Yikes

We had heard that, due to Ike, there could be gas shortages in the South. I didn't really think about it again until last Friday, when Costco was out. On Saturday, we noticed that several gas stations had bags over the pumps. By Monday, I got nervous, and even though I had a half tank, I filled up. Good thing--ever since then, you can tell which gas stations actually have gas by the ridiculously long line of cars stretching out in the streets. There's a gas station just around the corner that has gas, so it took me about 10 minutes longer to get back home this morning. And that explains all the honking and sirens I've heard since yesterday; cars are blocking traffic, police are trying to move it along, and despite hiring security guards to control traffic and line jumping, fights have broken out.

I think I'll be staying home for a while. The craziness should hopefully end tomorrow.

The beach!

So it's been a while since my last post; I didn't have anything to say last week and just haven't felt blog-y. But the best way to get over writer's (blogger's?) block is to just write, right?

Last weekend, Mabes got to enjoy her first beach trip of the summer, and her first ever trip to the Atlantic. Some good friends of ours rented a beach house for the week and invited us to stay with them, but due to Dave's work/travel schedule, we could only make it for the weekend. It was still a nice mini-break and we crammed a lot into a short weekend. We headed out Friday evening and spent the night at a convenient half-way point--Jackie's house. Mabes was very excited to see Grandma, even if the stay was short. We left there late Saturday morning and arrived in Kitty Hawk a couple of hours before we could get the keys to the house, so we went to the Wright Brothers Memorial.
Mabes is fascinated by planes and absolutely loved it, but unfortunately wouldn't stand still long enough for us to read everything about all the exhibits. From what we were able to read, it was really interesting.

Then we went outside in the heat and humidity and hiked up to the memorial. The view was amazing.
Mabes thoroughly enjoyed the memorial, but that was probably because she thought it was a lighthouse. She refused to believe us when we told her otherwise.

(she's being a plane)

Then we went to the house, got some dinner, then went out to the beach. The sky was pink and it would have been a perfect evening to watch the sunset--except we're on the east coast, so watching the sun set into the ocean isn't really an option. The warmer water and lack of seaweed make up for that, though. We even got to see some dolphins swimming fairly close to shore!
The next morning, we went to church (well, the first hour, at least) and then went to see a real lighthouse.

Mabes was very impressed. It was windy so she kept trying to get a mouthful of air.

Family pic in the lighthouse

After that, we went to the aquarium where Mabes went crazy. She pretty much just ran from tank to tank pointing to the fish, turtles, and snakes--she was so excited.

Dave tried to get her to pet the stingrays, and though she kept reaching in, I don't think she ever touched one. She'd chicken out at the last second, but Dave and I both got to touch one.

Her favorite was the giant tank with the huge fish and sharks.

After that, we went to Fort Raleigh and learned about the Lost Colony. Dave was amazed that I had never learned about it in elementary school history, but then I reminded him that we learned all about missions and the discovery of gold--lots of California history, and then the just the main points of American Independence, Civil War, etc. It was very interesting, though.

We went back to the beach, but Mabes decided that she didn't want to splash in the water, so she played in the sand while everyone else enjoyed the water.

I managed to coax her down to the water in an attempt to get a good picture of her splashing, but as soon as a wave came up, she bolted. So I just managed to get a picture of her running from the water.

We had an excellent weekend with great friends and perfect weather, and it was so nice to get away for a little bit. Thank you again, Ken and Sherry!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

How about you, you, you?

On Labor Day, we went to the Lazy 5 Ranch. It's basically a drive through zoo, but we opted for the horse-drawn wagon ride, as we didn't want yak slobber in our car. There were no odd Mabes-introductions this time, she was focused on seeing the animals.

An overhead shot of Mabes and me, feeding a goat.

Mabes and Dave feed a water buffalo.


Mabes feeding an antelope. Big surprise, she wasn't afraid at.all. I'm glad she was able to enjoy it, but fear is sometimes a good thing.


Grabbing a yak by the horns. Again, not afraid of the huge animal sniffing at her feet. This is fine when the animals are used to humans and aren't aggressive, but what happens if Mabes encounters an undomesticated yak? I doubt he'd let her pet him.


The yak again. I've named him Louie, as this picture shows they must be related somehow. Before Louie, I didn't know dogs had facial expression. Before Louie II, I didn't know yaks had facial expressions. Apparently, they do, especially when they're sticking their noses somewhere trying to get food.

Mabes and Dave with the giraffe.

Mabes and Dave feeding sheep and goats. She sang "Baa Baa Black Sheep" to them while she fed them. I think they really appreciated it.


Me and Mabes with the ring tailed lemurs. She was much more impressed with the giant fish.


Mabes and Dave with the tortoises.

We ended our trip with burgers and milkshakes at Cook Out, a fast food place we had heard had great shakes. They were fabulous, and Mabes now thinks that all Monday holidays (and by all I mean Memorial Day and Labor Day) must include ice cream, which I think is just proof that we're raising her right.

Oh, and we're on Hanna watch. From what I've read, it shouldn't affect us enough to have to evacuate or anything serious since we're so far inland. We'll probably just get a lot of rain, which could be good, as my chocolate chip cookie stash is getting low. But given the floods from last week's storm, I think I'll make sure I know where my batteries and flashlights are in case we lose power.