mask off, out of air octo share, and regulator out. Then we went into a cave with the instructor down to 40 feet. The water was 72 degrees and the cave was really neat. We took 2 dives there and then headed back to the hotel for dinner and sleep!
The next morning we left at 7:30 am and there was a frost everywhere and 30 degrees! Major frost warnings for the citrus growers. Of course when we go to Florida for our check out dives!!! GRRRRRRRRRR, BRRRRRRRRRRR. Anyway we arrived at Devil's Den at 8:15am. Here is a video I found of it on YouTube you might like. It was a great dive there again to 40 feet. The water was 72 degees. We worked on buoyancy, safety stops and hovering. We practiced BC removal and donning in the water. We practiced gentle fin kicks and simply dove around to practice various skills. It was wonderful.
After our dive we drove a piece to Crystal River to snorkel with the Manatees who overwinter there because of the warm springs. that feed the river and keep it a toasty 72! The afternoon had warmed up to 65 and we were enjoying the sunshine big time. Even though it was cooler than expected for Florida, the sunshine was tremendous all weekend.
Here is a video I found on youtube that shows exactly what we did with the manatees.We petted them, stroked them and simply enjoyed swimming with them. We took a boat out past their sanctuary and they would come out to hang with you . They have many propeller injuries on their backs and the coast guard monitors all our activity with them. The fines are heavy if we even swim after them. They are to come to you and they do because they are so gentle. They are endangered due to the need for so much of a certain type of seagrass.
It was an amazing adventure.
We returned to the hotel, ate and collapsed!!!!
The final morning in Florida we went to dive at Blue Grotto Again cold in the morning but warming up fine. Here is a video I found on you tube of exactly what we did.

However the actual depth is 87 feet in the cave because unless you are skinny you can't get down to those last 13 feet!!! It was amazing and a bit scary when all you have is a tiny tunnel to go through with a rope for a reference. I got my octo hooked on a rock ledge and got stuck and had to back up to get loose! A bit scary for sure.
The Blue Grotto dive site also had a compressed air bell at 20 feet where you could hang and talk to your buddies . That was a real plus. You could also do your safety stop there for your 3 minutes of decompression.
We left Florida around noon and got back to Durham at 10:20 pm . We stopped for a picnic lunch and dinner along the way.

We are now certified and certifiable!!! Pictures of us will be coming soon. We didn't have a waterproof or underwater camera so we are relying on our instructors to provide some of theirs.
Love
Anna and Myron

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T17:07:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May peace, happiness, adventures and love be your constant companions.

Oma and Opa came over for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts. We had a joyous time. We talked to our sons on the phone and enjoyed the tree, the laughter, a fondue dinner on Christmas Eve and duck and latkes on Christmas!

OBX and Sean's Birthday

2011-12-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

We are at the beach house in OBX just for an overnight to clean and prepare for 2 weekends of renters.

It is around 60 degrees and bit blustery but not cold at all. The beach is wide and the house is now clean.

It is Sean's birthday today and he is 29!! I wish we were celebrating with him but we certainly will when we go to Grand Cayman in March.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Scuba and Polish Deli???

2011-12-19T04:17:00.000-08:00

HI Everyone,

Yesterday we had our last SCUBA pool practice before we head to Florida for our open water certification test. We purchased our personal gear. I decided pink is powerful and Myron chose red! So underwater we will be visible and distinguisable!

Next door to the SCUBA shop is a Polish deli! What a treat we purchased some kielbasa and pierogi as well as blintzes and crisp cookies. We were the only people in the place speaking English. I think the area has a few ethnic neighborhoods because last week we enjoyed a yummy Jamaican meal in the same strip.

I love America... SCUBA and great food all within 200 feet!!!

Hope you like the pics.

Loves
Anna and Myron

Holiday Prep Weekend

2011-12-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was pretty darn busy. I started decorating for Christmas and had some major sewing to finish. I made a duvet cover for a feather bed my German Grandmother had purchased for me many many years ago. My grandmother died in 1957 but she had purchased a feather bed for me prior to her death ... of course I was only 5 years old at the time. The last time I was in Germany ( 2005) my Aunt gave it to me, she had been saving it for many years and remembered to give it to me. Since our bedroom motif is Japanese, I had purchased Japanese style fabric the last time I was in Japan. Well, I finally finished the Duvet cover for the feather bed. It is so cozy and I now can think of my grandmother when I am warmed by those wonderful German goose feathers! Here are some pictures.

I also put up my Christmas Charles Dickens Christmas Houses by the fireplace.

Senior Seal Team #6!

2011-12-04T05:50:00.000-08:00

Friends and Family,

Yesterday was a most interesting day! I had my Ladies League Pistol Shooting 3 hour practice at the range. I target shot with a Ruger, a Walther, a Smith and Wesson, a Sig Sauer and a Taurus. I loved the Smith and Wesson as it had the best sights and the best feel in my hand. It was reliable and comfortable. I have yet to try out the Browning and the Berretta before I make my decision. My group shots were good at 30 feet! I also shot a magazine out of a 22 Winchester Rifle with sights at 150 feet. I hit all 5 shots through the same hole in the bullseye. Target shooting is enjoyable and I plan on practicing more in order to try my hand at competition! Myron went to the range as well and did some fancy shooting with very good groupings at 50 feet! All in all we are getting pretty good!!!
Of course right after the range we headed to the Carolina Dive shop to get geared up for our SCUBA class at the pool. We practiced a variety of SCUBA techniques in the deep pool and did very well underwater. After 2 hours of underwater practice, we emerged wet and cold but very pleased with our SEAL activity. Ren and Myron have dubbed us the Senior Seal Team #6!!!
We will keep you all posted as to our continued trials... maybe the Navy will give us call !!! LOL

Anna and Myron

Guns and Scuba!

2011-11-20T06:05:00.000-08:00

Friends and Family,It started with Sushi dinner with Zareen and Kevin on Friday night which ignited the beginning of a stimulating weekend. On Saturday we donned our western gear and headed to the Raleigh Gun and Knife show at the State Fairgrounds. We strolled around and handled Walther, Browning, Colt, Ruger, Beretta, and Smith and Wesson pistols. I was looking for the .22 caliber target pistol that fits my hand with sights that I liked for target shootin. I never saw so many pink handled pistols! Women are totin' guns!Then we headed to the Carolina Dive Shop to register for our upcoming Open Water NAUI Dive certification class. We are going to Grand Cayman in March and want to be certified ahead of time.

After that we enjoyed at a great restaurant, Four Square, in Durham with friends Bob and Lil.

Sunday promises some time with Oma and Opa and then back to the grind on Monday.

Love

Anna and Myron

Oma's 84th Birthday

2011-11-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

Oma's birthday weekend started off with a surprise visit from Leslie and Siegi! We went to Il Palio for dinner in Chapel Hill and then spent Saturday on a variety of adventures around the area. Here are some pix of the dinner and the family.
Love
Anna and Myron

Myron using a Power Tool!

2011-11-08T04:16:00.000-08:00

Myron happily at work using our new electric hedge saw to clear the path to the beach from the OBX beach house. He did a good job and didn't cut the electric cord.

Love to all of you

Fall Weekend Adventures

2011-10-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

A rainy start to the weekend but it ended magnificently with sunshine galore and it was filled with adventures!
On Friday evening we took Oma and Opa out for the evening. I took Oma to see Evita at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium and it was fantastic. Tom, a work acquaintance, couldn't use his 2 tickets so he offered them to me and I jumped at the chance. They were great orchestra seats and the show was terrific. While we were at the show, Myron took Opa to a pool hall and shot some pool and hoisted a few beers. A very nice evening for all.
Myron and I are intent on increasing our vegetable intake and doing some indoor grilling in order to lose a few extra pounds. So on Saturday we ventured out to buy a good vegetable steamer and a cast iron stove top grille. Then we enjoyed our block party in the cul de sac promptly followed by a drive to Raleigh to attend a Halloween Tango Milonga! Phew...

But Sunday was another gorgeous day and I had read about the health benefits and flavor enhancement of infused oils and balsamic vinegars and we went to Chapel Hill to the Blue Sky Oil and Vinegar Store. It is a new store that specializes in exotic pairings fo flavors with first quality ExtraVirgin Olive Oil from the North and Southern hemisphere depending on when each presses!!! Amazing.

It was taste delight and we purchased some specialty vinegars and oils to doctor up our vegetables and grilled fishes.

Here is picture of our purchases. It includes: garlic infused oil, lemon infused oil, toasted sesame oil, roasted almond oil, blueberry balsamic, vanilla balsamic and grapefruit balsamic. There we so many to taste at the store that it was difficult to choose. Tonight we had a Kale Salad with the lemon oil and grapfruit balsamic. We cooked Cod with the garlic oil and blueberry balsamic... Explosive flavors with minimal calories and healthy antioxidants and loads of Vitamin E.

Love ya all
Anna and Myron

Anniversary Adventure Part 2

2011-10-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

Click here to link to the pictures!

A while back I had mentioned that I would be interested in seeing how well I could shoot a gun and Myron's gift to me was an NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course at the local firearms training center!

The 2 of us arrived at 9am on a beautiful Saturday morning and took the full day class which consisted of about 5 hours of classroom time and 2 hours of shooting practice. The course was very well designed by the NRA with safety being the first and foremost consideration. Exercising 2nd amendment rights of course was the second. The instructors were good, one was from NYC and the other was a self pronounced computer geek who worked in RTP and both loved teaching safe gun handling, shooting and the importance of exercising their rights. There were 16 in the class and of the 16 there were 4 women including me. The instructors spoke proudly of how more and more women were purchasing guns, learning how to use them and blowing the socks of macho men with their ability to shoot more accurately. It was very funny because I was darn anxious when I picked up the unloaded semi-automatic pistol to practice pulling back the slide, working the safety and learning how to aim and squeeze the thing. It was HEAVY and difficult to work! The women in CSI and NCIS must be definitely using plastic guns in those shows! Anyway after learning how to safely and appropriately grip, handle and manipulate the unloaded gun we donned our glasses and ear protection and entered the range!!!

The first shooting stance was the benchrest . This is where you sit and rest your wrists on a raised plastic armrest holding the gun aimed at the target which is 15 feet in front of you. The target was a paper plate. The goal of course is to get all your rounds into the paper plate clustered in the center.
I was in the first group up and Myron and the second group was waiting 10 feet back. We were to load only one live round for the first try because the instructors wanted to make sure we weren't going to kill anyone and wanted to monitor our safety. I loaded the magazine, pulled back the slide, popped it in, pushed the safety and was ready to fire. Don't I sound like a pro? :-) When the instructors told us we could fire, I aimed carefully focusing my left dominant eye on the front sight lined up with the rear sight and the center of the plate on the sight, took a breath, let it out, held it and squeezed the trigger very slowly and evenly with the pad of my index finger and.... I HIT THE PLATE! We reloaded with I hit the plate again. And we reloaded with 5 rounds and I popped off the 5 and hit the plate every time getting them grouped! I was doing just swell.
Myron got his turn next and did just as well with the benchrest stance!

Then I went up to do the 2 handed standing stance. I kept all the instructions in my head and remembered that to steady the grip on the pistol, you have to push out with the left hand and pull in with the right. This tension reduces movement on the pistol. I shot 15 rounds and they all were in a group on my plate and I had the best plate in the class!!! Woo hoo... watch out... Annie Oakley rides again.

Myron completed his 2 handed stance as well and got all his rounds in the plate as well. But the instructor warned him never to piss me off!!!

This was a terrific adventure and I will probably join the Ladies League at the range and join the NRA!
We are looking forward to testing different guns and purchasing one for target practice.

Thank you Myron for a perfect adventure!

Love

Anna and Myron

Zipline Anniversary Adventure

2011-10-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

We celebrated our 3rd Anniversary this past week. We prefer to provide each other adventures as opposed to things because memories last a lifetime.

I gave Myron a Zipline adventure, with an overnight stay at a B and B and a nice dinner in Fayetteville!

The weather was spectacular! Sunny, warm in the high 70's and fresh clean air provided us the perfect day for zipping through the canopies of 200 foot trees, crossing rope bridges and climbing spiral staircases high above the pine needle carpeted ground. The drive was less than 90 minutes to get to the destination. www.zipquest.com is a relatively new ecological zipline in a forest with a waterfall in the Sandhills of North Carolina. Our guides reminded us of Jeff...fun, enthusiastic, athletic and humorous. After a short ground lesson we started off on our 8 zips, 3 suspension bridges and 2 spiral staircases through the dappled forest. Our group was an interesting group of people and we all had a terrific time.

The speeds on the zip were around 40 mph between 50 and 150 feet above the ground. I recommend it highly.

Our B and B was run by Gloria and she was a terrific hostess and a superb massage therapist.

But the adventure doesn't end here. On our drive back we stopped at the NC State Fair, strolled and gawked and I ate some Fried Dough ( yummy).

Love

Anna and Myron

Birds at our Feeder

2011-10-05T04:36:00.000-07:00

We hung a squirrel-proof bird feeder off the back deck that Sean built and we get birds feeding all day.
Myron took some nice images of the North Carolina State Bird, the cardinal and a pileated woodpecker that is so large he makes the other birds wait their turns.

Lovin' North Carolina and the backyard!
Anna and Myron

We be goin' to the Brad Paisley Concert!

2011-09-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

Priceless!!!

Vanity Plate for Myron

2011-09-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

So.. you know that our beach house is called TangoOBX and you know we are Tango enthusiasts.

Myron got his new vanity plate for his NC License plate for his car.

I don't need one on my car because I have an official OBX plate because I use the OBX address as my driver's license address so I can get on the island if there is a hurricane and they only allow residents.
Thought you would enjoy it as much as we got a kick out of it.
Love
Anna and Myron

Gone Country!!!

2011-09-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

Ok... so Myron and I are going to see Brad Paisley, the country singer, in concert on Sept 25th! We got awesome seats and plan on some good ole' country tunes.So in honor of our being North Carolinians for 4 years today`(definitely below the Mason Dixon line) and our debut at a Country Western concert, we decided to get decked out in the appropriate gear. We purchased original Stetson and Resistol hats, Nocona and Lucchese boots, a western shirt and dress ....all`made in the US of A because we have GONE COUNTRY! Wait till we post pix of us in our new duds.

Yee Haa!!
Love ya'll Anna and Myron

Post Hurricane Irene at OBX!

2011-09-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

Well, Irene did lots of damage from OBX all the way to Vermont. The new beach enhancement of 400 new feet of sand saved many houses and did what it was supposed to do. Luckily our house in Nags Head suffered not at all except for the Albermarle Sound flood waters, mud, algae and seaweed that came under the house with debris. The house was without electricity for 4 days but when we got there, we simply had a day of cleanup under the house and in the shed. There was real swampy smell that got to Myron and his allergy attack was rather fierce, but we scraped, hosed and bleached and now it is pristine. We had no loss of anything of value at all even though stuff in the shed was totally water logged. A day in the sun, bleach and hose was all that was needed. Then we were able to enjoy spectacular weather and warm waves. Our Outer Banks Pier withstood the onslaught of Irene and we enjoyed shrimp and plenty of beer. We even enjoyed a neighbor's hot tub !! I love OBX . However, we were grieved to hear of the devastation in Vermont with the loss of historic covered bridges, homes and lives. None of my family or friends were in any way harmed or had loss of any kind. Vermonters are resilient and neighborly and will come through this stronger! Love Anna and Myron

OBX 2011 Awesome Vacation!

2011-08-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends
We had a most terrific time for the last 2 weeks at OBX. Words can not begin to tell.
The weather was phenomenal, the water warm, the sun shone, the crabs yummy and the love of family and friends inspiring.
We loved every minute.
Thank you for everything : sons, Paul, Sean and Jeff; lovely girlfriends, Liz and Dariya; and long lasting friends, Jim and Lynne!
We love you all.
Anna and Myron

Enjoy the pix in the badge on the right.

Canyoneering in Moab

2011-07-14T04:48:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

The pix from our canyoneering adventure have arrived!

http://s204.photobucket.com/albums/bb202/myronfeinstein/Moab-Canyoneering/

We hiked a ton and rappelled down a 105 foot slot canyon and a 95 foot vertical and exposed face under Morning Glory Arch. It was fantastic.

Love
Anna and Myron

Moab July 4th Weekend

2011-07-09T06:19:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

Here is a slide show of our pix

What a terrific collection of adventures we had over a long 4th of July weekend in Moab, Utah.
We flew out of RDU on June 30th to Dallas and then on to Grand Junction, Colorado to rent a car and drive the 114 miles to Moab where Jeffrey is working as an river raft guide intern for Splore. Splore is a non-profit organization that organizes outdoor adventures for disabled people. Our plan was to join Jeff on a 2 night overnight camping and rafting adventure on the Colorado River. Jeff was working when we arrived and had not yet returned from a rafting trip with some young boys. We decided to go for a hike and after checking in at the Apache Motel ( where John Wayne stayed ... really!) we went to the information center and got some hiking guides. It was HOT but dry! :-) at 100 degrees with 17% relative humidity so off we went to hike the 2.4 mile Negro Bill Trail that led to Morning Glory Arch. We were warned of the plentiful poison ivy under the arch and also warned to carry plenty of water. We were prepared because I had purchased 3 liter Camelbacks, headlamps and river shoes for this trip. I gave them to Myron for Father's Day as a hint to what adventures I had in store for us.
Since we started late in the day at 2:30 we didn't quite make it to the end before it was time to turn around. The 2 hour time change and the heat gave us a hint that it was time to turn around, meet up with Jeff and head out to dinner. We had a great dinner at Jeffrey Steak House ( funny) and then hit the sack. Jeff had to get up early to start preparing for the 2 day camp out on the river which we were joining him on. He expected 37 people, many of whom were disabled, volunteers and the river guides themselves. He had to plan meals, prepare coolers, rig rafts and load the trucks with the rafts in readiness to drive the 25 miles to the put-in / camp area . Our plan was to head to the Dewey Bridge put in at around 5pm. With that plan, Myron and I had the day to explore so we decided to hike the Arches National Park and especially hike out to Delicate Arch. We must have hiked for 6 hours over the course of the day and viewed spectacular arches up close and personal, drank 3 liters a piece of water, and were enthralled with the silence.
Once we returned to the Apache for a quick shower and backpack packing, we headed up to Splore and drove with Jeff to the put in. Jeff drove the handicapped bus and we followed the trucks with the rafts.
Once we got to the put in, the difficult and time consuming work began of setting up camp, inflating rafts, unloading supplies and preparing dinner! We met many of these adventurous less than abled people and were impressed with their positive outlooks and adventurous spirits. It was a most touching adventure. At dusk the mosquitoes arrived with a vengeance and despite DEET, Myron was a choice meal for them. We quickly put up our tent which Jeff provided for us and laid down our thin pads and sleeping bags. With our headlamps on we headed to the river for a quick teeth brushing and hand washing and then returned to our tent for the opportunity to view the stars without becoming a meal for the mosquitoes.
We awoke in the morning, a little stiff , and headed to the river for a wash up. We broke down and packed our tent and enjoyed a bagel/cream cheese, fruit and great camp coffee for breakfast. We chatted with the people and helped the guides set up the boats. Jared, one of the disabled, was a 20 year old quadriplegic from South Africa who with his mother, was in Salt Lake City for 6 months getting rehabilitation. He was a competitive dirt bike racer in South Africa and was on the national and international circuit when he had an accident and broke his neck.South Africa lacks the rehab facilities and advancement that we have here in the States and he and his Mum came to take advantage of the USA medical system. They heard about SPLORE and he was thrilled to have this adventure. He was to be on our raft. Jeff was on the oars in our raft and a specially rigged chair was strapped down in the raft to hold Jared. I was simply in awe of how hard Jeff worked and how wonderful he was with all the people. I am very proud of him! The members of this trip included a deaf woman, some people with cerebral palsy and some boys with autism. It was a real joy to see how well adjusted and adventurous they all were. The day trip on the river ended with camping at a beach and enjoying keeping cool in the river. I even hiked with Jeff and some others up river a ways and then floated down with the current with our life jackets on and our feet up ready hoping not to swept downstream of our camp!!! It was fun but a little anxiety producing. Jeff cooked up dinner in a Dutch oven on a campstove to feed 37 people! It was great too: chicken, onions and potatoes with a huge salad.
After another night in our tent we awoke to a fabulous breakfast of banana chocolate chip pancakes, sausage and fresh cantaloupe. I kept wondering how this little set up kitchen could feed so many people so very well.
One thing I have to discuss however, is the Groover! Mind you we were in a campsite along the river in BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. No facilities exist and what you bring in with you must also leave with you. That of course includes ...waste! The Groover is basically an ammo box with a toilet seat on it. Before putting on the toilet seat, the Groover used to put grooves in your butt when you had to use it and hence the name Groover. Anyway, we had to use the Groover for defecation but we could pee in the river. We took deep breaths and did what we had to do along with the other 35 other people in our group. That's all I am going to say about that.
Once again we headed down the river with Jeff at the oars of our boat and Jared in his special seat. We were going to go through Class 3 rapids on this leg of the trip and it was exciting for all of us. Jeff was an excellent oarsman and Myron held on at the back of the raft and Sandy ( Jared's Mom) and I sat next to Jared in the front. We had some great rides.
At the end of the day, we had tons to do to get all the gear back on the trucks and head back into town. Myron and I helped a bunch and once we got back gave Jeff a big hug and said we were going back to the Apache for a much needed shower. I had planned on Canyoneering the next morning and would pick Jeff up at 7:30 am for another adventure on his day off. Myron and I took long hot showers, went out to eat a very nice restaurant and fell asleep at 8:30 between clean crisp sheets on a nice soft mattress.
At 6:00am we got up and got ready for our canyoneering adventure. We were going with Jeff and a guide to slot canyons to climb and rappel down. It was a first for us but Jeff had done it before. We had 3 guides and another family of 4 with us. We hiked over Slickrock Mountain bike trail to the canyon which would bring us to Morning Glory Arch . The first rappel was 105 feet down! It was fantastic. Hanging from the rope and in control of your descent was a thrill. I enjoyed it immensely . Myron did a good job getting down but scraped his arm on an overhanging rock. We walked through the slotted canyon to another descent. This one was quite different because it was very exposed and after a few feet rappeling with feet against the vertical face, you were hanging free due to the long overhang. At that point you are dangling under a magnificent arch! What a wild rappel down that was! Once on the ground again, we had a 2.4 mile hike out of the canyon. I had run out of water in my Camelback and it was as hot as blazes. Myron and I finished the rest of his Camelback just before the end of the hike. There were streams to wade in and lots of climbs and descents. The water was a pleasure and we would scoop it up in our hats to douse ourselves with it. The evaporation was almost instantaneous. The family we were with took lots of photos because my camera broke. They will send us a link to their pictures so stay tuned for the the pix from the rappel.
The remainder of this last day in Moab was enjoying a good lunch, hanging by the pool, and then having a last dinner with Jeff and his friend Scott.
It was an amazing adventure.
I look forward to canyoneering and rafting again.

Love
Anna and Myron

Horses and Mexican food... a great day in NC

2011-05-08T05:56:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Tim and Sara, bought Spotted Saddle Horses. They have a gait like Tennessee Walking Horses. They are beautiful, smart and spirited. Myron and I rode Cochise, Sara's horse, in the ring and he an amazing horse. Cochise followed the rein leads so well and was a joy to ride.
Bojangles, Tim's horse, is bigger and even more spirited and Tim, an exceptional horseman, is challenged to keep Bojangles in control.
It was another perfect day in North Carolina. The sun was shining, 77 degrees, and only a light breeze. Following our time with the horses, we had a fabulous Mexican meal at a real Mexican cantina. Everyone in Chapel Hill raves about this hole in the wall, and they were correct. Terrific food and served with a smile!
When we got home later in the evening, our block was having a block party and we joined in the celebration. What a great day!!!

Love
Anna and Myron

Why we have an obesity issue!

2011-04-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

As a nurse and a nutrition educator, I have for years railed against drinking sodas and consuming fructose made from corn syrup in all kinds of processed foods. My sons can attest to this!

Please view this video and understand the ramifications of con
suming soft drinks and consuming this culprit.

Love
Anna

Dominican Republic March 2011

2011-04-02T05:46:00.001-07:00

What a great vacation with Paul, Sean, Jeff, Chris and Liz. It was spectacular in every way.
The weather was fantastic, the villa gorgeous, our private pool impressive, the ocean turquoise and the pina coladas delicious.
We enjoyed every minute and every activity. We swam, drank, lounged, partied and took excursions. The sons and Liz went on a moped tour of the countryside. Myron, Anna and Paul went horseback riding on the beach and through a sugar cane plantation. We even swam with a horse !
Please enjoy the pictures. More to come in a badge.

Love
Anna and Myron

Japan New Year's Trip

2011-01-17T13:54:00.000-08:00

Myron and I celebrated the New Year and had a fabulous time in Japan.
We enjoyed the company, the food, the visits, the children!
Here I am with Riku and Chikage! They loved watching the Shinkansen ( Bullet Train) on You Tube! We of course rode it to the Onsen Ryokan
( hot springs Japanese Inn) in the mountains south of Mt Fuji!
Please check out the images in the badge to the right of this post. Everything was just an adventure!!!

Love
Anna and Myron

Beating the Christmas Blizzard to Japan

2010-12-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

Our luck held out on Christmas Day and we escaped being stranded in JFK airport. Our flight to Japan left New York at 11:35 just hours before all flights were canceled due to the encroaching storm. We were even luckier that our earlier flight from Raleigh-Durham left at 6am bound for New York only an hour or so before flights were canceled there. We had the good fortune to be in that very narrow window of opportunity!
We arrived safely in Japan and have been enjoying everyone there and the good food and sights. The children have boundless energy and are making our adjusting to the time change easier as they wear us out on our excursions into Tokyo.
We have watched a coffee roasting expert fresh roast our coffee, ate our fill of a variety of oysters at an oyster bar with our friend Chie, enjoyed a Korean lunch, walked around Ginza, played in the park, filled up on conveyor belt sushi and had crickets for breakfast!
Today we are taking the Shinkansen( bullet train) to an onsen ( hot springs ) about an hour out of Tokyo.
Here are some images to enjoy. More to come.

Anna and Myron

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T06:23:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
We enjoyed a Christmas Dinner gift from Oma and Opa at the fine dining restaurant, Herons, in Cary, NC. We had a wonderful dining adventure. Myron wore the new tie Paul sent him for Christmas!!! The Mission fig ice cream, was delicious.

Wishing you love, peace and joy.
Anna and Myron

And the fire was crackling...

2010-12-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

About 2 weeks ago I started bidding on Charles Dicken's Victorian Village houses on Ebay. I got a bit carried away but they were all a steal. They bring in the Christmas spirit with their windows all aglow. My favorite is the Firehouse with the buckets and ladders on the side and of course the Music Box Shoppe which is making the music you hear in the video.

The fireplace is warming and the baking scents permeate the house.

May the Christmas spirit find you at peace and with joy. To all our family and friends.
Anna and Myron

December in North Carolina

2010-12-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome Winter Wonderland in North Carolina.
Anna is making cookies and cakes to send to sons around the country and putting the roses to bed for the winter. The house smells great and it sure feels like Christmas is around the corner watching the snow fall!
Love
Anna and Myron

Our Weekend in Asheville, NC

2010-11-08T15:37:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous weekend in Asheville, NC and visited the famous Biltmore Estate. The weather was brisk and blustery but the mountains were beautiful and the Biltmore was all decked out for Christmas . We stayed in a beautiful B&B, The Cedar Crest Inn, also known as the Victorian Pink Lady. It stood proud and pink on a hilltop only a mile from the estate. Our room was called the Queen Anne and was decorated in true Victorian fashion. The pictures speak for themselves. View the badge of images on the right. The estate was magnificent, the dining elegant and the beauty of the mountains and the uniqueness of the crafts brought back to life a bygone age. We had a wonderful relaxing weekend and another terrific adventure.

Love Anna and Myron

Pied Piper of Pinestraw Way!

2010-10-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, because the weekend had been so calm, I felt compelled to join the neighborhood kids on our cul de sac at just before dusk. They were riding their bikes so I thought I would join them on my blades! We had a blast.

October in NC

2010-10-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family, We can not be happier in North Carolina. The weather remains sunny and warm in the 70's. My flowers continue to bloom. Here is a picture of my hybrid Firefighter Rose (in honor of Paul and Jeff ) and my festooning bougainvillea. This weekend was much calmer than last. I did not jump out of any airplanes but we enjoyed dinner at the Bonefish Grille on Friday night, had a blast at Whole Foods, visited my parents, took in the new "Hereafter" movie ( very good btw) and cooked up shrimp scampi and sweet potato soup. We went to the gym both days and I did Pilates one day and Spinning class the next. My core aches!! Congratulations to Alaina and Nick on the birth of their new daughter Alexa Nicole.
Love, Myron and Anna

Skydiving!

2010-10-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to skydive and Myron got me a skydiving event for our anniversary.
The weather was perfect. It was sunny with not a cloud in the sky and around 68-70 degrees.
The video says it all!!!
I love you Myron... we still have adventures on our "bucket list"!!!!
View the video here!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtqnMg-BEbE

Yellow Hibiscus with 9 Blossoms!

2010-09-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

It is a record according to Myron. 9 blossoms on our Yellow Hibiscus. It must be the great North Carolina weather.

Anna and Myron

OBX Summer 2010

2010-08-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

There was fabulous weather, wonderful turquoise water, terrific people and great food and drink.
For 2 weeks we frolicked in the sand, jumped on the trampoline, ate local seafood, drank homemade margaritas, walked on the beach, kayaked on the surf, attended bonfires at night, ate ice cream and laughed a lot!!!
At first Jim and Lynne, Jeff, Cindy and Chris and Jackson, Oma and Opa, Anna and Myron and of course Evan the lifeguard enjoyed a few days together. Various departures and new people showed up off and on for the rest of the vacation. Chris and Kieran came the second week and everyone simply fell into the rhythm of warm sunshine and warm water and the relaxation of being in the sand without a care in the world.
The pictures speak for themselves. They are in a badge on the right!

Love
Anna and Myron

Midsummer Milonga

2010-07-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

Midsummer Milonga We had a most amazing Milonga on Saturday the 23rd of July from 8pm till 2 am at our house. At least 40 people arrived and danced Tango till the wee hours. Thank you Cecil for terrific DJ'ing.
View the pictures on the right!

Blooming Roses in Chapel Hill

2010-05-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

We took Oma and Opa to Witherspoon Rose Garden on Saturday. The roses were beautiful!
I can not wait till my garden looks like this one!
After walking around the gardens, listening to violin and piano from the gazebo, we drove to Gugelhopf Bakery and enjoyed coffee and pastries.

1902 Denzel Carousel

2010-04-17T14:27:00.000-07:00

When I first met Myron , he told me a story, as he was and remains apt to do. He told me a wonderful story of riding the carousel at Coney Island with his Grandfather. The story went something like this:

His grandfather would take him to the old wooden carousel for a ride. They would hold onto the horses and ride the carousel around and around. Myron was perhaps 5 years old at the time. In those days, the carousel hung rings to snatch as you revolved and on the last revolution a brass ring would be suspended and the one rider who could capture the brass ring would get a free ride. The carousel was a pretty big ride for such a little kid and holding onto the horse and not falling off as it went up and down was no small feat for Myron. But his rather short grandfather, who was also on a horse, would stretch to the limit of his frame to attempt to reach the brass ring. Such daring would frighten little Myron for fear his grandfather would fall of the horse. But when the ride was done, and his grandfather had failed to capture the brass ring, Myron would ask why his grandfather would do such a dangerous thing. His reply was always thus: " Life is like a carousel and you only get one chance at it. You have to try with all your might to make it worth the ride."

The story remained with Myron and influenced his decisions in his life. I have always followed a similar philosophy. Around 3 years ago, Myron took me to Coney Island so we could ride the same carousel, but the carousel had been recently dismantled and sent to Disneyworld. So today, I took Myron to a 1902 Denzel wooden carousel that is in Burlington, NC. Though it didn't offer any brass rings, it provided us with the joy in riding a carousel and the paths of life.

I hope you like our pictures.
Love
Anna and Myron

Herb Garden

2010-04-12T16:07:00.000-07:00

Alright... so here we are in April in NC and the weather is spectacular and my 3 bareroot roses I planted 2 weeks ago are sprouting and I think it is time to put in the herb garden.
I love herbs... fresh herbs in cooking is so much better than the dried variety. However, NC soil is virtually clay and a boxed raised garden is the way to go. I purchased a Ryobi circular saw with a laser guide...very cool, bought 3 6X6 common pine boards, some box nails and proceeded to build my box for the herb garden. I bought 6 cu feet of garden soil ( Myron and my father did the math), a bunch of herb starters and spent a few hours digging, cutting and planting. The pix tell the story.
BTW after that work, Myron said something about liking gladiolas so we purchased for a mere 9.95 a bag of 70 gladiola bulbs and proceeded to plant them! We were very ready for margaritas on the porch.
Enjoy the pix on the right in the Flash badge.
Love
Anna and Myron

Sean and Boomba at OBX

2010-03-28T05:44:00.000-07:00

Last week Sean drove his intrepid 92 Toyota truck with 185,000 miles on it to the Outer Banks of North Carolina with his trusty dog, Boomba, at his side. Leaving Vermont early in the morning, he braved horrific Connecticut traffic and witnessed an accident immediately in front of him. Being the hero he is and wearing his brother Paul's firefighter t-shirt, he got the woman out of the smoking car and waited with her until the EMT's and police arrived. Of course he had to make statements to the police which only delayed his getting back on the road again. With that behind him, the rest of the 800 mile trip was a breeze?!?! He arrived at the beach house at 2am Friday but Boomba only gave him puppy dog eyes the entire trip. She was quite the trooper. We arrived on Friday at 6pm just in time to take Sean to Dirty Dicks for all you can eat Dungeness Crab! We all three at 6 full crab orders. Gluttons!

Sean started working on Saturday painting the ceilings and putting holes in the ceilings where the fans were to hang. We ran the beach with Boomba and viewed the devastation that the storm, Ida, caused in November. A few houses had been washed away and others hung on precariously but of course are condemned and need to come down. The private road next to our house was awash with 2 feet of sand and our neighbor was bemoaning the fact. It doesn't effect us at all because our driveway comes off the main road. About 1/2-1 mile south of us the damage was quite extensive. Apparently the erosion there is much worse than by us.

The weather was terrific. 70 with constant sunshine. A beautiful change for Sean from Vermont harsh weather. Boomba was a wonderful dog. She loved the ocean and chased the birds when we took her off the leash. She ran into the surf and I didn't know that she had webbed feet. Apparently black labs do. She was a real water dog. Myron enjoyed her as well even though if on the leash she saw a shore bird, she would rip your arm out pulling on the leash!

Sean came over to Durham on Thursday after finishing the work at the beach house and spent the night after having dinner with us and Oma and Opa. He left at 5am to head back to Vermont and had traffic issues in Washington DC but got back home at 9pm. A bit easier going back this time.

Oh btw, when Sean was wiring the fans in the attic, his foot fell asleep and it went through the ceiling. He put up the sheet rock to fix it but I will tape and mud the 3x3 section next weekend. There is always something!
Enjoy the pictures in the badge to the right.
Love you all and can't wait to get back next weekend to the beach.
Anna and Myron

Utah Winter Vacation March 2010

2010-03-21T04:37:00.001-07:00

We had a tremendous time skiing with the boys and their girls this year at Snowbird and Brighton in Utah. All the flights from Vermont, North Carolina and Denver were on time and easy! What a change.

The pictures are in the Flickr badge to the right.
The sun was warm, the snow was plentiful, the slopes challenging, the boys and girls hysterical and the Myron only fell off the lift once!

Anna caused one flat tire on Day 1 because she saw a rock in the road that she thought was a clod of snow. Oops! blew the tire right there and then. Thanks to the fine work of Sean and Jeff, they changed the tire in 20 minutes after finding where it was and how to get it down from the bottom of the car. The manual helped.

We skied 5 days out of the 6 we were there. Our house had a hot tub and it was used it to soothe our sore muscles and drink wine after a long day on the slopes.
Paul, Jeff and Myron and I skied. Sean, Liz, Chris and Keiran snowboarded. Julianne sad to say, had to work that week but joined us in the evenings for food, drink, chatter and merriment. We shared the cooking and ate like kings. Liz made her famous fajitas, Chris his pizza and Anna her brisket and chicken parm!
The last day snowed 12 inches or so and Jeff and Keiran made this incredible snowman and entitled it the Inebriated Snowman because they couldn't get the middle and top snowball on top.
Enjoy the pictures!

Love
Anna and Myron

Opa's 80th Birthday Party in Chapel Hill

2010-03-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

Opa was 80 on March 4th. Leslie and Siegi flew down from Connecticut to surprise him. It was a surprise for sure. We all went out to dinner at Il Palio in Chapel Hill and had an amazing meal. The service was superb; the food sublime. On Saturday we took them to Saffron, an Indian restaurant, touted by the local Indian population as the best! It was an adventure for Opa and Oma because they have never been to an Indian restaurant before. It was fun to watch Opa inhale the Tandoori Chicken and Lentil and Rice balls and Oma enjoy the Chicken Tikka Masala.
Enjoy the pictures.

Love
Anna and Myron

Girl's Doll Day in Raleigh, NC

2010-02-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

We went to Zareen and Kevin's house for Girl's Day Celebration, a Japanese holiday on March 3rd . They have a fantastic collection of a Japanese Girl's Day Dolls that symbolize the emperor and empress and the court. These dolls are displayed to take away the bad spirits and they displayed them all in their home in Raleigh. Both Zareen and Kevin lived in Japan when they were younger and taught English in the JET program. They met Ren there and hence the relationship.
Please enjoy the images and share in the tradition.

Everyday is Valentine's Day Milonga

2010-02-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

We hosted a Tango Milonga on February 20th and we had a spectacular time dancing and socializing with the Triangle Tango Community. Tim Hall did a great job DJ'ing with a terrific selection of nuevo and traditional Tango tunes. We intend to continue hosting such events ... one idea is a Tango Milonga-que.... a barbecue and Milonga on our fabulous deck that Sean built.

Here is Myron showing off his Tango moves on our dance floor! Don't knock her over!

Love Anna and Myron

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

"Everyday is Valentine's Day Milonga"
is scheduled for February 20th at our house on
22 Pinestraw Way, Durham.
Come and enjoy a night of Tango and camaraderie with the Triangle Tango community.
Bring a dish to share and enjoy the music provided by DJ Tim Hall. We will supply the wine!

Dance from 8:30-1:30 or until your feet give out.

Love
Anna and Myron

Tango Canceled tonight due to Snow!

2010-01-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

Snow has brought a halt to our Tango tonight. Here is a pix of us from last weekends live music Tango!

Snowing down South!

2010-01-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

We have no snow shovel, no sand, no snowblower! The gym closed at 10am and the shelves at the grocery stores are empty. We stopped at the supermarket yesterday and couldn't find a cart! The place was jammed with people buying eggs, milk, fireplace wood etc... Hysterical. We aren't supposed to have snow here in the South! But the electricity is on and I am making homemade soup and hot chocolate. So far around 6 inches has fallen and hopefully the ice that is forecast will not happen! Oma and Opa are fine watching the snowflakes fall wondering if they brought it with them from Vermont! Anyway we got dressed up in the ski clothes and went outside on the deck to make a snowman, but the snow was too dry to stick together. We then traipsed down our cul de sac to the main road. NO CARS in sight anywhere.... so the pics will demonstrate what happens when the "white stuff" falls from the sky in the South! Love Anna and Myron

NYC January 2010

2010-01-13T12:00:00.000-08:00

Another whirlwind weekend in NY!
We arrived on time via Jet Blue flight to JFK on January 7th. After circling the terminals twice on the AirTrain ( terrible directions) we arrived at Federal Circle to rent our car. We had a very funny shuttle bus driver who could easily compete with Robin Williams and Sean Story for stand up comedy! The manager met us at the door and customer service was spectacular with an upgrade to a Chrysler and off we drove without any traffic to Myron's birthday dinner at a great White Plains restaurant and a free night at the Summerfield Suites.
On Friday morning we headed out to West New York, New Jersey to visit Erdem, Hale and little Melis. Once again, despite our protestations, we were served a tremendous Turkish lunch. After our visit there, we headed to the NYC for a Pete's Tavern visit with Lee and Charity G., friends of Ren. Charity was about to pop out her first child. The baby was due 2 days earlier so getting together at all was lucky.... btw they had baby Leigton Thomas Guzofski the very next day.
Then we hoofed to a restaurant to dine with Charlie Cante and his girlfriend. The wind was biting, the cold fierce and the drinks and food and friendship warmed us thoroughly.
We left NYC at 11:30pm and drove to Huntington Long Island and stayed at the Hilton to ready ourselves for the renewal wedding the next day.
Stephanie and Mike Iannone were married 40 years ago and to celebrate, they renewed vows in a church with the original bridal party and then we were all bused over to Leonard's of Great Neck for the mother of all receptions .....cocktail hour, dinner, dancing, open bar and a Viennese Dessert Table that took up the entire dance floor... what a great time and a real joy to see such happy people.....
Sunday we got up late, suffered from sore feet, and headed over to visit Grandma Esther at the Arbors. We gave her a vertical calendar that provided her an opportunity to keep better track of visits and appointments. It was a pleasure to see her so safe and so happy.

We are now back home and looking forward to more Tango this weekend.
Happy New Year all of you....

Anna and Myron

Merry Christmas to All of You!

2009-12-26T11:24:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, Myron got what he always wanted....his own industrial strength tool chest to hold his array of tools. LOL!!! He has now neatly stored his screwdrivers and hammer and makes weekly trips to my favorite store...Lowes! Today we went to Lowes and drooled over the power tools... next on the wish list... a circular saw... The Jack Daniels was a gift from Oma and Opa.... they know how difficult it must be for Myron to put up with me....

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with Oma and Opa and enjoyed the thoughtful gifts we received. Skiing in Snowbird thanks to Sean and Liz, good grades thanks to Jeff and fantastic photos from Paul and Julianne.

We missed our sons but will see them soon.

Love you all.... more to come.
Anna and Myron

Merry Christmas from North Carolina

2009-12-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!
We put up the tree this evening... it smells like pine and cinnamon... the nut cracker sits by the fireplace and Tango music rises from the stereo. The only thing missing is the laughter of our sons and family. We miss you all so much.
Love, peace and happiness to ya'll!

Mom Anna and Papa Myron

Tango Workshop with Brigitta Winkler

2009-12-13T07:53:00.001-08:00

Brigitta and Jason are amazing dancers. We spent the entire weekend taking workshop lessons and dancing in the evening. My feet are a bit sore, and we are tired but enjoyed the learning and the dancing.
Myron took this picture of me dancing with Cliff. We can only dream of dancing like Brigitta and Jason.

A Heron at the Lake Near our House

2009-12-13T07:41:00.001-08:00

A beautiful still heron at Woodlake where we walk. We walk to the lake and then around it on the path for a 3 mile walk. We often see turtles, geese, ducks and herons.

Our Housewarming Tango Milonga

2009-11-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous evening of dancing and socializing with our friends. We enjoyed sharing our new home with all of you. Our dance floor will hold many more Milongas . Special thanks to Tim Hall who organized and provided amazing Tango Tandas... he is very gifted! Saule only left a few crumbs of the Grandma's Bourbon Pound Cake so I guess I will have to make it again!
Enjoy the pictures in the badge, though they don't capture the spirit you all brought with you.

Love
Anna and Myron

Wouldn't miss talking to my son Paul for anything!

2009-11-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

This morning I have been baking! I am making pumpkin and apple pies. I already made chocolate chip cookies and will make Grandma's Bourbon Pound cake... so in the midst of flour and sugar and in my yukata, my eldest son, Paul calls from Utah. So not to miss talking to him, I have the phone on the table and bend over with my floured hands behind my back in order to chat. Myron couldn't resist the moment and took a pix. All this in preparation for tonight's Milonga... but I got to talk to my dear son..... Anna

The Deck that Sean Built.

2009-11-15T16:28:00.000-08:00

After a week of terrific weather and then 3 days of Tropical Storm Ida, Sean completed the deck on our house. He is a terrific, skilled builder and an incredible resilient worker! The weather for the last 3 days was terrible with winds and downpour, turning the back yard into a swamp. But he continued to saw, screw, hammer and measure to build the perfect back yard get away and never let the pelting rain get him down. Then after finishing at 10:00 am in the morning he drove with all his tools back to Vermont in his trusty truck and arrived home at 3am! We thank Liz, his girlfriend, for lending him to us for this time She is a gem. Here are pix... They do not do it justice. We look forward to having barbecues, dances and get togethers. Love Anna and Myron

Sean is building our new Deck!

2009-11-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

Sean, my carpenter son, drove down from Vermont with his car filled to the roof with all of his tools and gadgets to stay with us for 10 days and build us our new enlarged deck on our house in Durham. The drive took him 16 hours in his truck, but he arrived safely and began work the very next day. The weather is cooperating perfectly with sunny cool mornings giving in to sunny 70's in the afternoons. Perfect deck building weather. Sean is incredibly fast, skilled and dedicated to building his Mom and Myron the best looking and stable deck! We couldn't be happier. I have been feeding him his favorite foods and Myron has been helping with the manual labor part. Myron had been filling holes, keeping the job site picked up and holding things for Sean to cut. He is becoming almost handy! I helped on Saturday, screwing with an impact drill and knee pads!! NO JOKES PLEASE!
On Sunday, Sean took a break and went to OBX to do some fishing. He returns on Monday to finish the work. Check out the lemon Meringue pie his Mom made and the Makers Mark his Mom bought for the boy! Oh and dont forget to make a comment about the laborer Myron with his wheelbarrow, shovel and sledge hammer... Everyone is invited to come and share a few drinks and laughs on our beautiful deck when it is done.
Love Anna and Myron

Salt Lake City, Paul, Jeff and Oma

2009-11-08T13:44:00.000-08:00

I flew out to Salt Lake City with my mother who is 81. We left on a Friday and returned on Monday. We wanted to fly out to visit with Paul and Jeff since Oma had not seen them since last October.... hence an adventure.
The flight from RDU was delayed and so we missed by minutes our connection in Dallas... it was very funny to watch my mother being wheeled in a wheelchair at supersonic speed, while I tried to keep up, down the terminal and onto the sky train to find we missed the plane by mere minutes.
Keeping my cool, I immediately went to an agent and booked seats on the next flight to SLC. ( 3 hours later). So we relaxed and had dinner.
We arrived in SLC at midnight instead of 8pm, found the computer was down at the rental car desk, waited another 30 minutes to get a car and drove to our hotel where Paul and Jeff were waiting. Oma, who ordinarily is in bed way before 9pm, is finding herself awake at 2am EDT with her grandsons. We went to bed at 1am Mountain time and slept till 8am. I was still zonked from my 5 day earlier flight from Japan as well as the intestinal issue I had.. My body had no idea what it was supposed to do.
But we had a wonderful weekend with terrific weather and enjoyed the boys, the views and the city. Enjoy our pix.
Anna

OBI,

2009-11-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

When we were in Japan, we decided to buy an antique obi of the correct colors to hang on the wall of our bedroom to complement our bed ensemble. We found an exquisite OBI that had all the exact colors. Here are pictures of the hanging OBI and a curtain to our closet....

October was all about Traveling! Japan First

2009-10-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

We left for Japan on Oct 1st... a very long flight and a longer time change but we had a blast.
Riku and Chikage are adorable and we had such a good time with Hiroko and Ren. We went to a Ryokan inland which was near mountains and was just breathtaking. The food and the hot springs were just the ticket after a long flight. The rest of the week we enjoyed the children immensely, great food and some sightseeing in and around Tokyo. We are now experts on the subway... the buses still have us stymied.
Enjoy our photos ... sorry they took so long but once we got back I was sick with an intestinal thing and then back to work and then to SLC with my Mom to see Paul and Jeff! Myron had to go to Philadelphia for consulting and I met him for my high school reunion in NJ and then he got a COLD! He never gets sick and I think it was all just too much traveling, planes etc! We will blog about the reunion in the next post. And this Monday, my son Sean will arrive to build our new deck on our house! I will really enjoy seeing him and enjoy staying home!
Love
Anna and Myron

OBX in September

2009-09-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

What a terrific weekend! The weather prediction was wrong! It said rain and clouds and it has been terrific. Sun breaking through clouds but no rain and 76 degrees with a light breeze. When we arrived on Friday night we had Dungeness Crabs... ALL YOU CAN EAT... It killed us and we were in bed before 11pm...
Saturday we took a magnificent walk up the beach road for 8.4 miles.... We figured out the calories.... for me it was 760 and for Myron it was over 880.

Awesome.

We saw some humorous signs... The Fritz Carlton is the name of a house and another sign for a memorial to a dog!

Mountain bikers weekend race... no mountains and a young teen on some weird skateboard with 2 wheels called A RIPSTICK!
Here are some pics. The ocean was wild but warm and NO SWIMMING signs were up... so we got to find some friendly hot tubs!

Our plan: a movie tonight, followed by a bit of dancin' at Kelly's and then hot tubbing before bed!

Love Anna and Myron

Eno State Park Hike

2009-09-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

This weekend was supposed to take us to OBX... but the weather looked iffy so we settled on staying in the Triangle and doing other things like hanging curtains and putting up a full length mirror. We must be getting better at hammering, nailing and screwing because we got all the parts and pieces up without mishap. Now the guest bedrooms are totally finished and we have a full length mirror so we can see what we look like before we head out to Tango...
And ... we headed out to Tango on Saturday night and danced until 1am... fun even if we remain barely competent.

Sunday weather was delightful and we decided to hike Eno State Park. What a lovely hike in the woods! We took pics of turtles ( I just love the snapping turtles)\, a blue tailed lizard and the river itself. It was a pleasant, quiet and great hike. We got a bit sweaty, but afterwards drove to Oma and Opa's to partake in the annual Zwetschegen Kuchen ( plum cake) my mother makes around this time of year... It was delicious. Here is the recipe: http://www.recipezaar.com/Traditional-German-Plum-Cake-Zwetschgenkuchen-131910

Next weekend we will go to OBX with Oma and Opa and eat crabs at Dirty Dicks. Stay tuned.
Love
Anna and Myron

Tarboro!

2009-09-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

It is only 1 month shy of our anniversary and we took the gift of a B& B weekend in Tarboro NC given to us by Myron's childhood friends.

We spent a wonderful weekend at the Inn on Main Street in Tarboro, NC.

First and foremost we must reiterate that the weather in NC is sublime! As usual the days are sunny and warm with big puffy clouds and the evenings are cooler with tantalizing breezes and fragrant air.

We left around 3:30 from our new house on 22 Pinestraw Way in Durham on Friday for the 1 hour 20 minute drive to Tarboro. Driving in NC is also wonderful….. you can always predict the time to travel the distance because there is no traffic. Route 64 out to Tarboro is totally empty and newly paved. It is the road we travel when we drive to our house in Nags Head on the beach in always exactly 3 hours and 15 minutes. So we are quite familiar with the trip.

We arrived in the sleepy but major historical town of Tarboro to be greeted by our hostess with a bottle of champagne! Our dear friends added that to the already exceptional gift and we promptly did some required “porch settin’” with the bubbly and watched the world turn on white rocking chairs at this architecturally interesting turn of the century B&B.

A few souls strolled by and always raised a hand and shouted “howdy” to us on the porch. Good Southern hospitality was apparent.

Myron even waved and yelled “hello”…. Can you believe it?

We took a walk around the 14 acre historic common and were amazed at the stately oaks, elm and magnificent magnolias. Statues and monuments to the C.S.A. were evident here and there. Yes, the C.S.A is the Confederate States of America.!

We took a picture of the statue of the Confederate soldier who exemplified those who were lost during the War of Northern Aggression and discovered later from a book on Tarboro, that someone had shot the statue in the butt!!! So of course here is the picture to prove it. If you look carefully, you can see the bullet lodged in his steel butt! Of course Washington slept in Tarboro for one night on his Southern Tour.

Shortly after our walk we headed out to our first meal at ON THE SQUARE! We passed the Colonial Theatre which is being renovated and had to snap a shot of the coming attractions. What a hoot! We really felt like we were back in the 40’s with this walk down Main Street….

Nevertheless, the meal was terrific! We have had nothing better in NYC! What a discovery in the heart of agrarian Eastern North Carolina. Myron had a Pear Salad and Pork Tenderloin with a sauce he felt compelled to sop up with his bread. I had a most amazing wilted Romaine salad with goat cheese and North Carolina Black Drum with Oyster and Bread Pudding…. YUM! Black Drum is a local coastal fish that is sweet and delicate. We had Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate Molten cake for dessert and weaved our way back to the B&B , sated to the max.

In the morning we awoke to sun streaming through the shutters and got up ready to bike, walk and discover the rest of Tarboro.

Our hostess made a terrific breakfast which we took out on the porch. Bananas Foster with Kahlua cake and a Croque Madame …. a French grilled cheese with a poached egg on top with Hollandaise…. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. The sun was shining and we were eating on a table with a white table cloth on a magnificent porch in 70 degree temperature…. The next morning we breakfasted with 2 other guests we met and had Eggs Benedict! Just amazing… as you can see!

After breakfast we got our bikes out and decided to bike around the Common and up and down the 45 small blocks of streets that were quiet and sleepy but hosted many historical homes on the National Register.

Many Victorian homes had been renovated and boasted classical color schemes and all with wrap-around porches. From our readings we discovered that the Eastern Coastal area of North Carolina is very hot and humid in the summer months. Unlike the Coast and the Piedmont area ( Raleigh) and the mountains to the West, this area is still and hot and humid in the deep summer. Porches were necessary in the pre air conditioning days as the inhabitants would sit on the porches, burn rags to keep the bugs away, and retire to bed only after the house had cooled down late at night. Every house boasted an expansive porch with white- washed rockers and porch swings. Many houses were for sale at rock bottom prices, but one has to understand that the economy had always been based on cotton, tobacco, and sweet potatoes. Things had changed. As an agrarian community, poverty and simple pleasures were more the norm.

It is important to also note that the town of Princeville, Pop. 2000, which is adjacent to Tarboro. Pop. 11,000, is a historically totally African-American town since it was incorporated by freed slaves after the Civil War. It is one of only 2 towns in the entire country that is totally populated by African Americans and governed exclusively by them as well. Tarboro itself seems equally represented by both races and all seem to be quite comfortable with living as neighbors and friends… very nice to see.

We discovered cotton fields, tobacco fields and cooperative sweet potato fields in our walk after biking and drifted down to the Tar River. Only 10 years ago, the Tar River flooded Tarboro and Princeville during Hurricane Floyd. But now it was a sleepy low muddy river where kayakers and fisherman share the stillness of the overhanging vines and the loamy banks.

We then took a drive to Greenville only 20 odd miles away. Greenville is the home of Eastern Carolina University and we wanted to check it out.. On the way back we photographed the tobacco fields which were ready for harvesting to then dry in the huge barns where sharecroppers tended the fires to dry the massive leaves. Cotton was also visible but isn’t ready to harvest until the middle of October.

When we returned to the B&B we met another couple who had arrived from Philadelphia.They were on their way to South Carolina and discovered from reading the Philadelphia Inquirer that this B& B was one to stop at…. I am sure it was the same article that Ruthie read and clipped for us.

We had dinner together at ON THE SQUARE and drank wine on the porch till late in the evening.

On Sunday morning we rose to another spectacular day and shared breakfast on the porch with our new found friends.

From a historical, weather and relaxing point of view, this was one terrific weekend.

Thank you Ruth, Howie, Mike, Hope and Neil… we enjoyed every minute.

Anna and Myron

Kayaking at OBX!

2009-08-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Myron had quite the day... we rode our bikes 9 miles, he read a beach book in a beach chair under a beach canopy. He swam and drank margaritas... and he kayaked in my ocean kayak and didn't even tip it in the surf... ( of course it was a very calm surf today!) Don't worry, I sprayed him all over with SPF 50 and kept his hat on! We topped the day off with Soft Shell Crabs cooked just right dusted with seasoned flour and sauteed in garlic and oil ( my special recipe) and a 2 mile walk on the beach.... Tonight is the meteor shower and we will watch it from the beach....
Here are 2 pix of Myron being an extreme kayaker!

Love you all
Anna

Finally OBX after a mild adventure!

2009-08-08T18:26:00.001-07:00

Today I have been waiting for all summer long! Today I drove the short 3 hours to the Outer Banks to our beach house for a 2 week vacation. No need to hurry this morning as we carefully packed the car and put the bikes on the bike rack... we would be there by 2pm if we left at 11.... So off we drove on the empty Rt 64 due east. No traffic as usual and we were speeding along at 75-80 chatting and looking forward to our time at the beach. We came upon a short stretch of road work and the scarified road surface had some bumps and dips. I slowed considerably, but the dips were a bit more than the bike rack could handle and POP...one strap let loose and I started to pull over and then I hit another dip and POP the other strap let loose and the bikes were hanging on by a wing and a prayer as I made an abrupt stop on barely a shoulder with deep sand because it was being worked on..... It wasn't particularly a safe place to stop but I had no choice. We got out of the car and looked at each other and said ...ok now what? So we emptied the car ( cooler, suitcases, roller blades, dry goods, wine and margarita glasses of course, my special pillow, etc etc etc.. ( ThankGod for my Vibe). Then we struggled to get the 2 bikes in the car and put all the other stuff on top of them... Well, it all fit except for the cooler. So I said... put the cooler in the passenger seat, Myron, you drive and I will pretzel myself around the cooler ( one bigggg cooler). Somehow I got into a position wrapped around the cooler and Myron started to drive... Now we had 2 hours yet to drive optimistic me said we could do it. But within 15 minutes, I was hurting all over.. My side was cramped, my feet were falling asleep, my bad shoulder was on fire and I still wanted to keep going. Oh and by the way... the cooler kept slamming into the gear shift and putting it in Neutral.... so I had to pull on the cooler crouched with my butt against the window.. a picture!!!! Myron wouldn't stand another minute and got off the highway for Tarboro hoping to find a bike shop so we could buy a new bike rack. ( Oh btw, I put the broken strapped bike rack on top of all the stuff in the car too!) We get off and find a Walmart and I unpretzel myself as Myron opens my door and I literally fall out... I run into Walmart and find one bike rack meant for children's bikes and buy it for 30.00... It is flimsy and weak but it can make it the rest of the way and I can then sit in the front seat. We take all the stuff out of the car, put the bikes on this flimsy bike rack and put all the stuff back in the car head out again. We get to our house 2 hours late..... but we head to Dirty Dicks Crab House and have a bottle of wine and Dungeness crabs and then walk the beach and all is terrific again... You got to laugh... Anna and Myron

Home Design with OBI

2009-08-03T07:12:00.000-07:00

Hiroko gave me some OBI to use for decoration/ home design.

Now that we have space to display them in the new house, I did some OBI display research and I have displayed 3 OBI. Here are pix of 2 of them. I purchased authentic bamboo OBI hangers to display one of them.

It Has been awhile!!!

2009-08-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

Ok Folks.... I know it has been awhile since I have posted any news...but well... we bought a house and have been in home repair, renovation, restore and renew mode since. We bought this lovely house on 22 Pinestraw Way, Durham, NC, USA 27713 on June 24th after a nightmare of a closing debacle which I don't want to remember. It turned out to be a short sale just shy of a foreclosure... so we did well in terms of the price but constant anxiety. We were supposed to close on June 5th, but the sellers were short repayment to their 1st and 2nd mortgage... I guess they were overextended ..... Anyway "all's well that ends well" and we have a nice home on the end of a cul-de-sac in a nice neighborhood, close to work in Durham! I have painted 7 rooms! Many of the previous owner colors were dark and dreary and I required 3-4 coats to cover them!! UGH... I didn't have to go to the gym in 4 weeks working by day and painting by night, I lost 4 pounds! My Dad installed 48 knobs on kitchen and bathroom cabinets in one day!!!!! For some reason the previous owners didn't believe in knobs! Thanks to Home Depot we now have them! Myron schlepped back and forth from the apartment 3 miles away and over the last 4 weeks moved all our stuff while teaching fulltime in the summer session at NCSU! What a guy! We hired movers to move his heavy office furniture, but other than that we did it ourselves! I decorated and we are now ready for guests!

OBX starts on Aug 8th and Jim and Lynn DePaolo, friends from Vermont are going to join us there for one week and two of our sons and significant others will join us for sun, surf and fun! Today we put up 4 2" faux wood blinds and a shower rod and put books in bookshelves.

Here are pix of Myron with a bolt cutter... scary .

A few weeks ago we were in Vermont for a few days for Myron consulting and Anna visiting son and friends. Here is a pix of professional musician,Sean, playing at Cactus Cafe in Stowe, VT. He is sooooo good.... and Nita, a former student of mine from Vermont being Nita.

Anyway more pix of the house to come! Stay tuned.

Love Anna and Myron

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

Anna took Opa to see Terminator, Myron took Oma to see The Proposal... both at the same time in the same movie theatre! Then off to Squids for a seafood feast.
What can we say? A Father's Day to remember.

Lebanese Restaurant in Raleigh with Kevin and Zareen

2009-06-20T18:55:00.001-07:00

A beautiful warm evening, a tremendous Lebanese meal and great company with Kevin and Zareen, friends of Ren in Tokyo.
This get-together started when Ren emailed us to let us know that Kevin and Zareen lived in Raleigh and were old friends of his when they were all in the JET program in Japan together some 14 years ago. So we contacted one another and arranged a delightful dinner at Sitta, a relatively newly established Lebanese restaurant in the Capital District of Raleigh.
We started at 7pm and finished after 10:30 having a delightful time sampling amazing Lebanese dishes, enjoying libation, telling stories and discussing work and events. Ren mentioned that Zareen and I worked in the same e-learning field but in different industries so it was interesting to find that we both shared similar issues.
Myron and I look forward to another visit soon.
Thanks Ren !

Anna and Myron

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Raleigh!

2009-06-13T08:36:00.001-07:00

Today June 13th, we ran in the Race for the Cure for Breast Cancer in Raleigh.
We ran in celebration of my cousin Arlene Walsleben who won the battle and lives strong today. Her name is on the pink bib Anna is wearing,
We thank everyone who sponsored us in the race. The proceeds go to continue the fight to find a cure. Over 22,000 people entered the event today. There were a variety of races over the course of the morning and we ran in the competitive 5K race at 7am. Our times were not too bad even though it was hot! We ran side by side so our time was 33 minutes and 23 seconds. Anna came in 18th out of 40 in her age group (Female 55-59) and Myron came in 9th out of 10 in his age group (male 65-69). He would have run faster if I didn't slow him down :-)!!
For the rest of the day we can hang out at the pool!!!
Hope you enjoy the pix! The headbands are from Japan and are translated as "divine wind". We needed wind at our backs!
Love you all,
Anna and Myron

OBX Signs Too Funny

2009-05-30T05:48:00.000-07:00

We often check out the signs for places and find them incredibly hysterical.
Usually there are misspellings, but grammatical construction with unintended interpretation also sends us into paroxysms of laughter. Here are 2 we found last week in OBX.

Love
Anna and Myron

Meeting our New American Citizen

2009-05-17T16:00:00.000-07:00

We went to NYC this past Friday and Saturday. Flights back and forth were prettty much a breeze . Anna had to consult with Erdem and nursing Continuing Education at Beth Israel so Myron came along and had an opportunity to visit his Mom in Long Island while Anna worked with Erdem. Friday evening after Myron returned from Long Island and his terrific visit with his Mom, and Anna finished a serious day of work, we headed out on the town to walk and enjoy the city. We ate at BLT Prime for a sublime meal and stuffed and exhausted fell into a early bed. On Saturday we headed up to Madison Avenue for some window shopping ( wow is all I can say) and then over the GW Bridge to visit Erdem, Hale and their new 6 week old baby girl, Melis Celine. After a scrumptious lunch made by Turkish Grandma ( Erdem's Mom) and a sweet visit with the family, we headed back to LaGuardia and a return flight home. Here are 2 pix of Hale, Anna and Melis....she looks like both Erdem and Hale!!!
Today, Sunday, we were bent on getting organized !!!!
Anna had to finish writing the report and organize thoughts and actions . In 3 weeks we close on the house, then we have to paint and move by June 26th when we leave the apartment.... oh my... tons to do.

Roses in NC

2009-05-11T16:32:00.000-07:00

May and June are rose months and NC is well known for superlative weather for rose gardens.
I have been researching the requirements for a rose garden and will begin designing it for next this autumn soil preparation. I will order bareroot rose bushes from www.Whitherspoonroses.com, a local Durham rose garden supplier and begin planting 20 bushes in February at the new house.
Exciting.....
Here are some pix of roses we are selecting that are displayed in the garden right now....

Love
Anna and Myron

OBX again and again.....

2009-05-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

We just can't get enough of the wildness, the birds, the dolphin, the seabreezes, the shells, the sand, the sea oats, the dunes, the salt air, the starlit nights, hot tubs, shooting stars, starfish, Dirty Dicks crabs and the beach house in OBX....
For the past 3 weekends we have made the trek from Durham to Nags Head in 3 hours and 15 minutes each way. Since there is no traffic, the driving time on 540 and 64 is always the same. There are more cars off the road than on the road. ( a peculiarity in this part of the country!) Straight and empty highways are flanked by cotton fields, pine forests and scattered dilapidations.
Once you get closer to the marshlands and Inner Banks, the landscape is dotted with cyprus groves and signs warning of bear and wolves. Only the tiny towns of Columbia and Creswell stand out and require a wariness of state police giving out speeding tickets in a fundraising attempt.
One weekend we brought Pam with us.... we had our usual good times, eating, walking, biking, roller blading and beachcombing. You have to appreciate Myron trying to get a pix of Pam biking and me roller blading while he was riding his bike!!! Not terribly coordinated, at least he didn't fall.

Last weekend we brought my parents, Oma and Opa to the beach.... They floored us all by walking close to 3 miles ....my Mom with the rolling walker and my Dad with a cane!
They sat on the beach and actually enjoyed the dermabrasion caused by the infamous OBX breezes just before a brief afternoon storm. Oma ate an entire local flounder and Opa feasted on all the Dungeness crab he could eat....
When do we get back ....? Not soon enough...

Love
Anna and Myron

House Hunting, Hans-Peter and Sushi

2009-04-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

My cousin, Hans-Peter, from Germany arrived for 2 days for business to the Research Triangle Park! I hadn't seen him since 2005. He is a microbiologist and Managing Director for a big Pharma company and he is in partnership with a company in RTP. So he will be visiting more often! Lucky us... and he likes the weather here too.....After a few business meetings, he stayed with Oma and Opa, and Myron and I took him to Duke for a visit to the university and the gardens before his quick flight back. I hope he brings the family next time! We could spend some time at the beach...

Speaking of the beach, we were there last weekend and here is the pix of the house for those who can't remember!

Also I have discovered the joy of turtles on logs!
I have captured a pix here...not easy mind you..
they are skittish and leap off the logs if they hear you approaching. There are tons of them on logs in Alligator swamp... oh btw... we saw an alligator too... they must like turtle soup.

We have decided that NC is awesome and living here is sublime. So... we have been looking at houses and hope to leave our apartment in August when the lease expires. We have a great real estate agent and we are in a buyer's market, so we hope the prospects are good. This area has NOT been hit that hard by the housing decline; though many houses are for sale, few are at bargain prices. One is so far the best of the lot, and hopefully we can negotiate a good price... we shall see.
After a day of looking at houses, buying new running shoes ( we have over 500 miles on our shoes now and the gel is getting like concrete), we decided to make sushi for dinner... We purchased sashimi grade tuna, made sushi rice and miso soup and sat down to a terrific meal...

Tonight is a milonga (Tango) from 8pm till 2am... so on with the Tango shoes and tomorrow Easter relaxation with Oma and Opa at their house!

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter and Passover !

Anna and Myron

In line Skating on OBX

2009-04-05T18:21:00.001-07:00

Here is Anna at OBX blading down the path!
We had a great sunny and warm weekend at the beach.
More to come!

Ahhh...spring skiing in Utah!!!

2009-03-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a week of skiing in Utah! We skied with Paul, Sean, Jeff, Liz, Chris and Kieran for a week just outside Salt Lake City. We skied at Snowbird, Solitude and Brighton ski resorts. The conditions were terrific. ... spring skiing at its best with warm 65 degree sunshine and plenty of soft snow underneath our skiis and snowboards.
We had rented a house in Holladay, 15 minutes from the resorts. It was wonderful with 5 bedrooms, a hot tub and a pool table! The gourmet kitchen hosted our evening meals which we are took turns preparing.... Liz and Sean created a Fajita feast and Chris fried up terrific chicken wings. Anna prepared lasagna, tonkatsu chicken and spareribs and we all went out to eat one night at a terrific Italian restaurant that Paul knew about. We drank wine and Liz's delectible concoctions and skied/snowboarded till we dropped. A hot soak every night mellowed the bones and muscles! We never were out late! Too tired....
One day we took off to visit Paul at his fire station where Liz and Sean slid down the fire pole and Kieran sat in the fire engine!
We visited the Tabernacle at the Morman Temple and downtown Salt Lake City.
We all had a terrific time.... but missed Ren, Hiroko and Chikage... perhaps when the new baby is a little older we will all get together.
Here are pix to enjoy!

Love Anna and Myron

Masks at the Milonga

2009-03-05T17:08:00.000-08:00

Even though it was the Saturday night after Fat Tuesday, we had a Mardi Gras milonga. We wore beads and masks and Tangoed until 1 am.!!! It was simply a wonderful evening with great music, great friends and fun dancing. We have been lucky to have a Milonga a week so we can Tango and enjoy the company of some really terrific people. This past Saturday I bought 2 new dresses so I wasn't boring everyone with the same ones alternating each week. I can't wait to wear them....

Tanguera Anna and Tanguero Myron

Yes I am turning Japanese...and I like it...

2009-03-01T06:12:00.000-08:00

A trip to the Asian Market in CARY, NC ( Containment Area for Relocated Yankees) opened up a new world of culinary delights. Myron bought me a Japanese cookbook for Valentine's Day. Reading it is like reading the anthropological undertakings of Margaret Mead. It isn't about recipes, even though half the book is recipes, it is about the harmony of the Japanese kitchen , the indigenous foodstuffs, the visual presentation and the pleasures of the senses.

The book, Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen, by Elizabeth Andoh is more of a journey through the Japanese kitchen than a cookbook. I have learned that when one incorporates 5 colors in the meal, all necessary balanced nutrients are satisfied....so much for the Southern cuisine of Baked Mac and Cheese followed by Banana pudding! I relish the fact that my dishes don't have to match each other! Instead they must complement the food served in them. Rustic ceramic dishes in odd shapes do not clash with traditional blue and white porcelain. I can't wait to purchase some odd shaped ones to add to my rather dull collection.

Vegetables have unique and exquisite flavor! Miniscule dried sardines crackle in the fry pan providing calcium and a briney flavor. Miso soup can be made in minutes that tastes great and doesn't even register points in Weight Watchers! Red Snapper filleted at the fishmonger, bought home and simmered in Sake, Soy and Mirin is to die for and took only 10 minutes. Rice cooks great when left alone and pickled ginger cleanses the palate....

Of course, I have to learn how to use the proper utensils and acquire appropriate crockery, but I am on my way to creating delightful and sensual meals. The picture is of my homemade Miso soup with shitake mushrooms, tofu and marine vegetables. I apologize for the boring soup bowl... I had to make do.
The song I am Turning Japanese by the Vapors.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mO4mJA3MYs
Love
Anna and Myron

2009-02-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

I did it! I purchased new Tango shoes! 4 inch stilletos from Comme il Faut... the premium Tango shoe maker in Buenos Aires... I danced in them last night at the Milonga and found them to be comfortable! Amazing... They are beautiful but did not make me a better dancer... that will only come with practice, practice, practice and the most difficult contra-body movement I doubt I will ever master!

We do love Tango!
Anna and Myron

Valentine Breakfast!

2009-02-14T07:18:00.000-08:00

A dozen red roses, a Japanese cookbook, and Michael Crighton's book, "Next" rounded out a fabulous Valentine Breakfast ... broccoli and cheese omelet, bacon, and chocolate covered strawberries.

75 and Sunny in February!

2009-02-09T04:20:00.001-08:00

We love North Carolina! This weekend was spectacular....sunny and warm in the low 70's.

Birds were singing and we even saw small buds on trees. To celebrate, we barbecued a Porterhouse steak, made Weight Watchers Broccoli and Salad, drank some red wine and enjoyed the sunshine.
On Saturday, after our 90 minute workout at the gym, we headed to the State Park for a wonderful walk in the woods.

On Sunday, after another 90 minute workout and sweating at the gym, we took Oma and Opa out for a walk in Durham at the American Tobacco Campus, which was the Lucky Strike factory in the past.

All in all, time spent outdoors in early February was sublime.

Spring has arrived here, but we have a ski vacation in March in Utah approaching....

Anna and Myron

Freezing in OBX

2009-01-24T08:42:00.002-08:00

Never to ignore an opportunity to go to the beach....we climbed in the faithful Vibe, loaded with foodstuffs and winter clothes, picked up our friend Pam after work in Raleigh and hit the road for a 3 hour trip to OBX... ( The Outer Banks of North Carolina) on the Friday of the Martin Luther King 3 day weekend. After watching the weather forecast for the entire week, we knew we were in for cold but sunny weather. Why should cold be daunting? Pam was ready for a change of scene and we were interested in speaking to a builder about a possible addition to the beach house for the increasingly larger family and host of friends. We got to the house just after the sun sank in the west, it was 24 degrees but still and clear. The heat pump was working overtime to just keep the house at 60! It was never designed to keep the house warm in those low temperatures. We hauled all the stuff in the house and then headed out to Prime Only for much need wine and some good grub. We polished off 2 bottles of wine and ate well. Back at the house we started a roaring fire in the fireplace and went patrolling for hot tubs that were on. Luckily we found one and knew that we would be able to enjoy it on Saturday night.
Saturday dawned cold and clear at 17 degrees!!! Way too cold for the beach.... but we kept the fire going and mostly relaxed, walked the beach, visited the Bodie Island lighthouse, shopped at Nags Head Hammocks, and cooked. The sun on Saturday was terrific but Sunday was overcast and breezy. Myron had picked up 5 videos prior to our leaving Durham and they were really terrible. We couldn't finish one, suffered through 2 more and finally found one half way decent one. The final one we dared not start.
We witnessed the procedure for moving a house back from the ravages of beach erosion and the picture speaks for itself.
We returned home on Monday around 3pm to ready ourselves for the major ( 2 inch) snowfall that paralyzed the State!. NCSU was closed for the day and Myron and I both worked from home on Tuesday enabling us to watch the inauguration.
Love to All
Anna and Myron

OBX PIX

2009-01-24T08:42:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2008-12-25T06:16:00.000-08:00

Today is December 25th and we are back in NC after a week of visiting.
The trip was harrowing to say the least. Let me explain.

It started off well....
On December 19th we left Raleigh Durham airport on time at 6am aboard a USAirways flight bound for La Guardia. We arrived on time, got our rental car on time and headed to Manhattan as the first flurries started to fall. So far so good.... We headed to a Barnes and Noble to pick up the last of the Christmas gifts for the grand nieces and nephew and then to my hair cut appointment with my NYC hairdresser who had to save me from my bad NC haircuts. After that, we met up with Erdem and Hale, our Turkish friends, at the Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing where I used to work and then off to a Belgian restaurant for a fabulous lunch and laughter. Hale is feeling good and her baby bump is a girl!!! A new American citizen is due in April. But the snow was thickening and we had to head out about 40 miles to North Babylon, so we left at 2:30 and ended up crawling on the LIE etc etc etc... We arrived at Myron's sister's house at 6pm!!!
Anyway after a great Italian dinner we hit the sack and awoke to a snowy day on Saturday.

We headed out to visit Myron's Mom at her new assisted living home and found it lovely. She is very happy there and was so surprised to see us. Nick and Alaina have an incredible Christmas display on their lawn. I think it is a Long Island thing because we saw many homes with lawns completely covered with decorations and lights. Actually Nick said his electric bill climbs considerably in December because of the lights!!!
Giavanna, Michael and Diane's new daughter is cute and good.... a terrific combination.

On with the trials of travel......
On Sunday morning we left Long Island and drove in off and on freezing rain to LaGuardia airport to catch an 11 oclock flight to Burlington Vermont to visit my sons, Jeff and Sean and also to stay with friends Lynne and Jim DePaolo. The plane was at the gate and we were told we would board in 10 minutes.... super! But within 5 minutes of that announcement, they cancelled the flight !!! Too much snow in Burlington!!! I ran to the desk to try to reschedule and Myron started dialing USAirways. NO FLIGHTS AVAILABLE UNTIL THE NEXT DAY! So I said, "What the heck, let us rent a car and drive." Myron shrugged and said "Ok." ( Thank God, he didn't know what I knew about driving in a blizzard in Vermont or he might have reconsidered.)

I was desperate to see my sons because I wouldn't be seeing them for quite awhile and it was Sean's Birthday on the 23rd. As we were collecting our bags to make it to the car rental area, I spied a very forlorn looking couple. They were around my oldest son's age and looked totally confused as to what to do. So in the Christmas spirit,I asked them if they were willing to drive with us to Burlington ( 320 miles). They checked us out and determined we weren't axe murderers or interested in having them for sex slaves so they agreed. We scurried to collect our checked bags and Myron and I tried calling Hertz, Budget, Dollar, Avis and Enterprise for a car.... No one would let us take a car one way.... Hertz said they didnt have any in NYC at all... So... I called Avis again and lied and said to the Avis agent on the phone I would use the car locally and return it to the same office. I was able to reserve a car and pick it up in 45 minutes. Hallelujah!!!

We got the car, after again stating that it would be used locally and hurried to start the trip before we would get snowed out! It was a brand new front wheel drive Malibu!!! New all season tires and anti locking brakes... plenty of room and I had high hopes we would make it through the Donner passes of Vermont!

Tim and Holly, our passengers, were mildly anxious, but we told stories and taught life lessons about travelling the not so friendly skies.... Myron started the driving. It rained in NY, sleeted and started to snow in CT, snowed hard in Massachusetts where I took over driving near the Vermont border. For 6 years I commuted this route in all kinds of weather, so I knew every hill, every curve, every bad spot for plowing and every exit for gas, coffee and bio breaks. We proceeded through blinding snow, snow ruts and whiteouts from semi rigs passing us. The car was terrific, the visibility awful and the white knuckles glowed, but we braved it all and laughed to ease the anxiety. Tim's parents were going to meet us in the Mobil gas station in Waterbury and he kept texting them to keep them posted as to our progress... 9 hours later we arrived!

We all got out of the car, hugged and wished Merry Christmases! Tim's parents were so happy they gave us cookies and a beautiful ornament for our tree... What a mitzvah!!!
We arrived 30 minutes later at our friend's house. Lynne made us soup and we had some wine and then crashed.

I had forgotten how cold it gets in VT, it hung around 6-14 degrees all day.... my blood had thinned for sure in the southern climes.
The rest of our time in Vermont was spent with Jim and Lynne, Jeff, and Sean's birthday party at Sean and Liz's new home in Johnson. Additonally, Myron and I were invited to Skip and Marilyn Rosskam's for lunch. They own a vacation home in Stowe and Myron is doing some consulting for Skip's company. So all in all we had a pleasant time.

On Christmas Eve, we headed to the airport for a 1:30 flight and left the car at the Avis office there. No problem but $250.00 one way rental fee was added to our charges. Such is life...
The flight to Philadelphia was on time!
When we got to Philly, our connecting flight was on time and we headed to the gate. Here comes the best tale!
As we handed our boarding pass to the woman, she said, " Sorry I have to change your seats."
I said, "What?! Why?"
She said, " I am not discriminating but we can only give Exit rows to people who ...., I am not discriminating, but you are older. We have rules."
I thought I was going to explode, Myron was actually laughing. We had had exit rows on all our flights and never did anyone ever question our ability to open the damn exit door in the plane! I mean, we work out regularly, go to spinning classes, lift weights, run on treadmills etc etc etc!!! I would venture to say that we are in better shape than most of the people on the damn plane who eat Burger King, McDonalds and weigh 200 pounds!!!
I then yelled at her , "Wait a minute, I am not OLD!" I was incredulous and Myron wanted to see me go balistic.
At that moment, another ground crew came to the desk and asked what was wrong. The woman said that " I am not discriminating , I am following the rules about the exit rows."
I said," What rules, where does it say....?"
The man looked incredulously at both of us and then simply asked us if we were capable of performing the duties of a passenger in the exit row.
We both chorused" Yes"
He told her that we could board.
I was pissed, but Myron found the whole thing totally humorous.
The man followed up up the jetway and apologized. He didn't understand what she was doing.
He said, "you get what you pay for."
Myron simply replied, " At least she is not flying the plane."
We settled into our EXIT Row seats.
Within 5 minutes, the woman came onto the plane and came to us and she appeared as if she was about to cry. She apologized for the confusion and said that she was going to offer us First Class seats . The "old people" moved to First Class! It was all too funny after I stopped fuming.
We arrived in warm NC... 64 degrees .. I really forgot how cold weather is painful.
Thanks to Julianne's Christmas present, Myron and I enjoyed a terrific meal on Christmas Eve at Four Square Restaurant in Durham!

I can't wait for the next adventure!!
BTW ... the cancelled leg of the trip refund equalized the one way car rental fee! We love America!

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year....

Dancing Tonight- Tango

2008-12-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

Finally, it is Saturday after a long week of work in preparation for the beginning of the New Year courses I have to get online for the hospital by January 1st. Believe it or not they have to be turned on January 1st so the 12,000 users can start completing them. I am enjoying my work at UNCH and am pleased at how it is going. I am also just finishing up teaching a Math for Meds class online for the Phillips-Beth Israel School of Nursing in NYC and can now spend more time on Tango .
Myron is finishing up with his students this semester and we have to get ready to leave on the 19th for NYC to visit Myron's family and then on to Vermont on the 21st to visit my sons and friends in Stowe. We will be back on the 24th to have Christmas with my parents who recently moved to CARY,NC .... Containment Area for Relocated Yankees! Most people in Cary are from NYC or Long Island... it is entertaining. They came for the weather, for hi-tech work, to retire, and to experience a cheaper cost of living. Houses and taxes are about half the cost of a comparable house in NY.
Tonight is dinner out with Bob and Lil Mazza followed by a Tango Milonga till 2am!!!
We are planning a ski week in Salt Lake City March 14-21. We plan on flying out Chris and Keiran from Colorado and Sean and Liz from Vermont. We will rent a house 15 minutes from the slopes and everyone will get to ski and snowboard to their hearts' content. Paul and Jeff live in SLC so they can easily join us in the festivities.
Jeff had his tonsils out this past Monday. He has had over the past 3 years multiple bouts of strep throat and this past month an abscess on his tonils that required hospitalization. He is doing fine; a little sore but eating ice cream and healing with his Dad in Vermont. We will see him next week.
Paul's girlfriend, Julianne, sadly is being deployed to Iraq in January. She is in the National Guard and will be gone for at least 4 months. We all worry about her safety. She has requested shampoo and conditioner to be sent to her... :-). I will be sending her the best!
My dear friends in Vermont, Lynn and Jim DePaolo and Sherry and Bob Yandow will be grandparents next summer. Their daughters broke the news this past week. It is a first grandchild for both of them and they are very excited. We will be seeing them next week!
No other news right now.... we will keep you all posted as to our goings on...
Love Anna and Myron

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-06T12:57:00.001-08:00

It is cool here in Chapel Hill/Durham and time to put up the tree. We finished the Christmas cards and have the tree decorated and the house smells of piney woods. Missed the boys, but plan on making them holiday cake anyway and shipping it... Tonight Oma and Opa are taking us out to dinner. Then afterwards, perhaps we go to the late night Milonga..... Love Anna and Myron

OBX for Thanksgiving with Oma and Opa

2008-11-30T11:04:00.000-08:00

We had a good time at the beach house with Oma and Opa for Thanksgiving. Opa even walked 2 miles on the beach and we drove to the Hatteras Lighthouse for photo ops. The weather was cool but sunny and we ate out at Dirty Dicks Crab house and a local bar and grille in Hatteras.... Crab cakes were good and the local color very vibrant! Myron taught Opa computer concepts and Oma relaxed. We got back on Saturday and Myron and Anna enjoyed a house Milonga in Raleigh at Fran's house. We danced and chatted until 1:30 am!!! Here is Oma and Opa at Hatteras! I think we caught Oma with her tongue in her cheek!

Love you all and Happy Thanksgiving
Anna and Myron

Return from Las Vegas

2008-11-24T16:51:00.000-08:00

The conference was good, our presentation well received, the food was great.... the gambling made our wallets a little lighter...but we got to spend super time with Paul and Julianne, watch the phenomenal "O", be puzzled and surprised by Penn and Teller, consume large quantities of superb cuisine and ETOH!
We strolled the Strip, gazed longingly at Yellow Lamborghinis, were overwhelmed by the hotel architecture and plush casinos but did manage to get dusty and dirty by horseback riding in the desert Red Rock Canyon. I must say it was a phenomenal trip ..... oohhh and the coffee at SEXPRESSO ( just down the Strip from the Riviera where we stayed ) made getting up in the morning an adventure. The female Baristas serve in sexy underwear!!! Only in Las Vegas?
Pictures forthcoming....
Anna and Myron

Wedding Pix from Janet!

2008-11-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

Thank you Janet for sending such fabulous pictures of our day! Enjoy them everyone. They are in the Flickr Badge to the right of this post.

We have been busy working hard at our various jobs, exercising, visiting Oma and Opa as they settle in and, of course, Tango!

We are leaving this Tuesday for Las Vegas as Anna is going to present with her co-worker, Tim, at the AACE conference, her paper about e-learning and healthcare compliance. But of course the evenings are free and all three of us will enjoy Penn and Teller, good dinners, some casinos, and Cirque de Soleil "0". Happily, Paul and Julianne, will join us on Thursday and Friday so we plan on touring the Strip, a little gambling, some window shopping and eating terrific meals.
We return on Sunday in time for the short Thanksgiving week where we intend to take Oma and Opa to OBX for Thanksgiving...

Due to our passion for Tango, we have decided to rename the OBX Beach House. It will be renamed "TangoOBX" . I have designed a sign and hopefully we can find a sign maker to make it.
Stay tuned for our adventures in Las Vegas... oops I forgot, I have been told," What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." Sorry :-)
Love
Anna and Myron

Days in Rodanthe

2008-11-05T04:26:00.000-08:00

We were at the Outer Banks this past weekend. The weather was terrific, the sunshine continuous with only a slight breeze. The ocean was jade glass and the beaches were empty except for ghost crabs and sea birds. Hot tubbing under star studded skies, beach walks and climbing desolate dunes occupied our time in our sanctuary by the sea. We drove 20 miles south on the beach road to Rodanthe, passing windswept dunes, sea oats and heron to photograph the beach house where the movie Nights in Rodanthe was filmed with Richard Gere and Diane Lane. While it was being filmed, a storm caused substantial beach erosion. It is now condemned....as are many old beach houses on the OBX coast due to the undermining of the structures. Nevertheless, the house still stands, braced against the wind and the sea as if it is challenging the cancer that eats at its foundation. Such a romantic place, lonely and beautiful.

Love,
Anna and Myron

Wedding Pix

2008-10-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

You can view some pix from Sean's friend Bobby at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/materva/sets/ and at Ren's website www.giveyourmeat.com
More coming.

anna and myron

Married at Duke Gardens on October 12, 2008

2008-10-19T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
We apologize for the long hiatus, but planning our wedding, moving my parents, and flying out to Utah to care for Paul who had meningitis this summer took us away from blogging. We got married at Duke Gardens last week! The weather was spectacular and we had our 5 sons and many family and friends who flew in for the weekend. Our Tango inspired wedding was perfect and we danced all night. Friends and family took photos so I will post the blog and Flickr addresses to view the photos.
We will now be more dedicated to keeping this blog up to date as we continue our adventures!.
Love Anna and Myron

White Water Rafting on the Nantahala River!

2008-07-06T18:13:00.000-07:00

Did we ever have a great 4th of July weekend!

We drove to the Great Smoky Mountains for the weekend and stayed in a pleasant B&B in Bryson City, NC right next to the Cherokee Indian Reservation. The area is renowned for the river rafting, mountain biking and hiking. We arrived on Friday the 4th around 3pm, checked in and immediately got ready to go for a bike ride. We found a trail called, " Winding Stairs". It was an easy 13 mile ride but of course it was already late in the day so we weren't sure we would do the entire thing. The map wasn't very good and we didn't start at the beginning but we did do around 5 miles.... a bit of a severe uphill on a forest service road ( gravel) and a few miles of flat bike path (pavement). Had we gone to the top, we would have seen Queen Lake and had a screaming downhill past waterfalls etc. Anyway it was fun and beautiful.
We went out to eat and had mountain Trout... exceptional.
We viewed terrific fireworks at 10:00 from the small town baseball field.. We were amazed at how spectacular they were considering how in the Appalachian boons we were.

On Saturday we woke up to rain and checked out the small town... lots of dry goods stores, gun shops and a few craft shops. The rain stopped in time for us to head up to the river to take some pictures and finally start our 1:30 River Rafting trip. The river is a Class 2 and Class 3 rapids river and we went on a guided river raft. Our guide was Kari from Minnesota and on the raft with us was a woman and her 7 year old daughter. It was a wonderful 8 mile trip down the river paddling through a variety of rapids.... Now we will have to take Kayak lessons for river kayaking.... :-) THIS IS US IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RAFT GOING DOWN CLASS 3 RAPIDS!!!!

On Sunday, after our breakfast, we decided to return home via the Blue Ridge Parkway that follows ridges at 6000 feet along the Smoky Mountains all the way to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. We drove on it for over 70 miles before descending into Asheville, NC to hit the interstate and return home. Spectacular views and wonderful winding roads along the Blue Ridge.

Myron couldn't resist having his bald dome photographed at the overlooks of the various mountain tops called BALDS!
Love
Anna and Myron

Charleston!

2008-06-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

We went to Charleston to visit our friend Greg and his girlfriend Susan. He actually lives in Mt. Pleasant, Mt. Plastic, as he called it , which is a reclaimed wetland with large upscale suburban and golf neighborhoods. He has a lovely townhouse and is only 25 minutes from Charleston downtown.
We had a wonderful time chatting, eating and exploring. We visited Sullivan and Palm Islands and the main street in Charleston. We poked around galleries and saw all the colorfully painted Charleston famous houses. Charleston is steeped in history and Fort Sumter sits in the bay.
Live oaks with hanging moss, extravagant gardens, and wrought iron gates are hallmarks.
Alligators, sea birds, and dolphin are the local fauna!
Sitting by the tidal waters and drinking Guinness staved off the heat and humidity!!!
African-American South Carolinians wove Sweetgrass baskets and sold them to tourists. Apparently the art is sacred amongst these slave descendants.... The state actually protects their sales by not permitting sales tax on the baskets. There are many selling them on the streets of Charleston and along the roads.
On the drive back home, only 4 hours or so... we passed much of rural South Carolina dilapidations. We also stopped at ticky tacky South of the Border! Our pictures are in the Flickr badge!
Love
Anna and Myron

Pix of Japan

2008-06-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

Hi
Some people are having some difficulty accessing the pictures on the Flickr badge.
So here is the direct link to pix of our Japan visit.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8494564@N03/sets/72157605543999834/show/with/2569263774/

Enjoy
Anna and Myron

Japan!

2008-06-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been awhile since we made any entries in our blog...
We have been very busy...
However, we just got back from Japan visiting Hiroko, Ren and Lil' Chikage and it was the most fantastic experience.
We took many photos and we have them here on Flicker.
There is just too much to say and hope that the pix speak for themselves.
We will hopefully find some time to add some narration and explanation.
Right now, Anna is working to catch up at UNC and Myron will be starting a job with Cisco next week. In between the work, there is working out at the gym, Tango practice and Milongas as well as running in 5K races in 100 degree heat..

Who said we were smart :-)

Anna and Myron

Red Buds ? Yup, Red Buds!

2008-04-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

Ok so we came from up north and now witnessing the most fantastic spring...
Can not believe the amount of flowering trees. Cherry , apple, dogwood, yellow, red and purple trees.
The picture is of a tree that blooms here in NC all over the place.
I asked my friend, Tim, at work what they were called... He said "Red Buds"..
Hmmm, I really didn't believe him actually and Myron and I laughed about the "Red Buds"
But I owe Tim a major lunch out... they are called Red Buds and the Latin name is Cercis Canadensis. They are simply beautiful.

Anna and Myron lovin' NC in the Springtime

Flowers and Dilapidations

2008-04-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

We went to the OBX this weekend to see how Mark and Sean were doing on home repair. They were doing a wonderful job. They already had the 2 big picture windows in and they were heavy... On the way, we drive through an area of wetlands called appropriately, The Great Dismal Swamp. There are a few rural small towns along the way surrounded by farmland and of course swampland. Wild animals abound ; red wolf, deer, possum, bear etc . Thank goodness we have only seen roadkill and a few deer off in the pastures.... Anyway along this rather empty route, we find many beautiful wild flowers and dilapidated homes and buildings. We decided to capture the buildings and create a possible showing of these "dilapidations". But we were awestruck by the wild wisteria creeping up 30 foot pines and hanging lush and purple like grapes on the vine. I think you might find the beginnings of a photo exhibit in these photos!!! Anna and Myron

At the Beach in OBX

2008-03-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

Fantastic weather here in OBX. Sunny and warm.
We made the requisite visit to Home Depot to obtain the necessary things to make repairs and upgrades. Sean and his friend Mark will be arriving on April 1st to spend 2 weeks working on the place.
We walked the beach and picked some shells. Myron loves the black and red ones. Must be the Tango influence.

Love
Anna and Myron

Happy Spring!!!

2008-03-20T17:59:00.000-07:00

The daffodils, magnolia trees, apple and pear and other flowering trees are heralding spring here in the South...
Weather is sunny and warm... grilling outdoors, walks in the woods, biking on the Tobacco Trail... trips to OBX...It doesn't get better than this!!!!!!!!!!!!