haunting the farm
had a blast turning the barn into a haunted house for the boys. there was a witch, a ghost with clanking chains, a severed head oozing blood, a stuffed guy in the bathroom, a big spider, a tunnel, spider webs and bats, a fresh grave and more. taking it down was just as fun as putting it up with help from the curious boys. the pumpkins turned out great too.

georgia
always wonderful getting together with ginny. glad the folks could join us. lots of paddling time. special walk to the gorge. fine dining and company with don in athens.

boggled
best two words played in boggle recently: bluish and martini.

amtrak
rail security found lacking in trip from DC to toccoa. return trip more assuring, but not much.

morgantown
met cara and the girls at cheat lake with the jeep and the big green canoe. paddled, hiked, cached and had an all-around good time. lunch with the fellas at maxwells. rock climbing at coopers with a special visit from tonya and bailey. great seeing everyone again.

#19
managed to fit in a couple more fishing and camping trips to greenbrier county. explored the greenbrier river trail with james. saw north fork as low as we ever have.

1922-2006
rest in peace, grandma.

chicago
the most fun I've had in a big city. great eats (gene & georgettis, gibsons, rosebud, superdawg, ginos east). great digs (the drake, hostelling international chicago). great views from the hancock building.

commercial scream
not impressed with markoff's haunted forest. the anticipation and bonfires surpassed the actual scaring. think it would be better to see the zipline and pamperpole in action. didn't help to have scaredy cats in front of us. fright farm wins.

flicks
"the weather man" exceeded expectations, although some was gratuitous. "all the king's men" was good, but I kept seeing other actors in the roles. best movie of the year: "little miss sunshine"

a-mazing
finally made it to a corn maze. the boys led us through and found the way out without waving the flag for the corn cops in 46 minutes. the farmyard fun was just as popular as the actual mazing. cornbag toss, trace the rope, mini maze and more.

seagull century
oh the rain, the wind, the cold. leah cheered us across the finish, 100 miles of sogginess and insanity. maybe next year will be warm and clear.

etc.
the triathlon was fun. jon stewart made me laugh. the spy museum didn't disappoint.