Category: Uncategorized

Our Christmas season is off to a great start: many of the same traditions, and oh how I look forward to them:

1. Take the items down from the attic.
2. Go to the farmers market and get a tree.
3. Take the tree in, set it up.
4. Play Christmas Music. Go heavy on the carols we sing at church.
5. Deck the halls with our hodgepodge ornaments. No, we dont follow a theme- just special ornaments and hand-me-downs from over the years.
6. Alternate which child puts the start on the tree. This was Rosies year.
7. Clean up. Of course, the least-exciting part of it.

Here is a clip of us getting a tree in 2021, 2022, and again in the same place this year:

Fast forward a weekend,and Rosie has a birthday. This year was not nearly as exciting as last year’s milestone birthday (we prepped her well ahead of time), but taking all of your friends to see the new Wicked movie is pretty sweet too.

She had 11 friends over (I think?). Yes, a blast. Yes, kindof my worst nightmare? Although now that they are around 11 years old, its not as bad- they are all good kids. We had Jimmy Johns at our house before the movie, then Taylor made special zip-loc bags of candy for the kids to have during the movie, so we dont have to buy stuff there. Genius.

Fast forward another day, and Taylor is off to Fort Lauderdale (Not Miami) for a work conference for 4 days, so in typical dad fashion, look for some last minute ideas of what to do with the kiddos while mom is gone: A day trip to the mountains for tubing? Winter festivities downtown? Anything in Raleigh or Charlotte for the day (the more time it takes the better?).

Instead, we got some last-minute tickets to Disney on Ice. They are pretty cheap the day of the event.

We really had fun- Mercy was really into it. And, since we went ice-skating the week before downtown, it gave us insight to how challenging all of those tricks are while ice skating.

Afterwards, I learned that Mercy was expecting to go ice skating with all of the Disney princesses too.

Fast forward another weekend, when I am ready to relax, and at about 11:30 am, Taylor says to me: “I think Hazy ate all the raisins“.

When she says “all the raisins”, she means the family size, 20oz container, not a typical red-box of individual servings a kid might eat.

If wondering why this is important or blog worthy, here is an article about it. In short, raisins are highly toxic for dogs. And its not just this link, all articles about the topic say to rush to the vet ASAP. If you didnt know, now you know.

So I drove fast- very, very fast to the after-hours vet. When explaining that my kid was doing a tea-party in her room and the dog ate the family size container of raisins, their collective faces dropped. This didnt help the situation- I said goodbye to Stormy earlier in the year, and didnt want to say goodbye to another. Plus, I couldnt have this on Mercy’s conscience: that her little snack caused the dog to get ill, or worse.

The vet gave her some stuff to induce vomiting, found “a ton of raisins” mixed in, took my money, and sent us home.

The challenge with raisins in dogs is that they dont really know for sure: weight and size vs. quantity dont really matter. Sometimes two or three can mess up even a large dog, sometimes it takes many, many to have an impact. But if it does, by the time the dog starts showing symptoms 24-48 hours after ingestion, the kidneys are already failing.

The vet told us to come back Sunday morning to do a follow-up to check kidney functioning with some more bloodwork. It all came out well, and she was back home with her tail wagging, never having skipped a beat. She is acting a little strange this morning as I type (48 hours after), but Im sure its nothing, right?

I work as a software engineer as I have for the past 10 years or so. Recently, I was let go from my position as a Senior Software Engineer at an MLS company, and it really got me wondering about the future of the industry, and my role in it.

It happens. There are layoffs all the time. Interest rates are high, so the cost of money is not cheap; hiring is low. I live in Greensboro (not a big city), so rely on remote work. There are very few companies that hire for the work I do in the region, and if a company is hiring a remote worker, why would they hire me when they can hire a remote worker for 1/3 of the price (or less) in another country? I get it.

And companies are hiring less as they lean more on the use of AI. The theory is that a senior role (like me) can be more productive with AI than a senior role with several junior level roles supporting them.

Even if I end up at a great company, what’s to say the role couldn’t be outsourced in the near future? Or the company could be sold, and the team laid off, even if I am a stellar employee?

There is a website that keeps track of the numbers in the industry, trueup, and they state there are going to be an estimated 223,000 layoffs in the industry by the end of the year- or 661 per day. These layoffs from the best companies- Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google- are all the people I would be competing with for an interview- a losing battle on my end.

This time around (I have been laid off before, its not uncommon in this industry), I got an AI resume writing service, enhancv.com, and applied to well over 200 positions (close to 220). Each position I used a customized resume by AI to speak to all of the requirements listed, and here is my takeway:

• Many listings online are fake. They are a scam to get your information.
• Many listings online are fake. They are a scam make it SEEM like the company is hiring when they are not, giving the impression of growth.
• Listings online are focused on hiring for people overseas, even if they don’t explicitly say so.
• There can be 900 applications for a remote role in one day.
• More and more roles have followed the return to office policy, requiring 3-5 days a week onsite.

I was lucky this time. On LinkedIn, my feed is flooded with people in my industry of software engineering that have been looking for roles for 9 months, 12 months, or even 18+ months, having applied to 500+ roles or more. For me, I must have had 25 interviews; did 4 take-home coding assignments (one being an 8 hour project). over 100 automated rejections, and despite being a perfect candidate for a role just a few miles from my house, didnt get a single response from The Fresh Market.

The negativity on LinkedIn from my industry is really heavy, but I was able to make it through and accepted an offer from Geoh after searching for about 8 weeks, and I am excited to start a new, even more senior role, at a smaller company that does Medicaid and Medicare billing software, and industry that isnt going anywhere any time soon.

I will be doing more of the Software Architecture side of things- meaning looking at the big picture to decide how all of the software works together (billing, databases, integrations with each state, location tracking, invoice printing, etc). It will be an exciting challenge.

Even so, this really got me wondering: can I rely on this industry to help me provide for my family 5+ years from now? Is AI going to change this industry even more, making my work obsolete? Also, I am 40+ years old now, and this industry seems like a young man’s game- the instability seems like more of a gamble each year. Is it worth it?

Maybe it’s time to go back and become an electrician.

Several years ago I took Rosie to Charlotte on the train, and this year is Mercy’s turn.

After a quick breakfast, and a few minutes at the train station, we were on our way on the 90 minute train ride (the same amount of time as driving).

It’s $20 a person for a round trip ticket, and the train drops you off right near downtown Charlotte- just under 2 miles away from Discovery Center Science.

The train was virtually empty, and it was really nice not to drive and just spend time with Mercy. We got a seat with a table, spent some time coloring, and just looking out the window.

Discovery Center is big, but 2-3 hours is more than enough time. There was a big exhibit about space- which Mercy just wasn’t interested in.
The hamster wheel, starfish, and birds were fun though (ewww! They smell bad! was her only complaint before running away).

The highlight for me was reconnecting with my really good friend from middle school, Tyler Bryson. He has been living in Charlotte, and I texted him earlier in the year, and we both said we should connect. His suggestions was The Tipsy Pickle, an indoor pickleball/bar concept, and it happened to be near the train station. Again, awesome to have a beer and take the train home.

Rosie had a friend to spend the night, and it is sometimes a challenge to figure out what to do: stay home and keep them entertained? Go out to one of the breweries where they can run around a bit?

“Why don’t we walk to dinner?” Taylor suggested. So we did. Harper’s is a great choice, and about a 20 minute walk. Just one big road to cross, and it was fine; it gets dark so early, I made sure everyone had a flashlight.

It was a little early, so we popped into the pet store next door before the long walk home. Also, the pet store was a sponsor for the school’s fundraiser this year, so delivering a “Thank you” note was part of the itinerary.

Also, just like every year, this is the time of the year to battle the leaves. The city changed course and no longer takes a big pile of leaves if they are put on the curb- instead, they expect all yard debris to go into the can they provide.

It doesnt work. At my house, I quietly put my rake down, and called one of the many newly formed small businesses that can come to my house and suck the leaves.

As a side benefit, the kids get a big pile once again. It was more fun than I expected:

What do you get the special artist in your life that has everything?

It’s fall again. The political signs came out, and went away again. And it’s that one week in Greensboro I love the most: the leaves are amazing. My mom taught me to appreciate color, and I know I am annoying my kids because of it, pointing out some of these things we see driving to and from school each day.

It also means fighting the leaves to get them off my grass each year, but thats another story.

Taylor spent a few days out of town last week hanging with her life long friends in the mountains, and it looks like they had fun:

In her absence, my chore was to find my mom a birthday present- and this is something I am notably bad at. So, after Rosie got home from school, we went to Costco to see what we could find. Roaming the aisles, asking, “Would CICI like that?”. Tupperware? A blender? A warm blanket? THe best we could come up with is a cutting board in the shape of North Carolina, and some flowers.

Matt got her almost an identical cutting board last year, I learned after Taylor returned from her trip and told me.

“I’ll get her something” Taylor said. The girls hopped in the car, I battled the leaves for an hour or two, and on their return, after the delicious salmon and farmer’s market vegetable dinner, we gave Cici her new and improved gift:

Her very first pair of Crocs! Complete with Jibbitz that spell “Ci Ci!”. They were the wrong size, but the Croc store 0.8 miles from our house was still open, so we did an impromptu visit to exchange them for the right size.

Her facial expressions say it all- she had no idea there was a whole store dedicated to Crocs. She ended up getting a pair that will better hide the paint that will inevitably get on them.

Mercy just turned 5, and urgently had to use the restroom. There were none, so we had to run across the parking lot to Macy’s. Mercy wanted to ride the escalator, so we just wandered around the store for 30 minutes. It was almost empty at 8pm on a Saturday, and for whatever reason, it was such a fun, silly time together. Mercy, Rosie, and I did a footrace a few times, tried on shoes, and Mercy rolled her eyes at the Christmas decorations “It’s not Christmas yet!” she said several times.

We love you Cici, thanks for the joy that you bring us!

Today is the first day of school for the kids. And, the first day of a life back in some semblence of routine that I am looking forward to after all of the “big” things from this past year. Yes, I am thankful- this year was way out of the ordinary.

This was not a normal pace. We hit some big milestones: Taylor and I turned 40, Rosie turned 10, and a 15 year anniversary. We travelled 6804 miles by plane, and 580 miles by car, but we did it in much better shape than any of us expected. Even the 10 hour drive to New York was (pretty) smooth! And all of those milestones had to be celebrated.

Now, we have absolutely nothing on the calendar (well, thats not true, a few weekend trips), and it is a great moment to reflect and be grateful for our family and friends that we got to spend time with this past year.

Disney World in August. The kids had never done a big trip, so we took em. It was cheaper the longer you stayed. It was a wonderful trip- the kids had a blast, and I am in NO RUSH to get there any time soon. Why? Not because it was bad, but because I feel like we did it all. There is nothing that we did not get to do. 528 miles flown.

New York City in December for Rosies 10th birthday surprise. This is a big milestone birthday, and we wanted to honor her. It was a great, 3 day weekend and jam-packed. Now how do we top it for Mercy’s big birthday in several years? 453 miles flown.

Miami in January (for Taylor). This was her girls trip when she turned 40. No, I didnt post about it- but I still think it’s funny that these girls chose Miami- they are a very Asheville NC type of crowd, but it looked like a fun weekend. 711 miles flown.

Nashville in January (for Luke). This was my guy’s trip when I turned 40. I love music, and this was a blast. It was really special to spend time with these guys I have known since before college. 390 miles flown

Italy in May for our combined birthdays AND 15 year anniversary. This was a big trip- I wanna say the best trip of my life. The Church History stuff was really amazing for me, and I am so grateful for the chance to have gone. 5197 miles flown.

North Carolina Beach (Ocean Isle Beach) for 4th of July. This is our normal tradition, and we were glad to see the Core family as well. Pictured is the 4th of July parade. 207 miles driven.

Merriewold in August. This was new, and didnt want to pass up the opportunity to visit before Rosie got too old. The week was fantastic, and the kids are already asking to go back. 580 miles driven.

Taylor’s Big Birthday in August. And man, it was a big birthday party. The big gift was a crowd-funded skee-ball machine, and it is so much fun! 0 miles driven.

Lots of memories this year. Maybe our 50th birthdays/25 year anniversary will top it in the year 2035? As for this coming year, maybe we will just go to Myrtle Beach or Dollywood and keep it a bit more simple.

Taylor wanted two things for her birthday:

• Her Friends
• Dancing.

And a few months ago- plot twist! – she asked me to be in charge of planning it. After my extensive track record of planning exactly 0 parties, this was gonna be a blast.

Fast forward past the months of prepping the house each weekend to make things look good, and the whole night was a lot of fun. We rented chairs to make things look “Funky and Fresh” to match the theme of the party, and rented speakers to dance- thank you to all of my neighbors who didnt call the police as we danced until 12:00 (my legs are still sore). Missy Elliot, Lil Wayne, and TLC were all welcomed with open arms.
And, I leaned into Pepper Moon Catering so that none of Taylor’s dear friends had to volunteer to work the whole night to keep things moving. It was so, so good to see so many friends together from over the years.

Somewhere along the way of planning this party, a friend of Taylor and I’s suggested something that seemed just absurd, but possible: what if we get Taylor, the skee-ball queen, a skee-ball machine of her own? “Preposterous”. I said. Then, within 24 hours of that comment, it seemed like a wonderful idea. In summary, here is what happened. Our friend began collecting money from those coming to the party, and:

• Found a skee ball machine on Facebook Marketplace.
• It was sold by the time I could get a truck and get there.
• Found another skee ball machine in Fayetteville, NC (2 hrs away).
• Rented a U-Haul pickup truck, and drove there with Rosie.
• It weighs 700 pounds
• Had to store it in a warehouse here in town for a month (Thank you Mark!).
• Had to pick it up from the warehouse and bring it home when Taylor was out of town. It was too heavy to unload.
• Had to hire 2 people from next door to come on short notice and help me move it into its new home.
• I wasn’t murdered by a stranger in the process.

With the gift hiding behind the sheet that Rosie constructed, here was the big reveal:

And this: Yes, it was A LOT of work to put this thing together; but, it was really special as her husband to see how many people stepped up to help volunteer their time and energy to contribute in some way: a few hours before the party, a small team of specialists transformed our house with balloons, flowers, and everything else needed to honor Taylor (Thanks Mallory, Deborah, Evan, Stacey!). Others helped make the music playlist for dancing- and not one song was skipped, the playlist was awesome (Thanks Rachel!). And CiCi for letting me use her van to move that gigantic game. And thanks Sara Core for helping to make the skee ball machine a reality, she loves it. And Mark for letting us use his warehouse.

After all the years I see Taylor instinctively love on others, it was really, really special to see others love on her.

This was a big week.

After years and years of talking about it, we made the plunge: driving just short of 10 hours north to the most special place of my life: Merriewold park.

Our family had only driven 3.5 hour trips before- to and from the coast of North Carolina- so there were a few nerves about our inaugural road trip. So, we did it just like we did in the old days: and stop at the Logan house in Mechanicsburg on the way up.

Hershey Park

Ken and Lesley and Paula were kind enough to let us have dinner with them on the way up, and Mercy had a blast meeting some second cousins.

But, there was more: Hershey Park was also there. Taylor had the idea to plan in a day at the park, and to put short: I wasn’t ready for it. After doing some coasters in Disney, I thought I had it in the bag. This was a terrible miscalculation on my part. Some of these roller coasters take something simple, like an innocent swing that children might enjoy, and they turn it into a terrifying, “let’s make people feel like they are going to die” experience.

Mercy went on her first upside-down roller coaster. We are good parents, and thought it was a great idea. Wrong. She cried. Then, the ride got stuck at the end, and the workers had to come push the train back into the station. Also, this was the first ride we did.

Ok ok, enough with the naysaying- it was a great experience. Rosie wanted to do all the big-kid roller coasters, and I was perfectly happy doing the rides with Mercy.

If you haven’t been, its an awesome park. Taylor had visited before because Milton Hershey School was a client of hers, and I thought it was an innocent, small park- only to realize how wild and big it is. The girls had a blast, and Ken and Lesley- thank you so much for hooking us up with tickets!

Manhattan

The clubhouse at the lake is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays- meaning no kids or entertainment for the day. The best way to spend the day is in New York City- just 90 minutes (or so) away. Rosie got a chance to go back in December, but Mercy had never been before.

What to do with a 10 year old and an almost 5 year old in the greatest city in the world?

John’s on Bleecker Street for the greatest pizza in the world. Taylor and I got a fancy pizza- sausage, ricotta cheese, green peppers; it was just ok. The pepperoni that we got the kids though- absolutely unreal I ate most of theirs, and we ended up giving 1/2 of the leftover adult pizza to some construction workers, since we couldn’t lug the pizza along with us all day. They were grateful.

The Color Factory, not far from John’s, was the next stop, and it is a great stop: well done, clean, interactive, creative, busy. They have things that talk about color blindness, a silent disco, a gigantic ball pit, and a confetti room. It was pretty expensive- but what isnt expensive in New York City?

The weather was perfect- so we hopped the subway uptown to Central Park- the playground Rosie played on was a lot of fun back in December, so Mercy needed a chance to go at it too. It was completely different in the summer with the leaves on the trees- not as much of a view of the whole skyline surrounding us, but we did manage to get at least one solid pic together. And rosie was such a proud, patient older sister sharing all the fun things with Mercy- it was really sweet to see.

Finally, our last stop for just a few hours in the city was Serendipity 3 in Times Square. This is a place we wanted to visit in December with Rosie, but could not get reservations (it is well known for its Christmas decorations). Tay was pretty sold on it, so we went: really good. Enough dairy to stop up a person for days. Since I had to drive 2 hrs back home that afternoon, I wanted a bit of caffeine, not something they offer a bunch of. So, I asked for 2 espresso shots in a white chocolate something. The waiter hadn’t heard of such a creation, but was really into the idea. It was the right way to go in such an over-the-top dining place.

Merriewold Park

We went every year as kids. When my parents got divorced, we went less frequently until the summer after 7th grade. Since then, I have been only twice.

Its a park with about 100 homes; my great grandfather bought a hunting cabin there and turned it into a little summer home, making Rosie and Mercy 5th generation logans to visit the park. In 2018, a big storm came and took down the Logan house.

There is no sign for the place- just a guardhouse you would pass without knowing, and a plaque on a rock alerting visitors to their location. And the park has very few lawns- mostly an endless landscape of ferns stretching as far as the eye can see.

You can’t just get an air bnb there either: you have to know people, and lucky enough, we were able to connect with the Studer family, and stayed in their 130 year old home. It was amazing.

Par 3 golf, fishing, the clubhouse, tennis, dirt roads: its hard to say why this place is so special. Its the most relaxing place Ive ever spent time at in my life.

But why? What is special is what is not at the park: it is far from the highway (cannot hear cars), there are very few cars (can’t hear cars again), and very few of the homes have air conditioning: there aren’t even air compressors interrupting the silence. No motors on the boats in the lake: just rowing or sailing. Again, just a profound, peaceful silence.

No homes built on the lake: just trees. And I can count on one hand the number of things that have changed in 30 years.

Rosie rode a bike around and enjoyed her independence. Mercy enjoyed making sand castles. And I enjoyed absolutely every second: there was absolutely nothing to worry about. No stranger danger, no theft, Mercy couldn’t really wander away- she had a life jacket and couldn’t drown. There not even anything to buy (also something Mercy can get really focused on, snacks). The only thing to buy is a greasy (but delicious!) cheeseburger, or a mint-chocolate chip milkshake. Sure, they have other things, but those other items aren’t really important.

We did the paddle boards, tennis in the mornings, I did a couple rounds of par 3 golf, we saw more deer than I have ever seen in my life, enjoyed connecting with the people at the clubhouse, showed Mercy and Rosie my name as the “swim champion” of 1997 on the wall of fame. We played ping pong, fooseball.

There is a new playground: Mercy loved it.

Also, mercy had fun on the rope swing. Here is a picture of me on the very same rope swing at about 4 years old:

But it turns out, that is a picture of my older brother Jake; my whole life I thought that was a picture of me!

We saw Allison Smith and her fam: Mom Joan, and dad Tom; Also Julie and Liz; weird not having seen them in 30 year, and Joan said “welcome home, Luke”. That felt special, Merriewold does feel like home.

The wildlife was pretty active:

• Bald Eagles
• A family of beavers
• Fish
• Deer
• Rabbits
• Water Snakes
• Turtles.

The kids arent scared of snakes, but I am, and I had to justify my fears by spotting one.

Taylor was a bit concerned about the food situation for the week: would she be home cooking each meal all week? It turned out alright. We ate at a local place called Yannis a few times: once we ate in, once to go on our way back from NYC.

Also while we were there, Taylor and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary: Rosie made us a special cake she was really excited for. It turned out really, really good. We got to enjoy it with Hernan and Cathy Torres, who took the almost 4 hour drive from Rhode Island to come visit.

We did fishing on the last day, and Rosie caught two perch. She hooked a large (maybe 4 pound?) bass twice; the line snapped both times, and I was crushed: fishing in that lake has a long, proud tradition in the Logan family.

The days passed quickly by, then it was time to come home, so we did: a single drive home in a filthy car, but after such a relaxing week, the time went easy.

The last 4 days of our trip were in Tropea.

Why Tropea? That is a question I have gotten never, but I still think I need to explain it. When planning, I simply bought a large map of Italy, and googled things; the map gave me a better since of how far things were from one another when googling “Best beaches in Italy”, and Tropea was always top of the list. And, it was a central place to go see lots of other fun things; Bari or Lecce were close behind.

Getting to Tropea was not simple or without event. A few funny things happened, and here is basically how it went down:

1. We left Capri in a Ferry to Naples; 45 minutes, so far so good.
2. Take a subway from the ferry to the main train station, to take a train south. The subways are the only ones in the world without English translation. I was very lost, but couldnt let Taylor know I was lost.
3. At the main train station, there was a strike: we couldn’t hop the 3 hour train ride south. We could either a) rent a car, or b) fly on a regional flight. All the rental cars were sold out, so we got a taxi to the airport.
4. We missed the flight, and the next flight wouldnt put us at our hotel until after midnight.
5. We rented a Fiat, and I drove the 3 hours and 49 minutes to get our ORIGINALLY scheduled rental car in Lamezai Terme (we were supposed to get it after our 3 hour train ride).
6. Drove over an hour to get to our hotel in Tropea.

The most important part about this whole situation, was that we didn’t argue once in this stressful scenario!

What did you do in Tropea?

Our originally scheduled trip had us doing day trips from Tropea each day: that is why we chose Tropea (follow that link to see the original itinerary, and a few notes).

After a quick stroll on the beach and breakfast the first morning, we got back in the car and drove 90 minutes south to The coolest place we saw on this part of the trip: Scilla. This town is called the “Venice of the South” because it is an old fishing town where the water rises up between some of the buildings where the fisherman live as they head out to catch swordfish.

In a straight line, it is not that far from Tropea to Scilla- but the drive is a meandering one. It was a special, energetic kind of feeling to drive through the southern Italian countryside. In the middle of it, a funny thing happened. There was a dog that looked a lot like stormy. As we passed, we saw some sheep in the middle of the road. Within a few seconds, that dog that looked like stormy came right beside our car, along with three other dogs. They were sheep dogs, and they thought our Fiat was a threat to their flock. They barked, and were pretty scary. What is the protocol for running over a sheepdog in a foreign country? The irony of this moment was that the week before, I had just read a book to Mercy about sheepdogs, and how cute they were and how they bonded and protected their flock.

There is a castle perched up high, splitting the waterline of the town in half: one side has nice sand, the other side has a port and some great restaurants.

For this part of the trip, there were no solid plans: no restaurants as a destination, no objectives whatsoever- so we just walked around. I did hear on one podcast about how some people were able to get a kayak and paddle around, so thats what we did first to burn off some calories.

Walking past the castle to the other side of the town was an amazing walk: the town was just so, so beautiful. We meandered, and got some lunch, then headed south to Reggio Calabria: The most beautiful kilometer in Italy. Below are some pics from this part of the trip: click on the image, and it should show a full-sized version.

My honest opinion? This was a phrase for the town that has stuck around entirely too long. The story is that an earthquake destroyed most of the original buildings in the town in the 1800s, and they rebuilt this waterfront; it was beautiful, but I dunno; we had seen some beautiful things to this point in our trip, and this wasn’t holding up.

The only thing on the list for our time in Reggio was to get some Gelato from Cesare, and shut the front door: it was just such a surprisingly, amazing and by far the best gelato I had ever had; possibly better than the best ice cream I ever had in my life as well. I got three scoops because, Italy, and have 0 regrets. We were just glad the line was not too long because we were there ahead of the busy season.

The next day trip we switched up plans: we scrapped the drive East to see Badolato on the Adriatic Sea, and opted for a shorter trip: North to Pizzo.

I was disappointed. Our goal was to see the most beautiful beaches, and there were none. Also there was context for this part of the trip: we were averaging 20k steps a day, and 50+ flights of stairs, according to my Garmin. More stairs in Pizzo were hard to get excited about.

The Piedegrotta was a highlight in Pizzo though: a “church” carved out of the rocks where a ship was wrecked hundreds of years ago. The sailors on that ship prayed and said, “If we survive, we will build a church for you.”

They held their promise, and over the years, the size has grown and more “Statues” carved from the rocks.

Capo Vaticano was our last destination. Before going, all I knew of it was that it was the “Resort” part of the beautiful beach area of Tropea. However, their definition of the word is quite different than what I consider a beach resort. This day trip was intentionally short: we tried once again to see “the most beautiful beaches” in the area, known as “The Coast of the Gods”. A blog post I referenced showed some of the beaches on Google maps, and once again, we were a bit disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, they were great: but were there before the busy season and it was a bit cooler temperatures than I would have liked; and overcast/cloudy.

It turns out, the “most beautiful beach” was right outside our hotel in Tropea.

It was a great choice to finish up our trip: laid back, restful, adventurous, and without a schedule; well, maybe a little bit of a schedule, but no reservations- we could just do what we wanted. We loved the beach, and the water was just clear as glass.

What was the food like?

In Tropea, we went to:

• Hostaria Italiana da Nino for dinner the first night.
• Ristorante Il Pirate in Scilla, a pirate themed-restaurant for lunch.
• Cesare gelato in Reggio Calabria; best in the world?
• Il Convivo in Tropea
• Lido Azzurro for lunch, on the sand in Tropea (No website)
• Tropea Hostaria Italiana, a pizza place, our last night.

Our hotel had free breakfast, which was a great way to start each day. Breakfasts were different in Italy: No eggs, but cured meats (like salami, prosciutto, etc), fruits, pastries, lattes, etc.

A bottle of wine at dinner was around 22 euros ($25 or so?), and always hit the spot. They just tasted better than American wines at the same price point, and someone had to finish them each night.

Where did you stay?

We stayed at the Hotel Rocca Del La Sena, a short 1/3 mile walk from the historic part of the city, perched up around 100 feet on a cliff over the water. The view from our room was spectacular looking over the Mediterranean, despite the cloudy weather we had for much of the time.

The hotel was nice- the food was great, the people were very helpful. It was a very walkable location, and booked full. It had a pool (we didnt use, it was a bit cool, and the pool was tiny). What was different on this trip is that the places we stayed were secondary, as we were so busy doing other things all day, we spent very little time in the rooms.

The only thing we did not like was that our room had a bathroom like a college locker room with a big drain in the center, no tub, etc.

However, Taylor picked the place, and it was great.

What else?

While we were strolling around Tropea one night, after a bit of wine and before dinner, I got a text from a friend back home stating that a new pope had been chosen. We weren’t looking at our phones much, so had no idea, but I was pretty excited- and wanted to find a TV to watch this event unfold, almost expecting the pomp of a sporting event.

The first person I found that could help point us to a restaurant that would have a tv was a police officer. They are there to protect and serve, right? Anyways, I was confident and excited, and shared “They elected a new Papa!”, and asked where a restaurant was with a TV. They tried to see if I was in trouble or anything, then just realized I was a foolish tourist, and pointed me to a restaurant that would be showing it.

At the restaurant, we sat with the waitstaff; and a boat tour captain got to talking to us in Italian about the situation. We don’t speak Italian and told him so, but he didnt care. After several minutes, Taylor and I gathered that he was likely saying they like Americans, just don’t want an American as Pope.

Takeaways from the trip: There are a couple things that were hard to foresee when planning this trip from back home:

• This was the end of our 10-day trip, and it was a special experience; it was hard to appreciate the food after eating out every meal of every day by the end of our 10-day trip. This is a luxury we won’t repeat again for quite some time though.
• We were downright tired by this part of the trip: my legs weren’t ready to tackle that many flights of stairs each day for 10 days (my Garmin said 50 flights of stairs daily for 10 days).
• Going in the “off season” was great.
• The adventure part was amazing. We didn’t have any solid plans, and it was fun to figure it out together.
• Google maps worked great: for walking and driving.

What a special trip.

The SPCA of Greensboro just got a puppy that was likely part of an unwanted litter. Her picture was just listed on their website, and if it was anything like the other pet adoption places I was looking at, she would be gone really quickly.

Rosie, Mercy I and headed over to their place: 20 minutes across town, to meet their limited hours: 1-4 a few days a week. We were excited, and one of the top items on our checklist for a new, furry friend is for the kids to meet and help choose this new dog.

Other things on our list:

• Low to medium energy
• Not a jumper
• not gigantic
• 1 year old
• potty trained
• not a pit bull (no shade, there are some pretty sweet pits, but our kennel doesnt take them)
• Not a barker
• likes the kids.
• Not tiny- 20-50 pounds or so.

Basically, we wanted Stormy; she set the bar pretty high. And as much as she did great, one thing she didn’t do well was bond with Rosie and Mercy. She mostly ignored that they existed, and every kid should have a childhood dog that they love and play with.

At the SPCA, it took a minute for them to go get the dog (Petunia was her name), but when they came back with her:

• She didn’t jump
• She didnt bark
• She liked the girls
• The girls liked her
• She wasnt a tiny dog
• She smelled terrible
• She didnt bite….

Her paws looked gigantic, and the girls really liked her. Her farts smelled terrible.

Ever since Stormy died, I was looking for a dog. We wanted to adopt- that part was certain. But we haven’t been through the process in a while, and way back when, Stormy was literally the only dog we looked at.

These days, the process seeemed a bit different. In order to visit a dog that is up for adoption, you have to fill out an application to adopt the dog. Then, you have to be approved. Then, you have to visit on the hours they are opened. Most are only open 15-20 hours a week, like 1-4 on Tuesdays-Thursdays, and Sunday afternoon 2-4.

Also, whenever you do finally get a chance to visit, there is a great chance the dog you want to see has already been adopted; it seems the dogs that fit my criteria above only last 2 days before getting adopted.

Add to all that, I wanted the girls to come visit the dog as well and help me make the decision. I went and saw a few by myself, but none were “the one” for our family.

Then we met Petunia. Or Hazy. The girls liked her. I liked her, and I knew she would be gone if we went home to think about it. Taylor saw the picture from the adoption site, and said “Oh Luke, she is so cute” (Taylor hardly ever sounds lovey dovey about a dog like that). Here was her picture from the adoption website:

So, we got her. Rosie was very concerned: would mommy be upset? Valid question. Maybe Rosie has more sense than I do in those kinds of situations.

We did ask the questions:

• “What kind of dog is she?” We dont know.
• “How big will she get?” We don’t know.
• “Is she potty trained?” We don’t have a house for her to visit to test if she is.

It wasn’t too helpful.

I have made lot’s of rash decisions that I have regretted; I was hoping that this wasn’t one of them.

She is pretty chill. Taylor likes her. She poops and pees everywhere; sorta. With confidence, I am trying to do all the potty training and proving that this is a decision WE will not regret.

She seems to be doing great. It has been 3 weeks, she is mostly potty trained, and I forgot how much work a puppy is. The last puppy I had was back when I was a kid- Stormy was a year old and potty trained when we got her.

It took 2 days as a family to mull over names; we picked “Hazy” because we wanted to stick with a weather theme, since our last one was “Stormy”. A close second to the selected name was “Misty”, but when put to a vote, Hazy was the winner.

She is pretty chill; doesnt chew much. She will take something like my shoe, carry it to another room, chew for 5 seconds, then move on to something else.

She isnt good at walking on a leash- she pulls. Its fine, but fast forward another 20-40 pounds, and we will have issues. She does run good though.

The first couple days, she slept on my feet while I was working- that was pretty cute.

She really likes the kids, and waits by the door for them to get home from school- she kinds knows their schedule.

The first day she came home, she took a big poo poo in Mercy’s room, and Mercy did not like that.

The family likes her- and we miss stormy.

Each morning for these last few days of school before summer break, I go into Rosie’s room and wake her up by throwing Hazy on her bed; Hazy licks Rosies face, and does a much better job getting Rosie out of bed than I ever could.

Potty training sucks; the first two weeks I watched her like a hawk- didn’t let her out of my site knowing she would immediately take a dump. We rolled up 3 rugs and put them away so she wouldnt soil them. She is learning pretty quick, and I think we can call her potty training a success.

But when she does go outside, she will take a dump on the deck instead of the yard. There is more work to be done, but hopefully it will last another 10-14 years.