My Fabulous Weekend

So I had a great 4th.

The weekend started normally enough, with a couple hours of shooting near Beaverdam, VA. Mr. Stanley’s grandmother lets us take guns out in her backyard, and we went to town on some paper plates.

I took my great-grandfather’s 22-Long Rifle out for the first time, and really enjoyed squeezing off 15 semi-automatic shots at a time. Man, that thing is accurate, and there’s no kick at all.

The .45, on the other hand, was putting rounds all over the place. I couldn’t tell if it was my nerves or the gun, but I couldn’t hit crap with it. The first shot would usually be good, but the rest were uncontrollable.

But it was fun, and now Amanda and I are going to take a class to get a concealed-carry permit.

Sunday, after Church (which was far more entertaining than usual), we packed up and headed to the Northern Neck.

First stop was the Kimmelshue lake house, where – shock of shocks – Amanda got in the river. She was brave enough to walk out past the pier, up to her stomach. Then we put her on a sailboat! I swear, this is not the same woman I married – that woman was an aquaphobe. This woman got out on a 16” Hobie-Cat and smiled all the way.

I was delighted to work the jib, and felt like I was starting to get the hang of capturing the wind for some serious speed. However, our speed on the cat was nothing compared to the speed of Chris’s JetSki. Holy crap. I’d never ridden one before, so this was a new experience for me. And of course I have to start with one that’s been modified for performance…

But was it ever fun! I can see how people eagerly throw their money into watercrafts and go-fast toys.

Anyway, after an afternoon of playing on the Rappahannock, we packed up again and headed to Irvington for dinner with Dad, Randy, and some of their friends. We had a good time there, too, but were exhausted from the day, so we crashed rather early.

July 4th, we got up and watched the “3 minute parade”, which took about 30 minutes, involved a seemingly unending line of classic cars (from ‘20’s Model A’s to a 1940 Cadillac to a 1965 Cobra to…), floats, kids on bikes, motorcycles, fire-trucks, and all manner of parade-worthy goodness. The participants were throwing candy, handing out free museum tickets, coupons, and it was a real hoot. I took about 40 pictures (mostly of the classic cars) and was really impressed at how well they came out.

Monday evening, we headed down to West Point for dinner with Chad and Shana at their new house. I’m so excited for them that they have a house. It’s a huge step in anyone’s life, and they’re really excited about it, too. Chad has already screened in a porch, and has some big plans for the place. Given his enthusiasm, I don’t doubt any of it will come to pass.

After dinner, we took Rte 30 to 360 to come home, and were entertained by the occasional fireworks rising over 360. Upon reaching Richmond, we got to watch the Grand Finale of some fireworks display over Rte 1, so we didn’t miss out on the local ‘splosions entirely.

What a good weekend. Time spent with friends and family; water-sports, driving and shooting; and my darling wife by my side the whole time. Life is great.