High Point Regatta-Alex's First

This school year we had decided to do something new. Because rugby didn't turn out to be exactly for Alex, we started looking for another athletic activity. Katya's rowing club, Jordan Lake Crew, expanded to include a team of middle school boys, as well as more beginners. They also started varsity team, which drains five times a week. Since Katya was already going to the practices every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we decided to let Alex try rowing as well. It is a big commitment and it wasn't something that he was dying to do, but the prospect of a more muscular body started to change his mind.😆

So in August he started going to the outings and after a few weeks of sore bottom and blisters on his hands he was ready to participate in the High Point regatta, his first one.

It was a great day out, and we made it a family event. Katya coxed a couple of boats and Alex completed as part of the middle school boys 8+. They did really well for the first time but they were no match for more established teams that dominated the regatta, namely the High Point Rowing Club and the Triangle Rowing Club, the main competitor in our Triangle area.

Katya and her boat Women's 8+

Hanging out in the line up, ready to race for the first time

They needed all the help they could get.

Ready!! We were quite nervous for them as the wind picked up just before their race.

Good bye, boys!

And they are done! Alex needs to work on focusing on his stroke at the finish line and not the crowd cheering-hahaha.

It turned out that the boys were not so nice and respectful to their Coxswain  who was a very inexperienced, new team member. Apparently the boys were not listening to his instructions as he was getting them through the river because they were convinced he was wrong. And even if possibly he was wrong, it is not allowed by regatta rules. So they almost got disqualified. They got a good lecture from Coach Jim who reminded them that Coxswain is in charge.

The biggest experience of the day was being out watching the boats and hanging out with their teammates. We hope they both continue to be part of the team. Katya does it for free but we do have to pay for Alex.

That's all for now:)

Lyana. 

Getaway to Beaufort, NC

We celebrate our wedding anniversary on September 14th. There is no way to forget that date because it's two days after my birthday...always 😆.

We take turns with Robert in terms of coming up with a way to celebrate it. Odd years are his years and mine are even. This year we celebrated sixteen years! So I surprised him with a weekend getaway to Beaufort, NC (not to be confused with Beaufort, SC, which is a completely different place and is pronounced differently).

Our great friends, the Martins, were able to take care of our kids which was so kind of them. We drove 2.5 hours east towards the coast and stayed at a B&B at this charming coastal (sleepy off-season) town. 

Should we call this a trip of many selfies? We hardly spoke to anyone else but each other this weekend, which was quite unusual and good.

At first we visited Old Burial Grounds right in downtown--it's a small cemetery of some well-known people from Beaufort. A lot of really-really old graves (for the US) and lots of bits and pieces of history of the South. I love anything connected with that whole era of the Civil War so this place was interesting to me.

We went out to eat at the place that was supposed to be amazing. And it was amazing although at first we were a little put off by the fact that every single menu item that we wanted to order was not available. I wanted scallops but they were out. I guess they don't keep their complete menu in stock after Labor Day or something. Anyway! We still managed to get great food, it just wasn't scallops.




After dinner we took a long walk on the boardwalk enjoying the sunset and the views of the boats. It's a serene little town with a lot of history in it but I am sure it is very busy and noisy during summer months. There are a lot of shops and restaurants to enjoy but no beach right in downtown.

The following morning we drove to Emerald Isle, about 30-40 minutes away and spent a few hours blissfully doing nothing but reading books, swimming, reading more books, eating and talking. After that we headed home stopping by Lidl in Kinston to pick up some pastries for the kids.

We need these getaways even if they happen infrequently. It's fun to be just us for longer than a couple of hours at dinner date. I am already looking forward to our 17th wedding anniversary as it will be Robert's turn to plan the celebration!:)

Lyana. 

New Bern

Kids start school the last week of August in our county. That means they go to school for five days and then they have a long Labor Day weekend, to celebrate the official end of summer (which doesn't seem to end for another month and a half here). This year we didn't go very far although we had three days off. We decided to go to New Bern, NC, for a bit of history. 

New Bern is about two hours away from us towards the coast, on the Neuse River that flows into the ocean. Its nearest good ocean beach is 45 min away so, this is not a beach destination. 

New Bern was settled in 1710 by the Swiss who named it after the original Bern in Switzerland. It is the second oldest colonial town in North Carolina and was a capital of the North Carolina colonial government and then even a capital of North Carolina for a short period of time. 

Our first stop in town was The Birthplace of Pepsi-Cola shop! Katya and Alex were so tired of the drive that they were taking a nap as we stopped to take pictures. In fact, this is one of those cases where Robert took a picture and I suggested he should take another one just in case, but he didn't, so now this is the best we've got. 😄

Caleb Bradham, a native of NC, invented Pepsi in this very place, that used to be a drug store in 1893. The original Pepsi-Cola was called "Brad's Drink" and became popular overnight. It was a mix of sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, nutmeg and other natural additives. Pepsin was never one of the ingredients. 

The drink was renamed to Pepsi-Cola in 1898. It was even believed to be a healthy cola to help with digestion, not just a refreshment drink.

At this store, on one side you can get all sorts of Pepsi merchandise and on the other side you can get some Pepsi drinks. We just got some small cups of Pepsi for everyone--a rare occasion, so it was fun! The kids thought it tasted amazingly authentic-haha.

"Bern" means "bear" in German, so New Bern's symbol is a BEAR. There are bear statues and flags and symbols everywhere! As part of the "bear scavenger hunt" we found a Dentist Bear! 

As we walked towards the waterfront, the weather was getting kind of crazier and crazier. It was amazing to watch the clouds and rain crossing the river. 

We had a couple of umbrellas, but it looked like it was going to pour hard on us. So we hurried to that pavilion in the picture below (where we accidentally witnessed a small wedding:)!).

 

It didn't rain long and it was still very hot, so we continued our waterfront exploration when it stopped. 

More Bears. 

We are next to the clock tower in the historic downtown. I think there is a patriotic bear you can see in the picture below. This place was very-very quiet the day we visited.

One of the beautiful places we visited was a small graveyard by the church. This was probably the first time that we saw grave stones as old as some that we saw in England. 

It started raining again around 5 pm, so we found a place to eat dinner, a yummy Italian pizza place. And after dinner it was time to go home. This was a very pleasant day trip and we were happy to see something really old in the US, but it left us yearning for more...so we just must plan some trips to Williamsburg and DC and Boston. There is a so much to see in this country as well! We just wish we had more days off work to explore!

Lyana.