Day 22

Oh the glorious daybreak! W tossing and turning and finally waking up, "Daddy, daddy, wake up. Wake up, the pajamas are wet." You think it is just a ploy to get you up but when he backs up his rear end next to your face, you realize he is not bluffing. He has a diaper about the size of Texas and of course it has leaked enough to be uncomfortable to sleep. So, up we get, get changed, and head downstairs for some oatmeal, blueberries, and yoghurt. While going down the stairs, I realize what I have done the night before and what my legs are not doing at the moment. Oh, the joyous feeling in the hamstrings and calves! Life is boring without pain, pain keeps you real (my old wise saying).
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Since everyone was at work, we did an excursion to the local TJ Maxx and Ross stores in High Point. I mainly got to try a football since W decided that we have a minicamp for the upcoming NFL season. He was the quarterback and I was supposed to receive his throws, according to him. He surprised me by tossing nice spirals, with two hands. We had our share of good fun. Finally, I was able to lure him into having a timeout like real players. We sat in the furniture section, testing some garden set, and had a snack with our team manager Maaret who supplied the refreshments after snooping around the clothing racks.
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While 2/3 of the team were taking a nap, the oldest and wisest went to the local Gold's Gym to show the meat heads some real power. Missy was nice enough to sneak me in as her guest and then embarrass me while doing shoulders. She kindly let me go first and huff and puff, then she quietly picked up the same weights and did the same number of reps. Thanks for making me look like Arnold in his heyday!
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Meanwhile, the injured wannabe sprinter Danny went to see an orthopedic doctor for his tendon issues and came back with instructions to go get a MRI test later this week. They think he has an inflamed or partially torn Achilles tendon. Come on, no pain, no gain. The rest of the evening was reserved for the kids and a real Class A baseball game. You do not go to the game with an empty stomach, so some great Thai food did the trick with Wilmer and Zoe extensively practicing their shrieks in a half full restaurants. Turned out that you do not go to the game at all if it rains. As it happened, the thunderstorms ruined the game. So, we had to move to plan B: NBA Finals, Game 4, in front of the TV. -- Late night update, Lakers 3 - Orlando 1. Compass to Virginia tomorrow and then home. The car odometer shows 2500+ miles (4000 km) at the moment for this trip. Night night.

Day 21

What is the name of your Japanese car mechanic? - Hajosiko Toyotasi.
That is exactly who we tried to find at the local Toyota dealer where we drove in the morning to get a repair estimate for our poor Camry who had been victimized in an accident a day before. We ended up test driving a brand spanking new Camry while hanging out at the dealership. We were ready to make a switch right there but they wanted a bit too much money to do that. Hmmm, keep your car. It was nice though.
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Trip to a nearby High Point University where Missy works as a professor. We had a chance to sniff out the renewed campus and see a third chemistry department on this trip. Quite nice, we got free Animal Crackers and water, courtesy of HPU. It is amazing what money can do to a campus look.
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Quick nap with Wilmer and mama and it was time for the Ultimate Runner practice run. They had all the five distances on tap but we decided to skip the first one, the mile, after our extended warm up with Danny the Usain Bolt. Danny had brought his red Flash Gordon spiked track shoes and was ready to send Michael Johnson's 400 m world record into history. He started fast, so fast that he left part of his calf somewhere in the second turn. That was it for him. Rest of the night was spent holding the ice bag on the foot. I on the other hand enjoyed my time on the track and almost got lapped by the fastest people. One down, few more to go, 800 m next. It is weird but your legs start behaving funny when you only have 5 minute break between the races. Well, I made it, only 50 seconds behind my best time from few decades ago. Next was 100 m, oh yeah, the sprinter in me came out. Let's just say that Mr. Bolt is safe for a while, I gave him a nice 4 second cushion. The fourth and last distance of 2 miles was spent attempting to keep the big Mexican lunch down and trying to figure out why my legs didn't want to go in straight lines anymore. It probably looked like having a drunken person trying to walk on a two inch line. - Done! I even beat the 8-year old kid by a chest's length. She wasn't happy... let's just hope that she does not opt for plastic surgery.
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Helen and Derek invited us for a dinner after the track session. Helen being Maaret's former co-worker and Derek her husband and a member of my dissertation committee. Derek did the race as well and it did not seem to bother him too much since he basically sprinted home from the track. I tried my best to follow him but my wooden legs refused to allow anything faster than a tortoise on ice. It became clear very quickly why he flew home so fast, there was a great meal waiting for him. Helen had put together a feast. Yummy!

Wilmer had a chance to play with the big boys at the dinner. He was so proud to join Zach for some endless fun with a ping pong ball. The cats also received their share of exercise after having ran away from him all night.
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Driving back, we were treated to a nice light show by thunder and lightning. So magnificent that us late bloomers had to go to bed in complete darkness after a half night power outage. Danny and I were doing our customary late night surfing, sitting on the couch with laptops in our laps when the power went out. It was kind of comical to sit there in the glow of the screens with no internet connection, surrounded by a complete darkness everywhere.

Day 20

Life is good in the fast lane. Except when you get tired. Wilmer had expressed yesterday that he is willing to go home now. I think partly because the last week or so he hasn't been anywhere with lots of other kids to play with. Today he got his wish when we went to Hanes Park in Winston-Salem where we hit a park with swings, climbing area, tennis courts, track, and about 30 other kids. He ended up making sand cakes with three girls about double his age. Way to go W!

He had some slick lines. He first climbed a rope ladder half way up and saw the girls underneath and said in his manly voice: "Hi girls! What are you doing?" They kindly replied "sand cakes". Wilmer asked two more times what they were doing and finally after two similar replies he was sure about his intent and smoothly joined the girls in their sand cake operation. They got along very well and baked a bunch. At this time mommy had joined us boys in the park as well. She had been lunching with her former boss from the Law Firm days. We men had lunch in a nearby cafe with "Uncle Mike" from my Wake Forest days. He gave Wilmer a big present that he agreed to set a side and wait until we got back to Missy and Danny to open it. Oh my, it wasn't just any kind of present. W got six individually wrapped top of the line sports cars, including two Porsche 911, Camaro, two Ford Mustangs, and a BMW 850. He took them immediately out for a spin and we were racing them for an hour until the late thunderstorms moved in and forced us indoors. We wrapped the day in Winston by visiting Helen and Charles in their law offices and running up and down the stairs of the building. Wilmer changed the oil and tuned up the engine in Helen's pink Cadillac (he claims). Charles had an aquarium in his office that did not have any fingerprints prior to our visit. Now it has. When you bang the glass, the fish tend to swim away and hide. Wilmer proved that theory with exhaustive experimental data. Fascinating.

Back at the house and escaping the rain, we needed some more action and decided to play "stuff Zoe in Danny's cooler". It was fun, everyone was laughing until the bellies were hurting. Zoe herself was enjoying it since she was able to reach the side pocket with 6-7 containers of Danny's protein portions and what's more fun than keep tossing them to the table. Danny on the other hand was a bit uneasy and fidgety because he did not want to lose a gram of his carefully measured and portioned "man juice" powders. All the fun makes you hungry, an old Chinese proverb. So, we had some delicious hickory-grilled salmon, and wine, and ice cream, and pecan pie, and...

Well, better pack some calories since tomorrow evening we are forced to participate in some "Ultimate Runner" practise sessions, a race where you run 5 races from 100 meters to 5K in one evening and try not to pass out or puke in the end. I am the one who is supposed to participate in the running whereas the other family members are there to socialize - nice.

Speaking of other family members. Maaret has added almost 45 pounds (20 kg) of extra weight. She is trying to become the world's strongest mom. You should see her bicep... To be honest, her belly is even more impressive. She has Wilmer's brother waiting to pop out in mid-July. She has been doing great so far and threatens to do a half marathon in Finland next summer. She keeps her running to minimum at the moment, only about 20 miles per week. Just kidding! About the mileage. The doctors cleared her for up to a three 3 week trip and I guess we will use it up pretty much completely. We still have Virginia to conquer before heading home. The two villes, Danville and Charlottesville, respectively, seem to be the final two destinations.

Busy evening. Penguins 3, Red Wings 3. Lakers 2, Orlando 1.

Day 19 (Kernersville, NC)

Monday morning was a blur. People running up and down the stairs, hot weather outside, a kid itching to get outside, conference calls, getting ready for a trip, new IKEA in town. Too bad we managed to rush in the night before Chris and Bess were leaving for Europe. I hope they had a chance to pack and settle down for few minutes after our "tornado" swept through their household. However, they managed to sit down for a photo session in their front lawn. By the way, if you need tennis outfits for junior girls, I can find you some good deals for the products from here: Tennis Star. Hopefully, next time we have a bit longer visit and we can make it to, say, a tennis court. Hey, our backgammon game found its way back home. It was "on loan" for 5 years. Anybody want to play a game or three? Regardless, we emptied our hosts' fridge and hit the highway. We made it only 25 miles until we had to pull over for a brand new IKEA store and have some Swedish Meatballs. I have always wondered what makes those meatballs Swedish, I still do. I have to ask how they differ from Finnish or Norwegian meatballs? It is probably because when you mention Scandinavia here, people think of Sweden first, it is something exotic for the local folk.

The rest of the way to central NC was very familiar since we have driven it tens of times before. The circle had closed and we were back in Kernersville at Missy and Danny's Roadhouse. Danny proudly showed us his new firetruck-red track shoes. He thinks he is the fastest man in his family now. His daughter and wife had their reservations but quietly agreed.

On a side note, I had a chance to see yesterday's Formula 1 race from Turkey. What is the deal with Ferrari and McLaren? They seem to be "badder than worse"... Jenson Button, I am getting tired of hearing his name on top every time. Just like Rafa Nadal's. Luckily that streak was just snapped by a Swedish meatball, I mean a tennis player.

Day 18 (Charlotte, NC)

This is getting to be a routine by now, wake up, eat, pack, and hit the road. Exactly what we did. The morning was great, sunny skies, very hot and humid (great when you try to use your engineering skills on the parking lot to figure out how everything is supposed to fit back in the car and the sun is coming down at you like a Ford Excursion on a highway). After two gallons of sweat (and a trophy for Mr. Wet T-Shirt) the car was ready with the passengers strapped in. The only thing that remained was to check out and fill the cooler with ice for the food items. Turns out that every single ice machine was out of order at the hotel, every single one! Highly annoying.
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We did not have to wait too long for the first pit lane. Maaret drove like possessed when the outlet mall was the target. The male passengers had their knuckles white and knees buckling for an extended period of time afterward. We (read her) somehow found new items to fill the already full car even more. We had to leave the first outlet mall rather hastily since W launched a torpedo in one of the stores and they probably ended up evacuating the store for the afternoon. Well, the damage was contained in the diaper department but the smell, oh so fresh. One of the other things worth mentioning took place in J.Crew store, where the music was a bit more loud and rocking than the typical elevator music that you hear most of the time. Wilmer seized his moment and climbed to the store window and made it his stage for one of the best impromptu air guitar shows ever! The other customers seemed to enjoy it too, based on their smiles. Let me tell you, the sound coming from his "guitar" was quite tough, not for Yanni lovers for sure.
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Finally out of the "shopping paradises" and on the road to Charlotte, NC, where we were scheduled to arrive at 5:30 pm. I think Maaret thought she was in a NASCAR race. She really put the pedal to the metal and caught us up and we made it to Charlotte several minutes ahead of schedule to see Christopher and Bess, our long-lost German-American couple who we visited just recently, but turned out it had been 5 years from our last visit. Are you kidding me, who says the time flies? Such a cliche. They looked great, Bess had found a fountain of youth and, if you do not count Chris' slightly thinned hair and a bulging forearm, he looked like regular Chris. We had a nice quiet evening of taped French Open Men's Final, grilling, and catching up.

Day 17

My gosh, a late wake up! Finally. I had stayed up until 2 am with my blog and a disappointing movie (Bucket List). We all felt the effects from the previous day and slept until 9:15 am. It was perfect since we had a chance to see the women's final from Roland Garros in the morning. Too bad Dinara came a bit short, now she will have to endure the crap about being number 1 and not having won a Grand Slam. I can sympathize with her, I was number one in North Carolina at one point and never won a Slam, ha ha haa...

We pretty much repeated the day from yesterday with all the outdoor activities. My back is really killing me now. I could not take the waves one more day... After lunch, W found an activity that has not been tried here yet, throwing rocks in a water fountain.

While W was taking his late nap, I tried to get back with "conquering the elements 3". No not a video game, just my continuing struggle against the forces of nature. I had this urge to run on the beach in the evening sun. I mapped three routes this time to prepare for the possible gated communities that I had ran into two days ago. I had one short run that I wanted to take and two back up plans in case some of the roads were blocked off. As some twisted law bearing "Murphy" in its name would put it, of course I ended up taking the third and the longest option for my run. This time 12 km (7.5 miles). Man, how are people supposed to get to see all these resorts and vacation paradises if you can't even get in to them in the first place?? Just book your next vacation in one of them without seeing them first? Maybe I need to schedule a viewing session or something first... I can tell you that trying to outrun the officers at gates does not seem to work. What works is that you get some extra mileage for your runs that way. Regardless, I got my nice beach portion in but that freakin' sand takes so much out of your calves and you.

I finished off the water supply at the hotel. Penguins went down hard tonight, Detroit had their number in the NHL. Maaret seems to snore quite loud occasionally. I need to go to bed, tomorrow we hit the highway again. This time to Charlotte, NC. Christopher and Bess, get ready, the circus is coming to town near you!

Day 16

We hit the included breakfast like carnivores. To typical American fashion the breakfast was centered around sweet and sweeter items, like muffins, and strudels, and donuts. Then you wonder why this country has a weight issue... gee! Waffles was the name of the game for us. I think we even ate few apples on the side.

Half an hour later we had already thrown on the sunblock and were at the beach. It was a good day for that, the semi-cloudy day kept the temperatures from getting too hot. That was evident from our aquatic monster's activity level as well. Wilmer made it known from the beginning that he is going for a swim in the ocean, with or without adult supervision. Well, I volunteered to be the second wheel in that fun. We (read he) jumped against the waves for 1.5 hours straight, I was reduced to holding his hand and occasionally pulling him back up from under the waves. He probably laughed about an hour straight. ...I think he liked the waves. I, on the other hand, started almost cramping on one side of my back. (Why can't he be about a foot taller?) Finally, just before I was about to pass out, he graciously allowed for a break and we sat in ankle deep water and started piling wet sand on each others legs. That was so much fun that after a while it looked liked we had taken a mud bath. At that point the responsible adult, Maaret, came in with orders to stop the fun and wash ourselves, it was time to go get some lunch but we looked like no sane restaurant owner would ever allow us in their establishment.

Half an hour later we were all cleaned up at Harbor Town, in the west corner of the island. We found ourselves in a recommended and quite well-known establishment called Crazy Crab. If you want the honest opinion, my god, stay away. Unless you prefer fried this and that fish and chips type of menu. It was unfortunately quite far from good seafood. My father-in-law's smoked salmon would bring a happy tear to your eye when compared with my Salmon Kabob at the Crazy Crab which was completely tasteless piece of salmon with some veggies, and pitiful rice mix. Maaret had a little bit better luck with her Crab Cake Sandwich but really nothing worth writing home about. Wilmer ate only half of his portion, that should tell you something. Well, we stayed a while admiring the big boats and the nice suroundings that allowed for a few quite nice photo opportunities. I like the colorful kayaks and the sky behind them.

On the way back to the central island, I had a deja-vu feeling that dated back several years to our previous visit when Maaret was training for her marathon. Another family was there with us and one half of them had the same goal, so the two marathon nuts went for a 13 mile (21 km) jog on the island. Of course, I had to go with them even though I was running only 5-10 km once or twice a week to stay in shape for my competitive tennis in North Carolina. Well, I finished the 13 miles with them but the next day and a half I had a high fever and was completely exhausted from my brilliant brain fart type idea. Maybe that run was the reason I finally ended up running and finishing my first marathon last April. Now I have the bragging rights as well, I belong.

The evening was spent at the South Beach where we wanted to hunt for some seashells and hopefully catch a glimpse of dolphins that frequent the area. We were walking in the water ankle deep and saw few parents with kids approaching us promptly. They wanted to make sure that we knew that someone had spotted a shark few feet away from the shore where we were, just minutes prior to our arrival. The bull shark was supposedly a 4-5 footer. Well, that ended any thoughts of swimming there. However, it did not stop us from seeing the dolphins that were out in full force. W had finally a chance to see "Kiiltopaa" in real life (a dolphin in Moomin books). It was a quite nice evening stroll, except that the rain cut it short a bit in the end. That did not stop W from taking his promised dip in the hotel pool. In a cold rain, at 9 pm in the evening! I loved it too...