As the summer winds down and Claire is almost off to college, we’re feeling a bit nostalgic.
So we went to the original Pinballz Arcade, an old favorite up in North Austin today.
Down the Clown is hands down (so to speak) our favorite game. It’s just so much fun to down those pesky clowns with a time-limited flow of rubber balls. Classic.
When we were playing, I asked the girls to pose for a picture.
“Why?”, Molly said.
“So I can put it on the kids blog along with the other times we’ve come here!” I replied.
With my brother Tim going though some life changes lately – a new house, a new girlfriend, even a new kid and a dog in his life – we’ve aiming for a visit to Washington DC (technically, Northern Virginia) to see his new haunts.
So we finally got it together and actually planned a summer trip with the whole family to check out (or “Czech out”, as Tim would say) Tim’s new situation.
This audacious plan included getting myself and two other generations (Claire and Molly along with my Mom, aged 82) on an airplane to DC, during what turned out to be a worldwide computer outage affecting, largely, airlines. Our flight was delayed by a few hours, but luckily, we got to while that time away peacefully at home. 🙏
The whole gang!
This was primarily a family trip, and we enjoyed exploring Tim’s neighborhood, getting pizza by the Potomac, swimming, playing board games, and getting attacked repeatedly with a rubber snake and a fart gun (thanks, Avett 😜).
Claire and I have also been on a Lincoln kick due to the incredible show Manhunt about the Lincoln assassination and the ensuing hunt for his elusive killer. So we did make a trip into downtown DC to see Ford’s Theater, the infamous site of Lincoln’s murder. Claire and I both got chills as we stood beside the very balcony where the great man was slain. 😢
We also checked out Lincoln’s summer cottage, the pastoral alternative to the White House, where Abe spent much of the Civil War.
Tim heroically drove us all there and avoided crossing some theoretical red dotted lines on a paper map (unmarked in the real world) that would mean his immediate arrest as a the federal offense. Federal law apparently does not take kindly to trespassing on the surrounding US Army retirement home. Good driving, Tim!
I’m so glad we got to visit Tim in his natural surroundings along with Claire 2, Avett the maniac, and Waffle the monster, while it’s still possible, before Claire goes off to college and starts getting busy with her own summers.
Molly always knows how to make a fun day happen. She’s been on me for a while to go to San Marcos and actually swim in the river we have driven by many times on the way to the best Kerby Lane Cafe. “We should swim in that river.,” we always say. 😉
And with a warm and sunny weekend finally upon us, we made it happen today. 🙌
We put in downstream from Sewell Park and slowly inched our way into the frigid spring-fed water while discussing our common dislike of frigid cold water.
But we persisted until the clear green water (yes, it’s clean and green) became downright refreshing. And the wild rice grass in the water all around us became not that weird any more. “I wonder how many people have been lost to the grass,” I joked.
After a few minutes of wading and adjusting, we got out of this cool flow and made our way up to the actual Sewell Park proper and put in again. This time it felt even better, swimming upstream against the current a bit so we could float back downstream in a relaxed way. 🛟
And then we got out and scouted the park a bit more. I suggested that next time we put in up the river and float all the way through the park. It would be like a lazy river at a resort. But we’re done for the day (right?), because Molly seemed tired.
But Molly said, “No. Let’s do it now.”
And so we wound our way down the cool, narrow river and back down to where we started. It was beautiful and refreshing. 🙌
We wrapped up the day with ice cream a short walk away in downtown San Marcos. Nothing says summer like ice cream in a wet swimsuit (and a cowboy hat in my case).
It was pretty damn close to a perfect way to kick off the summer. Btw Claire passed up the trip and understandably chose to rest back at home after her graduation and festivities yesterday. She can suit herself – she’s an adult now. Save all the fun for us kids. 😉
It took a bit of time, patience, and finger pain, but Molly stuck with it. By the time the rice crispy treats were cooled and ready to cut, she knew how to play a C-chord!
Amazing. I thought this would take a few days or weeks, especially since Molly has pretty small fingers at this point in the game.
I was so proud of her. And I had to play her a scene from the movie Flora and Son where the main character first learns the C-chord, and her guitar teacher gives the best speech about it before just jumping into the G-chord.
You are now the proud owner of C, alright?
You didn’t own that five minutes ago. You’re rich. You own something Elvis owned. You own something new, and nobody can take it away from you. This is a gift you can take to the grave and use it whenever you want.
And in the right context, it can speak directly to your heart in ways we don’t even understand. More than thoughts, more than words, more than ideas. Just a chord hanging in there in the air… C.
Damn, I love that scene, and Molly seemed to like it too.
I told Molly she should look up G, the next chord in the song. When I got back from checking email, she showed me her G-chord, and it looks pretty good. 🤯
We rounded out the holiday season by doing Peppermint Parkway at the Circuit of the Americas. Driving the MINI Electric on the Formula 1 track (even at 25 mph 😆) was amazing. The best part was trading off songs with the kids. I started with The Distance by Cake (obvious choice for the race track), Molly called in Getaway Car by TS, Siri jumped in with Video Games by Lana Del Rey, and Claire kicked in a Lana’s Let The Light In.
She’s killing me at Phase 10; down by 95 points with this hand. 😭 #cardgame #phase10 #familytime #family #kids #auatin #texas #atx #shotoniphone #mcgkids
With Claire finishing up high school and heading to college next year, the holidays are feeling especially nostalgic. Sure, we’ll see her over the holidays after she goes to college, but it won’t be the same as now. 😭
With that in mind, our first holiday-style foray this season was the classic Creek Show, which feels like a mini pre-Christmas light event downtown and warmup for the madness of Trail of Lights.
Actually, their mom got the tickets but gave them to use since she was sick. Thank you, Kit!
McG Kids 