The Gatewood Clan
OK, I am reeaallly late blogging about this. However, the memories will live with me forever, so that shouldn't matter ... or something.
As I was saying, we had a great time traveling back east. I got to see my old stomping grounds in Northern Virginia before heading to the Outer Banks, NC, for a weeklong family reunion at the beach.
Our first stop was Hanover, MD, to visit and stay with Bill's cousin Andrea and her husband Rob. They were great hosts (thanks guys!), and put up with our antics. Bill and I spent most of our time being tourists in DC. One evening, we got to see two of my childhood homes--one in McLean and one in Great Falls.
As I was saying, we had a great time traveling back east. I got to see my old stomping grounds in Northern Virginia before heading to the Outer Banks, NC, for a weeklong family reunion at the beach.
Our first stop was Hanover, MD, to visit and stay with Bill's cousin Andrea and her husband Rob. They were great hosts (thanks guys!), and put up with our antics. Bill and I spent most of our time being tourists in DC. One evening, we got to see two of my childhood homes--one in McLean and one in Great Falls.
The highlight of the DC-area portion of our trip had to be seeing my former neighbors Mary and Hector, the parents of my oldest friend, Kathy. Bill and I met them for a great Italian dinner (though, oddly, Cuba-native Hector spoke Spanish to several of the staff ...). We tried to catch up as much as we could in 2 hours, but it had been 15+ years since we'd last seen each other. Regardless, as an adult, I now realize why my parents were such good friends with the couple--they are hilarious.
We also, sadly, witnessed "progress" in Northern VA--my childhood home in McLean has been razed, a ginormous ($4 mil according to Hector) home put in its place; and our 5-acre plot, which Caitlin and I had explored every inch of, in Great Falls has been subdivided. Very sad.
But I am happy to report, besides the absence of the Dip 'n' Deli and the Bolton cottage in the Outer Banks, not too much has changed there. After a long 6-hour drive from DC, we crossed the We're Here Because We're Here bridge (known to commonfolk as the Wright Memorial Bridge) into my favorite place in the world ...
We also, sadly, witnessed "progress" in Northern VA--my childhood home in McLean has been razed, a ginormous ($4 mil according to Hector) home put in its place; and our 5-acre plot, which Caitlin and I had explored every inch of, in Great Falls has been subdivided. Very sad.
But I am happy to report, besides the absence of the Dip 'n' Deli and the Bolton cottage in the Outer Banks, not too much has changed there. After a long 6-hour drive from DC, we crossed the We're Here Because We're Here bridge (known to commonfolk as the Wright Memorial Bridge) into my favorite place in the world ...
There we met up with Cait, Liz, my parents, and most of my mom's side of our family--aunts, uncles, cousins, my great aunt, second cousins ... etc. We'd all (with the exception of some "significant others" in the crowd) spent summers in the Outer Banks and, according to my uncle, Summer 2007 marked around 60 years of visiting the beach. I was only around for 30 of them.
During that week, we our schedules looked something like this: sleep in, eat, go to the beach, eat, sit by the pool, drink beer, sit by the pool, have dinner, and then play games or (as we did one night) sing karaoke. I couldn't complain! We did squeeze in a trip to the Wright Brothers Monument for aviator Bill, and a quick visit to Jockey
's Ridge. I also got to see my old college roommate Mellony, who drove out from Chapel Hill to visit.
Most memorable moment? It's a tie between standing out on the beach with all the Gatewood women (give or take) and watching the moon rise over the ocean (and also sighting a UFO, but that's another story); and dodging hundreds of sand crabs in the dark as Bill and I walked from the pier back to the house late one night. Oh, and then there was my dad singing American Pie karaoke, and my mom and aunt singing Everly Brothers ... I could go on.
I hope that we manage to get together more often as a family. Being so spread out, it's easy to envy those with large, geographically close families. Now all I need to do is figure out how to get the Wisconsinites and Chicagoans out west (with the exception of Great Aunt Larry in NC--we'll always need a reason to go back).
's Ridge. I also got to see my old college roommate Mellony, who drove out from Chapel Hill to visit.Most memorable moment? It's a tie between standing out on the beach with all the Gatewood women (give or take) and watching the moon rise over the ocean (and also sighting a UFO, but that's another story); and dodging hundreds of sand crabs in the dark as Bill and I walked from the pier back to the house late one night. Oh, and then there was my dad singing American Pie karaoke, and my mom and aunt singing Everly Brothers ... I could go on.
I hope that we manage to get together more often as a family. Being so spread out, it's easy to envy those with large, geographically close families. Now all I need to do is figure out how to get the Wisconsinites and Chicagoans out west (with the exception of Great Aunt Larry in NC--we'll always need a reason to go back).
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