We returned from Colorado and settled into our normal routine. This consisted of a trip to Conway as well as a day trip to Pilot Mountain State Park. Ansel and Parker have both worked to hone their culinary skills, much to the chagrin of Jay who seems to always end up with the cleanup duty (if the recipe requires three bowls, Ansel will use eight).
As the winter progressed, so did the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19). As all other states were receiving stay at home orders, North Carolina soon followed. This meant that Jay would teach from home and the students would learn from home. Kristie would work from home. The novelty wore off fast. We survived the first few weeks. It wasn’t long before we realized that our spring break cruise was not going to happen. When spring break rolled around, we found other ways to have fun. We kicked spring break off with a huge lobster feast. We ordered lobsters and clam chowder from Lobster Anywhere. The lobster was amazing! We rounded out spring break by playing a lot of pickle ball in the driveway. Jay went a little crazy and shaved his head. Parker built a fire pit. Kristie ran a virtual half marathon. Not to be outdone, Jay decided to run one later that afternoon. Never mind that he hadn’t really been training. He paid for it later. The rest of the time was spent watching virtual music concerts and movies (many of the film festivals that we enjoy attending were canceled).
As a family, we started a book club. So far, we have read Fahrenheit 451, Who Moved My Cheese? for Teens, Nickel and Dimed: On Getting By in America, The Hate U Give, and The Outsiders. Some have received more mixed reviews than others, but we have enjoyed discussing them together. We are currently reading Echo.
By the time May rolled around, cabin fever had gotten the best of us. One weekend, we decided to head up to Roan Mountain for a frigid weekend. Despite the light snow, it was as Kristie described, “a different place to sit.” For Memorial Day, we headed out of state once more and journeyed to Delaware. It was fun seeing Mom Mom and Paul. We took a stroll at the Hunn Nature Park. Ansel enjoyed riding Pop Pop’s motorcycle with Uncle Paul.
With the weather warming up, we have been able to get out and do some kayaking. We have been up to Bryson City to paddle the Nantahala River and made the trek down to the US National Whitewater Center a couple of times. I think this is Parker’s favorite place in the world.
We’ve enjoyed getting out on our mountain bikes. We have been shredding at Wild Turkey, Hobby Park, and Kerr Scott Lake mountain bike trails.
For Father’s Day, Parker and Ansel made Jay breakfast in bed. Of course this involved Jay having to go back to bed given the sleep patterns of today’s youth. After eating, we loaded up the bikes and headed to Galax, VA to jump on the New River Trail. The day started off pretty, but soon the rains came. And then more rain. We rode the 12 mile stretch to the river. While taking a break, the weather cleared. Ansel made sure not to miss a puddle on trail. Soggy and dirty we survived for a total of 24 miles. We returned home where Ansel prepared a dish of halibut with salsa, asparagus, and coconut rice. It was amazing, but Ansel had a little too much contact with the jalapeño peppers and her hands burned for hours.
