Lewis Ginter Gardenfest of Lights

Mom, Catherine, Mary and I went to the light festival at Lewis Ginter botanical gardens on Christmas Adam (Christmas Eve eve). It had been 10 years since I had been there. The lights were awesome. This picture is of the peacock and her eggs in the sunken garden.











The Conservatory had several wings with Christmas tree displays, tropical plants and various things. This tree that Mary and Catherine are posing in front of was huge. You can see the poinsettias in front of it.

Around the lake they had a display of various types of fish. The lights were LED type brilliant, not like the ones you hang on your house.

The weather was very warm in the low 60s. It had rained earlier in the day, but the weather cleared and the full moon came out. Couldn't have had better conditions for the tour. Here is an attempted shot of the moon.

Urbanna Oyster Festival 2007

Okay, the first thing you have to do at the Oyster Festival is find a haywagon and a semi-inebriated old guy to ride to town with. From left to right we have Nick, CB, Taferomone, Madre and the old guy. I guess this guy doesn't get his picture taken often.


Nick found this guy who plays super chess. He puts two boards side by side and plays with double the number of pieces. Looks very intimidating. Nick gave it a respectable go, but lost. I ate oysters, sat in the sun, and watched the crowd.

Yar. Some very authentic looking piratey types. Carying what? Woven baskets? No doubt full of severed heads.

The streets were packed, as far as the eye could see. There were lots of people, but I have been to more crowded festivals. One the whole, I'd give this one a 7 out of 10. Weather was absolutely perfect. Oysters were too expen$ive ($8 for 5. OUCH!). Crafts were very good, and the bands were very good.

Okay, so I have no idea what a "SPAT" is, but here is the little miss one of those. Okay, so I suspect a SPAT is a stage in the lifecycle of the beloved and succulent bivalve, the oyster.

I will definitely go again next year, and start on Friday.

Homecoming 2007

Okay, so no year would be complete without the Homecoming pictures ... Here is Catherine, in front of the dogwood wall.


And here again, with her most excellent friend Mary.

ECU vs. VT Game

This is is why everyone wants to be the Hokie bird. He gets all the chicks.


















We were surprised how much Tech struggled in this game. Looks like the Hokies have them pinned deep here.

Third Generation Hokie!

Well, it is inevitable. They are born, they grow up too fast, they learn a bit about life, and then they go to a university. Here are just a few pictures from Carey Beth's move in at Va Tech. She went up Wednesday to attend band camp for the Marching Virginians, the 330 member marching band. We heard the good news Friday night that she made the band after three days of auditions. We are very very proud of her!

This is a pix of her dorm room. See the old guy in the white tee shirt? His Name is Darrell. I worked with him 20 years ago in Alexandria. His daughter, Sara, is CB's roommate. What are the chances of that? Catherine is sitting in the closest chair, and Darrell's youngest kid, Dixie, is sitting back by the window. Check Darrell's family website here. He has a much more robust site than I do.


This is the hallowed and sacred turf of Lane Stadium. You can see Carey Beth's shadow on the ground. They got to practice on the field today and the football team had a scrimmage. So very cool.

More pictures to come ...

Canadaigua!

Well, it was that time of the year again. 100 degrees and 100% humidity in Chesterfield, New York finger lakes here we come! As always, the Kellogg's were the consummate hosts and we had a wonderful time. Met some new folks too.

Coming soon, videos on YouTube of the weekend & water sports.

Check here for all the pictures from the weekend. You do not need to create an account to view the pictures.

Enjoy, the summer is almost over!

Joel, Helen and Sharon share a joke while Joel tries to dump his wine in Sharon's ear.

A couple (I can't remember their name) yucks it up with Paul.













Gene pretends to explain something at the end of the wine tasting.













American Gothic - Teenager Shuffleboard style.














So many good kids, having a great time. All these kids are a pleasure to be around.

GRADUATION!!

Oh Man. There is something supremely surreal about watching your baby graduate from High School (same one her Dad graduated from, how weird is that) AND turn 18 on the same day.

I felt such a sense of relief at the end of the day. Relief that Carey Beth had turned into such a fine young woman, the graduation had gone very smoothly, and the party had gone very well.

I bought her lottery tickets for her 18th birthday, as a way of demonstrating the futility of legalized gambling that she was now old enough to partake of. Much to my dismay, she won $22 on 4 scratcher tickets.

I am so proud of all the kids. They aren't just smart, they are just good kids. Respectful, aware and heading on to the next thing.








Can you find her in the picture? Just look for the smile.






















The party after the graduation well attended by cousins, friends, family, choir directors, etc.

New York City

To the big city for a relaxing shopping and sightseeing trip. NYC is an amazing city. We stayed at 8th & Broadway in a 1 bedroom suite. We saw the "Drowsy Chaperone" on Broadway, did lots of shopping & walking, ate out and really had a chance to experience the city.

We were there in early April, 2007.






My two girls, strolling down Broadway like they live there!









This dreary shot is from the harbor, while we were on the way to Ellis Island. After that cold wait for the ferry, we went, stayed a few minutes came back and went to China town & Little Italy. Such a contrast in just a few blocks.

Variety

Started the day at JB Hall, with the Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Men monthly meeting at 7am. We took care of business, yucked it up a bit, had some laughs. A good group of men.

Catherine had a field hockey tournament starting at 9am. They lost the first game in a tie breaker, which I had never seen in field hockey before (after coaching for 7 seasons). We took Ed Gerardo and excellent daughter Mary to Ukrops for brunch, and then back to the field to begin the losers bracket at 1pm. Won that game 2-1, and now play tomorrow (Sunday) at 1pm. Lots of time on the field. I am going to miss the sports field when Catherine goes to college. It is very relaxing, especially when you understand the game.

It was my task to uphold the baked chicken tradition with Caritas and my Sunday school class. So, Stan and I met at JB hall (again) to start cooking dinner for CARITAS. This is a program to provide shelter families in richmond. We host them for two weeks every year. Chicken turned out fine. 30 lbs of chicken leg quarters, a quart of BBQ sauce, some green beans & mashed potatoes, nothing but fun. 21 guests. 6 women, 6 babies, teenagers and one man.

And, then home to cut the grass before it got dark. The smell of bleeding grass, a hot lawn mower, and dew. Scents of my youth. Difference is that now I don't get paid for it.

So. Now I am firmly esconced on the screen porch with a glass (or two) of a good chianti. Finished the sunday school lesson for tomorrow. Thinking about starting the new book about Ghengis Khan I got the other night.

Life is (still) good.

First Post

I have moved the Condrey family blog to blogspot, mainly because I got tired of using FrontPage, and the novelty of having my own url and pseudo-blog wore off.

Anyway, with this setup you can respond to the posts. I'll leave it open so anyone can. Please be civil.

One kid on the way to college in the fall. One kid in highschool. Family in various states (geographically speaking). A busy summer filled with photo opportunities looming. What do all these things say? Time to blog!

More soon.

Barry