from coast to coast

the tayloes and i are at the beach this week - outer banks, nc. it's an old fashioned family vacation complete with an out-of-the-office reply on tayloe's email.
we arrived yesterday afternoon and drove down the sandy lane to our wooden shingled beach house, giddy and excited to be here. so excited, in fact, that we forgot my bike was on top of the car, a detail not overlooked by the top of the garage that we slammed it into.
"hey everyone, we're here!"
sssssLLLLLAAAAAMmm EERRRKKKKRRRAAAASSSHHH. shit.
(clark, let's just skip the house of mud.)
and so we'd arrived.
we forgot how remote it is out here and didn't think to hit a real grocery store before we got halfway down the barrier island. so we hit a local market yesterday evening. we bought one of everything, i think, and because it was taking so long to ring us up, tayloe struck up a conversation with the cashier, a young teenage girl named crystal.
tayloe: thanks for all your help. what's your name?
crystal: crystal.
t: with a C or K?
c: with a C, see? (makes a c with her hand)
t: and a Y or an A at the end?
c: (looks very confused) um, with an L? there's an L at the end.
t: YL or AL?
c: OH! AL. crystal. like crystal.
t: i see, crystal.
c: crystal blue waters.
t: crystal like crystal blue waters
c: no, that's my name. crystal blue waters.
me: (very loudly from the potato chip aisle nearby) SHUT UP! THAT IS NOT YOUR NAME!!! (then quieter, heeding tayloe's "you're so rude" glare) is that your name?
c: yes maam it is. that's my name. crystal blue waters.
and so now whenever i look at the ocean or see the sound or even run the damn bathwater, i think of crystal blue waters the convenience store clerk.

new favorite picture

where in the world is tayloe emery

i had the very best intentions of updating this blog as we drove across the country, but it just didn't happen. maybe on the way back.
we left santa monica nov. 1 with a slight halloween hangover. seven days later we arrived in greensboro no worse for the wear. we went a little slow through the west, stopping in flagstaff, az, moab, utah and in denver to see friends, but then hightailed it after that through texas, oklahoma, arkansas, tennessee and finally nc. i think i've been to every state in the country except alaska, wisconsin and michigan.
i expected t2 to balk at driving 8 hours a day, but he didn't seem to mind. there were plenty of trucks and trains and snacks to keep him occupied i guess. also, the person who invented mcdonalds playland should get a gold medal. i wish someone would clue hotels in on the idea.
t2 and i are in greensboro this week while tayloe works in dc. we'll be here through thanksgiving, then will take a family vacation to the outer banks and then will be in the northern neck through christmas.
next weekend i'm leaving t2 with my parents and flying to dc to spend the weekend with tayloe. it's a first - just he and i. whatever will we do?