Where you come from

Truthfully, I prefer posts with pictures.

Why? Well, they are far more interesting, visually pleasing (sometimes), and make it easier for others to understand what you are writing about.

With that in mind I've decided to make this a picture post to the best of my ability.

The following is what it is like for me to go home and visit my pops and his side of the family.


Aug. 26th


This was not going to be a sleep in Saturday morning. No, I volunteered to take my brother to the DMV to get his learner's permit and I knew full well...the earlier the better. DMV visits have been painful ever since they cut funding.
So I decided to get up at 5:00 AM and leave the house by 5:30, allowing plenty of time to make it to Middlesex county VA and to take my brother to the infamous DMV.

The morning was beautiful and I enjoyed watching the sun slowly rise as I navigated the winding route of highway 17 South.



Since the trip takes about 2 1/2 hours it is an excellent time to think, reflect, and prepare for the sometimes ominous encounters with my father. In the midst of my meditation I realized that there was a good possibility that I could not take my brother as I had planned. I'm not his legal guardian. Sure enough, when I arrived my father, after a quick play fighting session, told me what I already knew. And as expected, my father asked me the question he already had the answer for, whether I wanted to or not. "What do you want to do"? - quickly followed with "Do you want to go fishing"? - as if there is a choice in the matter. Having known my father for 28 years I was perfectly aware that nothing made him more happier than taking his sons out on the boat and making them endure his temper for a minimum of 4 solid hours. "Sure pops".

So, after waking my little (6'2" 215) brother up and dealing with the task of loading the boat, we were off. (I'm skipping the part where my dad gets mad about it being the weekend and there are no parking places at the public landing, and how ignorant it is for someone to park down there who doesn't even have a trailer)
I must admit that it is always a nostalgic feeling returning to the river; the smells, the sounds of seagulls, boat motors, and my father yelling at my little brother to sit on the other side of the boat because it is leaning too far to one side. Well at least it is beautiful.


This could get really long so I'll try to skip the rest of the unnecessary details.
I just felt that it was important to establish the atmosphere of my returns to the homeland.

The fishing wasn't great but there were plenty of laughs. For instance, my brother got pissed off at my father because as usual they were bickering back and forth and pops usually wins because he is louder. (Keep in mind that one of the arguments was about my brother casting the line with a reel that really wasn't suited for casting) My brother finally lost his temper (to the extent a tender-hearted giant of a 17 yr old can loose it) and decided to cast his line straight down behind the boat as hard as he could. All you could hear was the brief screaming of the fishing line and the reel gears until... as does often happen with bait casting reels similar to his, everything came to a cacophonous halt as Adam created what we refer to in the fishing world as a bird's nest. Basically the line gets tangled and mangled up in the reel to such an extent that you often have to cut it and reattach your rigs in order to continue fishing.

So there he was knowing perfectly well that his temper just cost him a good fifteen minutes of fishing and more than likely a barrage of harsh words from my father.
But wait, there was only silence. And then...
I could no longer hold it and busted out in laughter and my father quickly joined the chorus. My brother just sat there simmering in the heat and slowly untangled his mess of a reel and his anger as well.
Nonetheless, it was fun for us all and everyone smiled at some point, even my brother.




I think I'll make this a two part post. It's a little overwhelming reading so much.


To come: Night at the movies with my little brother and a visit with the grandparents.