CITADEL CONSTRUCTION IN ACTION

My son-in-law, Alejandro is project manager for

CITADEL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

in Wando, SC. I went with him to the jobsite in Irmo,

SC to check out their handy-work.

They specialize in TILT-UP construction

. . .reinforced concrete walls that begin horizontally,

then are lifted in place vertically.

In this instance, they are erecting walls for a new church.

Front-corner view of the church

Side view

Alejandro posing in what will be the entrance

Huge metal beams are bolted into place

to secure the walls until another

sub-contractor erects the steel I-beams

which will become the interior walls

(the walls were straight. . . the camera was NOT)

A DAY AT THE MALL & ZOO

We took Nicolas to Columbiana Centre to ride the Merry-go-round

Everybody off!

At the Riverbanks Zoo, Nicolas discovered a huge floor fan

(offscreen to left)

designed to keep the animals cool

BIRTHDAY AT THE BEACH

We planned to spend my birthday at Edisto Beach this year, mainly to scope out whether or not to use this as a future destination for gathering family or friends. In 1998, we brought Jessie, Chris, & Lynda's mom here, & the place had a nostalgic 1950's charm to it. Fast-forward to 2007 without doing any renovations or updates, & you get the idea of what the recent experience was like (in a nutshell)

That's Lynda & I (and Barkley, in arms)

in front of the beach house

Here's a view of the house, from the beach.

I believe those weather-beaten handrails to be

part of the original 1950's construction

Beautiful flowers were blooming everywhere

These were everywhere along the path to the beach

A bird house belonging to some bird family long since gone

Shark's Teeth

(someone had collected these & left them in a sea shell on the deck)

Our view of the beach from the deck

Our view of the neighbor's, from the deck (via telephoto lens)

Our neighbor's view of Lynda & I

(sitting pretty under a little tent I got as a father's day/birthday present)

SEX ON THE BEACH

Two Horse shoe crabs doing the wild thing

right on the beach, in front of God & everybody

Up close & personal!

(I'm guessing the one "in the rear" is the male)

Less exciting things we observed

DUSK AT THE BEACH

Sunset

Going. . .going . .gone

G'mornin'

We had to alter our plans a little towards the end of the week: The weather Channel was predicting a storm would roll through after midnight, bringing rain all the following day. We enjoyed one last day on the beach, then packed up before the rains moved in. (there's NOTHING to do in Edisto Beach but be on the beach. If you get rained out & have to remain indoors, the walls begin to close in). The first drops of rain arrived just about the time I got the last bit of luggage stowed away. We pulled up stakes with no regrets & headed home, knowing that we had accomplished our main objective: scoping out the place for future use. (we believe we've seen the last of Edisto beach for a while).

Finally, I got to spend my birthday at work, working :^(

. . .and publishing my blog for you to read ;^)

FATHER'S DAY 2007

Lynda & I joined Bob & Yvonne, & mom & dad, at the Officer's Club at Ft. Jackson.

(I know. . .I know. . .I look blitzed! I swear, I'm not. I was just talking when Lynda snapped the shot, & my eyes blinked. . . really!)

I Spent the Night in a Haunted House and Nearly Died . . .(of boredom)
When my son-in-law, Alejandro, asked me if I wanted to spend the night in a haunted house in Newberry, SC, I first jumped at the chance, then asked questions later. It seems that his company rented an old house in Newberry, SC, so that the workers could stay near one of their jobsites without having to commute very far. During the course of the two months that the house was rented, the workers complained that the house was haunted. Several unexplained events had occured & they were not going to stay there any longer. They claimed to have seen a man, smoking a pipe, appear in the house out of nowhere, then disappear just the as sudden. Footsteps were heard upstairs when no one was upstairs. Dishes in the kitchen were disturbed during the night. All but one of the workers, Modesto, had moved out by this time, and I was to spend the night with him, alone together in the house. To make matters worse, he spoke very little English, only "Un poquito".

Here I am, following Alejandro's white truck on the way to Newberry. I'd forgotten just how far Newberry was from Columbia. . . .Far. . .far. . away. By now, the thunderstorm had passed & the sunset was beginning to peak out from behind the clouds.

Here's the front of the house (above). . .not exactly as I saw it in my mind's eye. I thought it would look a little more like . . .

This!
This house sits right across the street from the "haunted house". I can tell just by looking, that this house is Really Haunted. Maybe the ghosts actually live here, and come across the street at night for a little company.

Here's the back of "my" haunted house. You can see that it has been added to several times since it was first built in the `30s. The last interior update was done during the `70's. (I'm betting that was the last time it was ever cleaned, too)

A view from the front door, looking straight through to the back door.

I took this picture from the upstairs floor where the footsteps were heard. Ironically, Modesto actually prefered the upstairs corner bedroom.

This is the front parlor

Modesto (left), prepares his dinner without concern that others think the house is haunted. Alejandro (right) chats with him about the eerie events that were suppose to have taken place.

Here I am at 11:oo pm in "my" bedroom, reading a book . . .waiting for something to happen. The old house was actually very quiet, with the exception to the next-door neighbor's chickens clucking. Just about the time I was getting up to turn out the lights . . something did happen! A cockroach. . . .the size of a HUMMER. . . scurried across the floor through the bedroom doorway, towards my bed! (If there's no "Roach Heaven", then he's now haunting the hallways of one particular old house in Newberry, SC.). I then retired for the night, alone downstairs (with, no doubt, other cockroaches). I got maybe two hours of sleep, then got up to shower at 3:30 am, since Modesto was leaving around 4:00 am to go to work (his usual wake-up time). I about died the next day at work, trying to stay awake!

Now that it's all behind me, I believe that the scariest parts of it all were :
1. driving through Irmo rush-hour traffic in the pouring rain
2. imagining what would have happened if I'd turned off the lights before I noticed the big cockroach.

GRANDKIDS AT THE BEACH

(Isle of Palms, SC)

flying a bunch of kites in sequence

"The kites! NOT me!"

The crowd is yet to arrive

a.l.a. Rainbow Row in Charleston, SC

"Do not be afraid, it is only ME!"

Kelly & Nicolas (left), Chris & Cort (right)

a one, and a two, and a . . .



. . .Three!

"can you touch the bottom?"

College-friends of Chris & Emily join us

Nourishing potato chips for everyone

No one can eat just one

Alejandro prefers the shade

introducing Cort to the "kiddie pool"

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2007
Now that they've had their patio door fixed, Mom & Dad spend more time out on the patio.

Lynda & I joined them for a photo opportunity