Dateline September 8, 2019, Raleigh, the Grandchildren, and Home
Raleigh. The drive from Linville took about four hours, and we arrived at our son James's house a little after five. We were met by two of our grandchildren, Collin and Liza, though we suspect they were more excited about playing in the RV than about seeing us, which is most likely the truth. We went inside and had some wine with James and his wife Mary. John's ex-wife Rosellen was there too, and we all enjoyed catching up, extended families and all.
Kieran, our daughter, arrived with her companion and Rocky, the border collie mix, and then Courtney came with the other granddaughters, Izzy and Finley, Amanda having had other plans for the evening. We had dinner and all sat around laughing and talking with the kids, having a fine time of it. It got late and we were worn out, so we headed out to the RV for the night.
The next morning Collin and Liza were knocking on the RV door, unable to wait to come in. While we sat trying to settle on a plan for the day, we decided to head into Raleigh to the natural-science museum. Off we went in the RV, the kids having been promised a ride; James rode in the back until a touch of motion sickness got him, and he traded places with Mary, who rode out with John and the children.
The museum. The museum is free, and we walked around a while before making for a lab area where the children can do experiments. There was a 3D-printing station where you could handle some of the things they had printed, quite a place.
Courtney, Amanda, Finley, Izzy, and Kieran turned up a little later, and we carried on in that part of the museum together. After a while we headed over to a connected building where you could walk through a live butterfly house, and we stopped for a bite of lunch.
We finished our walkabout and made for the gift shop, where we picked up a small something for each grandchild, and then out the door. All four grandchildren came along with us for their ride in the RV, and we stopped at a kid-friendly local brewery and hung about there for a while. Then it was back to James's house for another dinner and more time with the family.
Home. We left early the next morning, before anyone was up, and turned south for home.
It had been a long, full summer, a twentieth anniversary, a run at two national championships, mountains and old friends and a great deal of golf, and a country's worth of road behind us. The RV was pointed toward Flagler Beach with the windows down, and we were tired in the best way, and glad, as we always are, to be heading home.
