Highlands

In between my day job and the rest of my life, I've managed to post some pics of the Memorial Day Adult Retreat Extravaganza that was held in beautiful Highlands NC. Bud and Nana were gracious enough to entertain the rugrats for a weekend, and we fled to the hills (alone) for the first time since Jack was born. For those of you who are keeping track, that was 2 years 3 months and 26 days ago, give or take.



I won't say it was the highlight of the trip, but we took an adventure along the Horsepasture River, starting at the trailhead in the new Gorges State Park in Sapphire NC. The last time I was on the Horsepasture was probably 1992 or so (I think I remember the Lakers and the Celtics were in the NBA finals that summer) so needless to say I was dusting off some old cobwebs. We hiked down to the river, then up the watercourse past Rainbow Falls, several nice pools, Drift Falls, to fantastic little spot called Turtleback Falls (35.09249, -82.96633).

Turtleback is a point in the river where the water rolls over a gently sloping, very smooth expanse of stone and then drops 15 feet into a deep pool, turns sharply and then meanders on downriver. There are a few old ropes on the side of the rock face, and locals have been sliding and jumping and surfing off the falls into the pool for ages. The way the river turns out of the eddy means it is very hard if not impossible to get swept downriver, and the pool is deep enough to absorb the most fearless leaps.

Kim narrates my demonstration attempt:



My camerawork is not nearly as good, but my Parkinson's subsides just enough to prove that is Kim taking the plunge:



And one last jump before the now-infamous hike out on a route based entirely on Matilda's 5th-grade memories of Camp Buc:



So that's it. Next time I am allowed to navigate in the woods the kids will be carrying my urn.

Wando Shrimp Company

Down behind old Mount Pleasant village, where Shem Creek dumps out into the harbor, is an old ramshackle warehouse with a battered loading dock and wide open bay doors. Walk up into that dark cavernous space, and inside, out of the bright sun sparkling off the crushed oyster driveway, sun wrinkled old men discuss tides and moving bars.

We picked up six pounds of shrimp that just hours earlier had been popping out in these Carolina waters. Lowcountry boil tonight with good friends - man, it doesn't get much better than this.

Location : 438 Shipwatch Villas, Isle of Palms, SC 29451,
Posted via Blogaway on Android 2.2

Oct. 3, 1990

And from the "Headlines That Make Me Feel Old Department," we have the following news update:

Germans Celebrating 20th Anniversary of Reunification

Apparently it has been 20 years since we (literally) watched the Berlin Wall fall. And it has been 12 years since my mother thought we were bieng followed by KGB agents plotting our demise, just outside the Brandenburg Gate. Man, where does all the time go..? Sort of makes you miss the Red Army.

Anna's Wedding!

Congratulations, Anna and Drew Harmon! Enjoy Guatemala!

The rest of my pics are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/stephen.forest.shaw/AnnaSWedding#, and hopefully the photog will get her stuff done soon so we can add Drew to this picture! We had a great time, and it is always so fun to get all of the family together, especially since it keeps expanding (congrats, Robin!).

Fabulous Fourth

Are you ready for some Bar-B-Que?

Yes, I am!

I know this post is a bit dilatory, but I just haven't had time while immersed in Bar Review to catch up on many posts from earlier in the summer. One in particular I've been meaning to address is the fabulous weekend we had in Spartanburg over the Fourth of July. We both had Friday and Monday off, and despite the normal travel stress (jack), the long weekend was good for our souls (and our tummies - I always come back from Mom's house a couple pounds fuller than normal).

Mmmmm... Bullhawgs!

Although the entirety of this weekend's feasting was as wonderful as always, two occasions in particular stand out. On Saturday we had a great dinner at the Tea House on Lake Lanier in Tryon NC, to celebrate Doc's graduation from residency. While the food and the view is always fantastic, we got to cap it off with dessert and a local fireworks display right out over the lake. If you've never been to the Tea House for dinner on a late summer evening, I highly recommend you try it.

Little table for the little ones

And of course, this Fourth of July's keystone meal was extravagant, with a big spread of genuine Bullhawgs BBQ ribs and pulled pork laid out before us, fresh corn and baked beans and plenty of coldbeer. We all ate out on the patio, with the Beans and the Palmers - all the little kids even got their own table, and Jack was quite at home I believe. It was fun to have some many kids running around, and later in the night you could hear neighboorhood fireworks going off all around (thank you, SC).

Even Dean got into the spirit of the holiday.

Just the twelve - er... thirteen of us

You might be surprised to hear it, but there are actually twelve thirteen people in this picture. We had the pleasure of hanging out at the beach with several of our closest friends, knowing that Kim, Rae and Casey were fairly far along on the path to motherhood. Rae recently delivered a gorgeous little Callie, Casey's boy is due any day, and our Dash-2 is finally correctly oriented and on her final approach. Little did we know, Jessie was headed that way too!

From left to right: Adam, Jessie, GPII*, Stephen, Kim, Baby Girl Shaw, Jack, Casey, Baby Boy Middle-Quillen (or maybe Quillendorf, that sounds like a house that Harry Potter might have lived in...), Kris, Rachel, Callie!, and Matt. Quite a crew. I think that is thirteen, but you might want to check my math.

Not to mention, the Williams, the Pointers, the Shumakers are all cooking a little one right now. Man, is it baby-making time or what? I think we've got a whole rifle squad, almost. Or a peloton, if you are a Pomerantz. C'mon, Sara, it's time to get started on your Part Deux.

*GPII is the affectionately named soon-to-be-sibling of George, the Pomerantz's cat. No specific sex is implied by this name.

Beach III

Finally got all of the pictures from Memorial Day posted to Picasa:



Enjoy!

High on the Hog

We in the Shaw clan have long sought out the best BBQ restaurants across the Carolinas. We benefit from the wide diversity of our two states, from Green River BBQ in Saluda NC, BullHawgs in my hometown of Spartanburg SC, Mama Browns in Mt Pleasant SC, Thigs in Richlands NC, and countless others scattered across this particular swath of America. We also take some time out of our busy lives, now and then, to mourn those establishments that are no longer with us - Smokey Joes, in Spartanburg, and a little joint called Yum Youngs off of Hwy 17 near Georgetown SC (whose house sauces were classified as Hot, Beyond Hot, and Beyond Beyond - I never tried the third version)

With each road trip, new entries are added and old favorites moved around, and we have over time built a repertoire of trusted 'cue joints across the southeast. So I was excited last weekend to discover, just off Highway 43 in Greenville NC, a new Top-Tenner: B's Barbecue and Grill. This place reaffirms the long-hallowed tenet of BBQ enthusiasts everywhere - the shabbier the building, the better the 'cue. Inside there's no A/c, no flat-screen TVs, not even a phone - when we were leaving (the last folks there) at 12:45pm, we noticed the sole method of communication with the outside world, a handwritten sign taped to the door that read "Closed - Sold Out of Food." You can tell B's is open when you see a crowd of people standing around waiting for food, starting around 10a.m. And if you show up after 1p.m., good luck, because they sell out every day. The North Carolina BBQ Society has this entry on their NC Historic BBQ Trail:

“William and Peggy McLawhorn started B’s Barbecue in the late 1970’s. Initially William, Peggy, their youngest daughter Tammy and their middle daughter Judy worked in the business. Donna, the oldest daughter was away at school. Now William has retired, Peggy works part-time and their three daughters run the business.

Dexter Sherrod, who has worked with the family cooking the pigs and chopping the barbecue since the business opened, ably assists the girls. Dallas Moore cooks the chicken. Dexter says he cooks about 40 whole pigs per week.

Every time I have visited B’s Barbecue, the McLawhorn girls have been crankin’ it at a 110 mph serving B’s good food to a hungry luncheon crowd. I generally eat the barbecue plate. The barbecue is lightly seasoned and has a hint of wood smoke from the cooking method (open pit with charcoal). The sauce is on the table in whiskey decanters. You don’t need much. The sauce is a vinegar and peppers Eastern North Carolina sauce and it has good flavor. The chicken was very, very good. It’s not overdone and comes lightly sauced.

When B’s runs out of food each day they close the place. Since B’s does not have a telephone, your only notice of this would be a sign on the door and an absence of cars on the lot.”

I think B's will stay on my list for some time to come, if only for the unadulterated character of original Eastern NC Carolina BBQ that it preserves every day from 10 to 1. While I may not make it down east very often, when I do I'm gonna stop at B's.

The Southern BBQ Trail has an excellent oral history site that interviews Judy Drach (co-owner) and Dexter Sherrod (pitmaster).

Photo of Judy by Todd Cook (some rights reserved)

Quoted excerpts above from The Best Tar Heel Barbecue Manteo to Murphy pages 292-294 (c)

Update: Thanks to Anna for her recall of Yum Youngs in Georgetown - "Yum Youngs BBQ had the "beyond beyond." I just had a bite and it took my mouth a full hour, a bottle of water, and a pack of m'nm's to recover. no lie." I didn't know M&M's had a cooling effect, but whatever it takes, right?

Badass Extract

Sweet shot:

U.S. Special Forces are extracted from a mountain pinnacle in Zabul province,

Afghanistan,by a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter from Company A,

2nd Bn, 82nd Aviation Reg't,82nd Combat Aviation Brigade after executing an

air assault mission to disrupt insurgent communication.

Read more: http://kitup.military.com/#ixzz0n0Z8HOYD; High-res is here.

By the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off...

Jackson has never been one to enjoy riding in the car. Even as a very tiny babe, he hated being strapped into his carseat.

We were hoping with the graduation to forward facing, he'd be less inclined to scream and throw things in protest but, alas, we still struggle with trips of greater than approximately 5 minutes. Fortunately for us, though, Jackson has a weakness. And that weakness is Monkeys.

He has two of them. First, there is Little Monkey. When freshly opened from Great Granny Frannie last July at the beach, none of us had any idea that that screeching lavender ball of fuzz would become the one thing in this world powerful enough to soothe our son no matter how dire the tantrum had become. It has long since lost its ability to howl like any self-respecting purple howler (due to the futile attempts at washing out the stench) and the stuffing is all but gone in his neck leaving him rather floppy about the head. His tail is perpetually wet from being chewed on and the smell....well, let's just say that is about the most authentic monkey-part about him. All it takes is to find Little Monkey napping on the floor behind the couch or under a chair in the kitchen for Jackson to giggle and gleefully run to fetch his beloved friend. He is required for all stressful situations and most definitely for napping and sleeping.




And then there is Big Monkey. He is, as described, the bigger of the two. His main purpose is Jackson's night time bedmate, blanket, and pillow. But, as of late, he has also become a daytime companion, coming out to wrestle and hug and kindly offer himself as a warm soft place to sit on cold tile floors. Jack is also partial to the occasional body-slam of Big Monkey from the top rail of the ring. Unfortunately, Big Monkey cannot be washed as his fur is tenuously attached but he does enjoy the occasional tongue-bath from Dean the Dog when no one is looking.

Both by themselves are powerful animals but, when combined, they appear to have truly magical properties. Today is the perfect example. After a wonderful, albeit somewhat sleepless, weekend in Greenville at Cousin David's wedding, we settled in this morning for a 3 hour car ride home. Jackson napped for only the first 30 minutes and then was wide awake "asking" to be let out of his carseat. When he had eaten his body weight in animal crackers and destroyed every scrap of paper I could find to give him, with still 2 hours left to go, we desperately pulled out our secret weapon(s). The Monkeys.

It worked like a charm.

Who knows how long these beloved animals will have their powers. I'm sure one day, probably not in the too far off future, their hair will be loved off, their eyes will be gone, and they will be loose in the joints and very shabby and suddenly will turn real and run off into the woods to join their own kind. But at least, for now, we have a predictable arsenal of mitigating monkeys in the struggle for peace in the Shaw household.

Bridge Running

Last weekend, we made the long but much needed drive to Charleston for what I would like to become a reliable annual pilgrimage.

At the 33rd edition of the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston SC, I finished my 8th Bridge Run in a time of - well, a respectable time given my "relatively advanced age" (as my father tends to characterize it). At least, I think it was my 8th running - may have done more, but my records are a bit spotty.

Thinking back, I realized my first race was in 1992, the last year the race was held on the oldest of the three spans, the John P. Grace Memorial Bridge (which opened in 1929). I still remember the unnerving sensation of running on a bridge rocked by undulations as 7,000 runners made the crossing.

The next year, 1993, and the races following in '94 and '95, the race was held on the Silas N. Pearman Bridge, a luxurious three lanes in width. This testament to modern engineering had only been around since 1966.

College interrupted my running for a while, particularly since most of our crew races were held in the spring. I returned in 2001 and 2002 to post a PR of 43:07, and then again in 2007 for my first race on the "new" Cooper River bridge, the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. I have to say, it took some getting used to, adjusting to the width and substance of the one-humped iteration this span represents. I think the race was more interesting on the old spans, to be honest, even though they are (were) steeper in grade than the Ravenel bridge and had two spans (read: uphill).

This picture and the one preceding are terrific shots showing all three spans as they co-existed before the demolition of the Pearman and Grace bridges in the fall of 2005. These photos were taken from Charleston Harbor by my friend Will Bean.

2010 was my first race in Charleston since Jack was born, but I wasn't too much worse for wear - faster than '07, at least. Just over 33,000 of my closest friends finished the course this year, and Simon Ndirangu of Kenya crossed the line to win while I was nearing the halfway point. Oh well - there's always next year!

NB: Older photo courtesy Wikipedia; modern shots by Will Bean.

Down the British!

Last weekend we had the good fortune to attend the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, ca. 1781. There, 4000 Continentals and Militia under the leadership of Gen'l Nathanael Greene laid a whooping on the damn redcoats, relinquishing the field but at the cost of such extreme casualties that the British Southern Army was eventually required to withdraw to Yorktown.

Jack had a pretty good time too. He didn't even flinch much when the cannons went off - he may have a little warrior in him yet. At right, you can see the neatly covered and aligned tents of the 2d No. Carolina Regt. (the 6th was also in attendance).

Weekend with Mom

Stephen spent this beautiful snowy weekend in Washington DC so Jack and I got to have two entire days all to ourselves. My, what one can learn in a weekend...

I don't know if it's just that Jack is growing at lightning speeds or I haven't really had the chance lately to spend 48 straight hours completely dedicated to being with him, but I swear I learned so much about him this weekend that I didn't know.

For starters, he can walk. Well, sort of. He can take a few unassisted steps before lunging at his stuffed animals...or me. He can sing. We were watching Faith Hill's Christmas Special and I realized as I was humming along that he was too. He can spin in circles on his bum. For hours. He loves, and I mean loves, to hear me make animal noises. Quack quack is his favorite. Arf arf is second. He smiles

with all of his teeth, now, and he gives of that smile freely. He will never go outside a 20 foot radius from me although he likes to get just out of sight long enough for me to say, "Where's Jack?" and he comes flying around the corner and into my lap. He needs periodic and regular hugs, about every 5-1o minutes. When upset, he has to be sitting in my lap. Not just touching me or sitting next to me, but on my lap squarely. If he's really upset, whilst on my lap, he needs to suck his thumb and hold his monkey at the same time for at least 1 minute.

He giggles at himself (or something that none of the rest of us can see) all the time. When he concentrates, he breathes very loudly and deliberately out of his nose and then laughs about it. He can say "Ma-ma" "Dad-dee" "Da-da" "Dean-Da" and "neh neh" (which is "more"). He loves to look out the window and watch birds or people or just the wind blow through the trees. He is very tenderhearted and likes constant reassurance. He understands "no no" and will almost always obey it after the 2nd (and sometimes 3rd) "did you really mean no, exactly?"

attempt. And when he goes back to said "no no" object after a few minutes, he always looks at me first to be sure I still mean it.

He loves my cell phone and now when I say, "Can you call Daddy?" he will put it up to his ear and smile. He will throw a ball back and forth for upwards of 5 minutes, which is an eternity for a 10 month old. He will even add Dean into the throwing party and Dean will very politely sit and roll it back. Speaking of Dean, he likes to share his food with him, either by handing it to him or letting Dean eat it out of his mouth. He likes to get my attention by saying, "Aya ya ya!" and

laughing when I look over at him and say, "Is that so?" He loves bath time but isn't a big fan of teeth-brushing time. He will take a nap without a fuss as long as I put two books in his crib with him. He likes to flirt with ladies at the store, especially the large ones.

I know he is only 10 months old, but I can already see the kind of person he is going to become and it is exactly like his father. His heart is big and soft. He thrives on affection and sweet conversation. He does not like to have someone cross with him. He will be funny and love to laugh. He will be awkward at first and because of that he will need some help to be as confident as he can be. He will never be arrogant. He will always need my hugs. At least I hope so.

I love you, Jackson. More today than yesterday and more tomorrow than ever before. Thank you for such a wonderful weekend.

My Baby's a Winner

So its a boys weekend in the Matilda household - just me, Jack and Dean-o. I think we'll survive, but we sure do miss our girl. Guess we'll just have to watch a lot of basketball on TV.

Doc took off to Asheville NC for the NC Academy of Family Physicians Winter Conference. Besides getting to spend this weekend at the Grove Park Inn drooling over all of the yummy gingerbread houses, she's fixin' to get honorificated for all of her good works. That's right, loyal readers - Doc has been awarded the Most Outstanding Resident of the Year by the NCAFP for Moses Cone. That's pretty sweet, and definitely an honor she deserves.

Doc, first day on the job in July 2007. She was

the Most Outstanding from the very beginning.

Yum yum, eat 'em up

Thanksgiving 2009 has been a fabulous holiday. Not only were we able to see both of our families and have some wonderful quality time with the grandparents, but we've all eaten like kings. My brother roasted the juiciest most delicious turkey I think I've ever tasted and Jackson devoured it like his father's true son.

I think the thing I'm most thankful for this year (and every day) is my family. I simply could not be more blessed. My mother is such a peaceful, patient, creative, and open woman. She has a unique way of making playtime both entertaining and educational. I thought learning the state capitals growing up was what all kids did for fun. She routinely turned our power off to the house so we could cook s'mores over candles and play Yahtzee as a family by lantern light. She never missed a volleyball game or a school play or even a poster presentation and she would always sit patiently with a book whenever I was running late without so much as a cross word. She is The Most Positive Person I have ever known and is always happy to see me. And never have I been more impressed and proud and happy to have her in my life than when I watch her with my son.

She makes his eyes light up with all the adventures she is promising him.

I love her.

No one ever gets so blessed twice. But somehow, I slipped by fate and pulled out the golden ticket because my parents-in-law are just as amazing and adorable. My mother-in-law, aka Nana, is the one person in the world I would want in a crisis. She makes an octopus look handicapped with how easily she can multi-task. She is so kind and considerate and thoughtful. She is the epitome of generosity. I'll never forget watching her speak at her father's funeral when no one else could keep it together. She was poised, graceful, and full of peace. She has the strongest faith of anyone I've ever known. She has so much to offer my children.

I love her.

And then there's my father-in-law, aka Grandpa Bud. You have never heard a laugh so real and joyous and infectious until you have heard Bud guffaw. He thoroughly enjoys himself at all times and has shown me the importance of using the good china every day. Live life to the fullest is his motto. He is genuine and thoughtful and warm and a trueblooded Tarheel. He loves an adventure but is so pleasantly practical that he is easy to be around. Jackson has a special look for Bud that I have yet to figure out fully but most definitely has a mischievous gleam to it.

I love him, too.

And then there's my lovely husband...

Well, that's a blog entry for another time.

I am thankful for my family and my friends. My son and my husband. My health and my talents. My past and my future. Those still here with me and those that have already gone topside. And I'm hoping you have just as many blessings in your life this Thanksgiving as I.

Reconstituted

I met them in 1997. Some of us weren't even 18 yet. We were tall, excited, diverse freshmen propelled by our height to try something new. We had no clue what going out to that faithful lake on the outskirts of Carrboro would mean for our lives, both in the few short years at UNC and for the lifetime that lay on the other side of graduation.

I'm not sure exactly when in that first year these girls became an indelible part of my firmament. Perhaps it was in Pam's van at 4:45am or at the bridge with Ports to row and Starboards to back or maybe in the kitchen at Vance Street. At any rate, it happened and we've somehow managed to see each other almost semi-annually since graduation, despite being on opposite coasts with insanely busy work schedules. Through showers and weddings and graduations and now babies, we just pick right up where we left off and the hours fly by unnoticed.

This weekend was just such an occasion. The stars aligned and we were all able to meet at Lake Lure for a very brief but amazingly soul-soothing and much-needed weekend.

We've grown a bit since we met 12 years ago. There were nine of us this weekend...well ten if you count the newest and still-forming addition to our happy menagerie. Between us we have a photographer, an SF medic, a paleontologist, two engineers, a pediatrician, a family practitioner, an (almost) attorney, two insanely energetic but amazingly well behaved canines, two very quirky felines, and a snaggle-toothed 9-month old fondly referred to as 'Green 11.'

The topic of blessings came up this weekend, as it so often does when we four get together. We do a very good job of appreciating the momentous gifts we've been given and enjoying the love and laughter and happiness we all share. But, sometimes, one does have to wonder why some seem to have it so exceptionally good. Have we been given all of this to serve a higher purpose or is this a reward from past lives well lived? Have we unknowingly cultivated the foundation and are now reaping the harvest or were we just lucky enough to be born at the right place in the right time? Does one get a blessings limit, so to speak, or does one beget another like a glorious snowball?

My mother used to say "Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out." And while I think this is a brilliant observation, it does seem like the four of us have been bestowed an incredibly well-stacked hand. The purpose of this I have yet to identify, but I figure as long as I enjoy the heck out of my life now, it will all become clear at some point.

In the mean time, blessed I am and grateful I will always be.

Thank you Heather, Steph, and Rae (and Andras, Dan, and Matt).

Time with you always recharges me.

Simple pleasures

It amazes me what makes me blissfully happy these days. Today, my little family went for a walk in the woods and it could not have been a more perfect day. The trees were insanely colorful, the weather had just the right whiff of chill in the air, Dean found every pile of wild animal poo to sniff and then pee on, and Jack floated along on Stephen's chest contented and cooing.

There is no photograph that could capture what it felt like to walk down the pipeline and listen to Jackson laughing as Dean ran far and near with his ears flapping in the breeze and Stephen making up words and giggling to himself as he humped through the woods in his true element.




We are a woodsy family and I can't wait to get to a campsite this fall and start showing our son how soothing it can be surrounded by nature and the smell of marshmallows over a campfire. We took him to REI today and found the perfect size tent just for him for said camping trip...

Of horse-theivin' and child-rearin'

The first rule of parenting and horse-stealing is: "Keep your mouth shut 'till you make it back to the barn."

We had the best luck with Jack driving to Spartanburg and back last weekend. On the way down, in the middle of the day, he slept the entire way except for a few minutes of happy cooing around Kannapolis. Not bad for an-almost-3-hour car trip at 6 months. Then, on the ride back we left right at bedtime and he slept all the way to Greensboro, until I opened my big mouth about a mile from the house. No sooner than I had said "What an amazing kid, I can't believe we made it all the way home without him crying," a shrieking wail bereft of all hope and peace erupted from the back seat.

Needless to say, I drove that last mile with my head hung sheepishly and a finger in my ear. And I learned my lesson.

Independence Day

Down the British, and pass the beer!

There is nothing half as fun as a good and proper celebration of Independence Day. The beach, bikinis, bar-b-que, cold beer, patriotic outfits, lawn chairs, 95 degree heat but you're under an umbrella, homemade icecream, and a flag-waving horn-honking people-dancing-in-the-street small town parade.  Oh, and family.

It has been quite a few years for me since I have been able to give one of my favorite holidays its self-indulgent due. For a couple of years I always seemed to be involved in fireworks of a different kind. But today was really the cat's meow. 

Not to mention, it was a day of firsts for Jack: first time at the beach, first 4th of July Parade, first time wearing American Flag Pants, and definitely the first time in a plastic toy push-me car:

In an unusual gesture of early-morning helpfulness, I hustled out the beach to set up the canopy and chairs, and managed to build a small sandcastle on which to hoist zthe colors. It was nice to be out there alone, just early-risers walking their dogs, none of the day crowd that would surface as the sun got a few hands higher in the sky. A porpoise came cruising by a couple of dozen yards offshore (how tempted was I to yell 'shark' for the benefit of the out-of-towners?), and I got to toss the ball for Dean and watched him broach a few breakers with reckless abandon.

A full day of fun wore everyone out, but fortunately one of Pawley's Island Hammock Company's finest was there to save the day. Momma and babe are well rested, and I'm being summoned for shrimp and grits. More to follow.