jenniferbrola.com

The first day of our vacation (8/17) can be summed up in two words: traffic nightmare. We pulled out of Chappaqua at about 9am and didn't arrive in Carolina Beach (on the North Carolina coast) until midnight. The trip to "Somewhere-in-a-Carolina" is usually 10 to 12 hours, but we lost SO much time between Baltimore and Virginia that it took us 15 patience-melting hours. A genuine I-95 bumper-to-bumper experience. And when traffic eased, we were treated to a torrential downpour. At least we managed to get some Chick-fil-A.

Day 2

Battleship Gallery - Aquarium Gallery

Aside from when my parents came up for Father's Day, our last family gathering was Christmas 2006. We just couldn't get down to South Carolina for Independence Day this year. So this time around, we combined three trips - summer vacation, our second wedding anniversary, and visiting the newest nephew - into one big weekend adventure. We told both sides of our family where we were headed and that they were invited to join us. My parents took us up on the offer, but I think they misunderstood that it would take us a day to actually get there!

After being in Carolina Beach a day early, the previous generation was fired up and ready for adventure first thing Saturday morning. While my husband was recuperating in snoozetown, I rolled out of bed and joined my parents on a trip to the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher (located in nearby Kure Beach). For whatever reason, I didn't have high expectations for the small, regional aquarium. However, it turned out to be a very nice diversion...clean facilities, interesting exhibits, and friendly staff. If you're in the area, it's worth a visit.

By the time we'd said hello to all the fish, my husband was awake enough to join us for a "light" lunch at Carrabas and a stroll through the USS North Carolina Battleship, currently anchored on the Cape Fear River in Wilmington

"I well remember the great thrill when she arrived in Pearl Harbor during the early stages of the war -- at a time when our strength and fortunes were at low ebb. She was the first of the great new battleships to join the Pacific Fleet, and her mere presence in a task force was enough to keep morale at a peak. Before the war's end she had built for herself a magnificent record of accomplishment." --Adm. Chester W. Nimitz

A long (long) time ago, I walked through the USS Yorktown in Charleston, and at some point I hope to see the USS Intrepid up close here in New York City. However, the North Carolina has a unique presence - it's very much now like it was back then.

For awhile there I was saying, "I need to do more." But you won't be hearing me say that now! Things have been crazy busy lately. Last month, I attended two conferences in New York City: AJAXWorld 2007 East ("Web 2.0") and Virtual Worlds 2007 ("Web 3.0"). Both had a lot to say about the future of the web experience (from both the developer's and the user's perspective). And of course, I wrote down everything! I ended up with a mountain of scribbled notes to transcribe - that's a bargain compared to the additional $600 for conference videos. I'd put my notes up on the web, but I didn't pay for either conference ticket - so the notes really aren't mine to distribute.