Some Events from this Summer

So, it has been summer for me for almost a week! Among the many highlights so far are Elizabeth's and my trip to SilkHope winery and the round of golf with my brothers and father......Arg, as I'm finishing this post, finally, summer is now over and I'm at a fellowship retreat in Kentucky right before I begin my studies. Alas! [Now posting 1 month into school...holy cow]. Anyway, the stories:

Elizabeth knows that I love the zoo. She has actually grown fond of some of the animals, too, like the lions, chimpanzees, and polar bears. Still, the zoo is my place, and Elizabeth humors me by taking me there at least once a month. I reward her charitable patience with a trip to a North Carolina winery on our way back to Chapel Hill. We've visited some scenic vineyards and generally have had good times. This past time, on my last full day in Chapel Hill for a while, we stopped at a place called SilkHope Vineyards. Using my Garmin GPS, we passed by the entrance once, only to return and see a sign reading "Closed." Not to be discouraged by the pesky sign, we drove up the long dirt driveway, anyway. We arrived at a vineyard with a large (i.e. 200 x 100') Quonset, which is basically a miniature windowless airplane hangar. A man wearing dirty jeans and a t-shirt walked up to us and asked how we were doing and whether he could help us. I told him that we had been hoping to see his vineyard. "Well, there it is," he said and pointed across the hood of the car to the vineyard. Elizabeth asked about tastings, so he escorted us to the inside of the Quonset, where we navigated a maze of boxes to sit down at a table and drink wine. It turned out to be great wine, but we feared for our lives every now and then.

In other news, while golfing with my brothers and father, 3 buildings were hit. I was not responsible for any of these events. My memory is fuzzy about what Robbie and Jonathan may have done [now in September], but I recall that it was my dad who hit the roof of a family friend's house...If your familiar with my father's golfing style and prowess, you'll know this is out-of-character.

Another fun thing I did this summer was to visit Wheeling's Good Zoo and pet lorikeets, which are the sweetest birds ever.