involuntary lizard invasion

my cat, Sugi, loves to go outdoors and catch lizards; the green ones, the blue ones, the striped ones, the redheaded ones. i made the mistake of leaving my front door open and she brought this little guy in the house, played with him for a few hours and then left him to die. needless to say, when she marched up to the door with 7inch, tailess skink the next day, i was sure to keep the door shut.

[Sugi and her toy]

mountains to coast

sorry this is getting off to such a slow start. i'm still recovering from tying up all the loose ends from spring semester.

summer begins, though. i planned out a loop trip from Greenville to Asheville to Wilmington. talk about getting all over the state, huh? my buddy from Raleigh, Tim, and i camped out in the rain. it stormed all across North Carolina that weekend, but we cut out a day to avoid the serious stuff and endured a day of drizzle so we wouldn't miss Monday's sunny weather.

the trails around Lake Pisgah were a little sketchy and not well marked, but that's never stopped anyone. i definitely recommend the campgrounds there. they have everything you need and are arranged for a decent amount of privacy.

[reservoir at Pisgah]

[my partner-in-crime for the Asheville trip with his R1 on the Blue Ridge Parkway]

i continued on I-40 to visit a grade school friend of mine, Ashley, in Wilmington. upon the prospect of leaving NC for good in the near and looming future, i realized that i haven't seen all our lighthouses. the only two off my list are south of Wilmie, so i went on past the port city to Fort Fisher and got on the ferry to Southport. i caught the tail end of the gloomy weather from the mountains, but the gray skies make for a lovely coolness in the photos.

[Fort Fisher-Southport ferry]

[ferry wake through a fisheye lens]

Southport was and old town with lots of old people and old trees. the cemetary there had markers dating back to Civil war times! the trees were amazing, gnarly trees that have grown out horizontal from winds off the beach. i was running out of time and gas in Southport, though, and opted to view the Bald Head and Oak Island lighthouses from the town instead of taking another ferry or driving around my elbow to Caswell. iz seentz 'em! long distance shots will have to do for right now.

[Oak Island]

i met up with Ashley and caught up on the doings since Xmas. we got a couple drafts and wings at The Fox and the Hound before battling it out with the original Mario Party on her N64. oh video games, how we love thee!

after a night on the couch and three previous days of driving, i jetted home to Gville without stopping for photos. =( i did get off 40 and take state roads for some personal satisfaction, though. i'll try to be better about keeping y'all involved with my excursions.

to our armed forces...

i wasn't planning to start writing in this blog until the new year started, but i don't want to forget this moment.

this afternoon i went to the Williamston National Guard Armoury to pick up my friend Jonathen for his final bit of leave before being deployed to Iraq. i didn't see him in the mess hall right as i walked in, but there were other family members floating around the edges of the room and i sat next to a little boy to wait. the company was called to formation and soldiers began to trickle in. the boy next to me was only about two are three and i noticed him silently crying. i followed his gaze to a man standing at attention, but looking back at his son. the boy never took his eyes off his father and continued to cry, clutching a doll close to his chest. after a few minutes i saw in the boy's face that he had made a decision. A look of determination washed over him and, maintaining his composure, he slowly slid off the chair, took his jacket off the back of it and walked over to the rows of soldiers, crying into his father's leg. i didn't notice until this point that the boy's doll was an iron-on print of his father in uniform.

sometimes i realize how i have pushed a lot of my past as an army brat out of my memories and need moments like these to remind me to pay my respects.