Patriotic Speeches
Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons
Spewing the Magic
Patriotic Speeches
Each year, on the Fourth of July, the extended Davis family invites friends, neighbors, and really whomever wishes to come to their compound on the Saluda River to celebrate the founding of the United States of America. There is much merriment to be had there; guests can go tubing, rope swinging, or swimming in the river, take a ride on their zip line, feast on the succulent smoked meats, enjoy tasty beverages, and converse with friendly Americans. The culmination of this celebration is a time when guests are invited to address the crowd by making patriotic speeches. At first, I thought they were joking when they included this on their invitation, but they are dead serious. I find it to be an excellent exercise and celebration of one of the vital tenants of our nation’s founding, and a responsibility not to be taken lightly; our freedom of speech.
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Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons
We headed back out west in the summer of 2018 with Julie’e sister, our brother-in-law, and the nephews to take on Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks. We flew in and out of Bozeman, MT, which is a pretty happening place. Its airport was built to resemble a log cabin, so you are immediately immersed in that western mountain vacation feeling as soon as you exit the plane. (really, even before you exit, because you are surrounded by mountains as you land.) We wasted no time; as soon as we gathered our bags and picked up the rental cars, we headed straight to the Montana Grizzly Encounter. Within one hour after landing, we were up close and personal with some ginormous grizzlies.
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From the Monsta to Baw Hawba and Back
When the kids were 6-years-old, we went on a trip with Julie’s sister, our brother-in-law, and our two nephews to Boston, Kennebunkport, Bar Harbor, and Portsmouth. It was a great trip. We got to see the Green Monster, ride in duck boats, eat lobsters, hike around Jordan Pond… and I destroyed a brand new VW Passat.
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Spewing the Magic
We took the kids to Disney World for the first time when they were 4-years-old. We booked the trip 6 weeks in advance, which our die hard Disney friends told us was, “so last minute,” but we saw Disney was running a 25% off special for trips in Feb, so we decided to go for it. We booked our fast passes, we made our dining reservations, and when the morning came to finally leave for the airport, Sam threw up on the living room floor.
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I Was on the Radio
When I was in eighth grade our class took an aptitude test, and it determined the best career path for me was to become a disc jockey, Imagine how proud my parents were; their private school tuition was really going to pay dividends. Well, that result stuck with me, so much so that I even added, “college radio station,” to my list of priorities when searching for colleges. I ended up choosing one with a radio station, but I never followed through on my ambition. Fortunately, one of my roommates did; he walked in one day during our junior year and said, “I signed us up for a radio show!” I still don’t know what motivated him to do that, but I’m sure glad he did
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Rock Hits 1994
My family spent spring break 1994 in D.C. with my aunt. While I’m sure we visited monuments and saw historical stuff while we were there, I distinctly remember three things about that trip. First, we watched Arkansas beat Duke in the NCAA Tournament title game (a game in which I wanted both teams to lose), second I purchased the Counting Crows album, August and Everything After, and the third thing was Kurt Cobain’s death. While the first thing wasn’t much of a seminal moment, except maybe for Arkansas fans, the other two were a pretty big deal.
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Passing Down the Madness
I turned 12-years-old in March of 1992, but it was a friend’s 12th birthday party that I remember. We gathered at his house for revelry and merriment, but the party disintegrated into a tense mob of people crowded around one of those old TV’s that were built to look like wooden cabinets. It was the NCAA Regional finals, and the Cats were in overtime with a spot in the Final Four on the line. That in itself would make this a big deal, but this was something much greater. Kentucky had barely escaped the NCAA death penalty, and the Cats were coming off three long years of probation. This was, for many of the kids at this gathering, our first real taste of the tournament, and we were about to beat the defending national champions.
Turks and Caicos
We decided way back in April of 2016 that we wanted to venture to a tropical island, but we weren’t sure which one to choose. This was supposed to be about fun and relaxation, so we wanted it to be as simple as possible. First, I checked to see what direct flights there were out of CLT, because that airport is much easier to deal with than ATL. There were a lot of options, but I landed on Turks & Caicos because of the Beaches resort. The minute I started perusing their website, I was hooked, and they were advertising 50%-60% off nightly room rates for 2019. This was great, because full price would have been a nonstarter for us. (although 60% off was pretty steep itself) I figured, we’ve got a year to save, so let’s go for it!
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Bathtub Bourbon 