Durham Thanksgiving

It had been about a year and half since we last were in Durham. A trip back "home" to visit old friends was being talked about for months, and we finally made good on this plan.

For the U.S. Thanksgiving long weekend we took to the road to Tobacco Road. It was so good to be back in Durham (NC). With so many memories in this city - our first home, wedding, Ethan's birth, Kelly's residency at Duke (to name a few) - being back felt more like home than our current place of residence.

We left on Wednesday night (11/26) and split the road trip in two, staying overnight in Asheville, NC before continuing the next morning to Durham. The entire trip takes about 6 1/2 - 7 hours, which we felt would be too much for Ethan if driven continously.

Jessica offered her place for us to stay, even though she would be out of town visiting her family for Turkey Day in Baton Rouge, LA. Jessica would come back Friday evening and we spent all of Saturday together, which was great fun.

The average American consumes about 4,030 calories on Thanksgiving Day. I certainly managed that, if not the first evening, most definitely after the second, as we were treated to two Thanksgiving dinners! On Thursday we were hosted by the Kugler family (Eileen, Gary, and sons Jason and Jeff). Dinner was traditional - turkey, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy. On Friday, we were at the Mostaghimis residence for a Persian-American fusion dinner combining favorites such as khoresh-e-bademjan (persian eggplant stew dish) and oven-roasted turkey, and tadik (crispy persian rice) with sweet potatoes. Yuuuuuuuuuum! For the record I had seconds both evenings. Heaven! Oh did I mention there was shohlezard (persian yellow rice pudding)... darn, I want some right now.

Saturday with Jessica included breakfast at home (bacon and egg McJessica muffins, pancakes, Earl Grey, left-over shohlezard). We then went to the science museum, butterfly conservatory and insectarium where Ethan had a lot of fun roaming around and exploring. We were not alone, as it seemed every family in the area thought it was a good Saturday-after-Thanksgiving thing to do to take the kids to the science museum. We had to park across the street it was so packed.

Saturday evening we dined at Merlion. We ate Char Kway Teoh (Singaporean noodle dish), ginger beef, a tofu dish and honey glazed prawns. After Ethan was put to bed, Kelly, Jessica and I ended up talking until 2am, bringing back fond memories of our time at Duke/Durham.

But sadly our trip had to come to an end eventually. On Sunday, again Jessica made us some egg and bacon breakfast muffins. Kelly, Ethan and I went to the Baha'i Center while Jessica went to her church for Sunday service. The program at the Baha'i Center in Durham was on the topic of marriage and chastity. The discussions were lively, and the selected readings very thought provoking -- I know several friends of mine that would benefit from these Baha'i writings.

Some usual suspects were at the Center - Catherine Davis, Dilsey, Angelica, Parvaneh, Anyema and Sherlock, Shegund, Ayla, Lee Moavenzadeh, Daria, etc.. It was nice to see everyone, and so comforting to be the in the company of our former community members. Several other friends we knew ahead of time would be away this weekend which was a pity - including (but not limited to) Amani, Elyse, Nahal and others.

Lunch was had back at Jessica's (left-over Merlion food, left-over Thanksgiving meals Persian-Chinese-American fusion, and STILL left-over shohlezard :-D). Our truck fully loaded (with recent purchases for the baby's arrival) and Ethan showing signs of napping, we took to the long road back home, under pouring conditions, making our way, slowly, back to Blue Ridge.

10 pm Sunday evening, and a truck full of things to unload, we were "home" at last. A very worthwhile trip.

Moon Sand

This past weekend our family stayed in Atlanta. Kelly attended a cardiology CME on Saturday from 7am-2pm, and thereafter we spent time doing shopping and activities for Ethan.

While Kelly was at the CME course, Ethan and I went back to our hotel which was next door to a Waffle House. Naturally we ate breakfast at the Waffle. It was my first experience having breakfast at one, and I have to say their waffles are pretty good (then again I was totally hungry).

Not knowing that I would smell like I had been sitting in a Waffle House for breakfast for nearly an hour, Ethan and I decided to go to the GA aquarium (the world's largest - I always have to say that it seems) where we have a family pass for one year. The time we bought these passes and took to seeing the aquarium for the first time Ethan was out asleep, only to awake in our final minutes there. This time, he was fully engaged and active, running around, curious, pointing at things, walking up to strangers and nearly begging for what they may be eating, the usual toddler mentality (that everything is entitled to them :-D).

Actually, Ethan was more interested in people than fishes. And afterwards, we walked around Centennial Olympic Park (adjacent to the aquarium, created in 1996 for the Atlanta Olympic games). Simple park, had some play area for children, but we were out so early and it was ever so slightly drizzling that the playground was all misty and wet.

So we went back to our hotel room. Ate lunch. Napped a bit. At 2:30pm we picked up mama and did the same things over again - aquarium and olympic park. We went to Babies R Us for some much needed shopping of 18 month old onesies. Some essentials you just can't have enough of, or, which is likely more accurate, he is going through a lot more clothes as a toddler in preschool when his clothes otherwise gets wet or dirty or both during water play, painting, clay or play doh work or outdoor play. Then for dinner we went to Persepolis (Persian Cuisine) and took our food to go since by that time it was past Noomsie's bedtime. Dinner was Joojeh Kabob (cornish hens) and kashk-e-bademjoon with bread. Yum! No seriously. Yum-Yum!!!

On Sunday we went to the Children's Museum and bought a family pass for one year there too. Inside are all these cool activities for children (infants to toddlers to older kids) - many of which Ethan does at his preschool. These include the usual painting station, blocks, shapes, a water play area, and more. The one station that I found really neat, was a "sand box" place filled with this stuff called "Moon Sand" (hence the title of this entry). This stuff is sort of like sand, but more moldable like play-doh. I only wish I took some home, since you could buy it on your way out in buckets of 5 or 10lbs. Perhaps I'll investigate online and buy it that way. Ethan just loved squishing the material with his hands, or with one of the many instruments to shape, scoop, or dump the material :-P It was interesting too, that Kelly was the only woman at this station. It was mainly the dads and their sons :-D Way cool. I think the dads were getting into it more than their kids.

Then we did a bit more shopping. I bought a Calvin Klein suit, and Kelly bought some clothes. Oh yea, and Kelly's boots were totally falling apart so we had to buy a new pair of shoes for her before we went anywhere.

TONS of pictures to come soon. And it seems the blogging may just be a once weekly thing from now on. Not enough time in the day/week.

Sharks! Whales! (And An Emergency Hospital Visit?) -- Oh My!

What a trip. Total exhaustion. It all started with Ethan wheezing early Friday morning. His breathing was so laborious that Kelly was actually worried and wanted to take him in to Fannin's (Regional Hospital) Emergency. We were thinking of cancelling our trip altogether. We had booked into the Glenn Hotel and already had tickets for the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke museum. But Noomsie was sick.

So we took our time getting ready, to see if Ethan's condition would improve and whether or not he could take a 2 hour drive to the big city. And actually, if he could, then we would rather take him to Scottish Rite, a children's hospital in Atlanta. And so Kelly administered a medication using a nebuliser (a piece of equipment that aerosolizes a liquid medication to be breathed in). This usually helps Noomz with his breathing, and it did the trick, though to last for the duration of the car ride we were not sure.

But with Ethan seeming his usual self and breathing with less "effort" we decided ok we will take to the road.

Just minutes into our trip Ethan fell asleep, but his breathing had returned to wheezing (Kelly had her stethoscope on hand and was checking Noomsie periodically). So our first destination was going to be the ER at Scottish Rite. There, Noomz got a double dose of some steroid and other breathing treatment (again through a nebulizer) and had a chest X-ray taken. He was also given Motrin for his fever which was at 102.2F. His X-ray was clear and so no worries of pneumonia or other. We arrived at the ER around 11:30am and we were not discharged until nearly 4pm. So a good start to our trip (spending hours in a hospital)! But all for Ethan as he is our precious.

His usually smiley self, I couldn't help but take some pictures of him in his baby hospital "gown". I am just glad he is doing better, though still sick, but not seriously, and quite manageable for now. We know he will suffer from asthma (if not these string of wheezing episodes are already alluding to) since both mom and dad have had asthma as kids and both grandfathers currently have this respiratory ailment. But we hare hopeful that Ethan will outgrow it somewhat.

Not taking any chances, we bought an air purifier and a new humidifier for his room.

Once we were discharged from the ER and on our way, we decided to check into our hotel room. The Glenn Hotel is smack in downtown ATL and very close to our other destinations for this trip -- namely the "largest aquarium in the world" (the Georgia Aquarium) and the museum that is all about "happiness", the Coca-Cola museum (or the World of Coke museum).

First we went to the G.A. It was huge, but to be honest, the Singapore aquarium seemed more "grand". For some reason, the G.A. did not really live up to my expectations, though some tanks were downright enormous -- have to be in order to hold whales I suppose.

Ethan was out asleep the entire time we were there, which was unfortunate. He woke up when Kelly and I were nearly through the gift shop on our way out. So we decided to turn back and have Ethan go through one (of the many) section to at least see a few aquatic animals.

After the aquarium we rushed to meet up with my aunt Tita Flong and her friend, Chari, for lunch at the Hong Kong Harbour restaurant. A typical "hole-in-the-wall" type of restaurant, where the quality of food is far more invested than the surrounding decor, we enjoyed dim sum while Ethan made sure to make more work for the restaurant staff by ripping any piece of paper or napkin he could get his hands on.

My camera had run out of batteries but luckily, through eating lunch and waiting some, the battery "recharged" enough somehow to take one more picture before dying again. We new the picture was taken since the flash went off, but we could not even turn the camera on again to check to make sure.

So no batteries and no camera and still had the Coke museum to go to, and Ethan was awake. All in accordance with this trip I suppose -- nothing going as planned that is. And already I have plenty of pictures of fishes and sharks and jelly fish from our Singapore trip of '05. Why did I not save my battery!!! Aahhhh.. so frustrating. So anyways, again waiting to recharge a batter, I managed to capture the large coke bottle on the top of the museum. Check My Picasa.

But totally useless trip in terms of memorable pictures, though it was so nice to see Tita Flong and Chari and to spend time with them, and for them to see Ethan for the first time too! They both agreed Ethan looks more like Kelly.

And so I got progressively ill as the trip went on. Very chilly and damp, and not a great time to be sick and around a lot of people. But heck, trips we seldom take so darn it, we were going somewhere.

We did do shopping as planned, and bought a Zanzibar (safari-theme) small table and two chairs for Ethan -- toddler furniture -- and a toy chest also the Zanzibar theme. We bought tofu for Ah Ma and some other gifts for the boys when we go to Singapore. (which is in 6 days!)

I bought Kelly some Givenchy earings and Dior (Miss Cherie) perfume and gift set from Macy's -- belated anniversary present. And so shopping-wise this trip was as planned. But the crowds and traffic were almost more than we could handle given our congested heads and stuffy noses.

Back at home, we've been unpacking, getting rid of garbage and packaging and now cleaning and going to pack. Let's hope we can kick all this sickness before our flight!

Country Road (Trip)

We're finally getting out of the house, and out of town!

With the exception of one trip to Atlanta and another to see the Teskes (who live in Jasper) we've really only been in Blue Ridge this whole time and worse, stuck at home for most of the days. Needless to say, we are very much looking forward to our short "road trip" to the home of country music -- Nashville, Tennessee.

This trip is not all pleasure though, and in fact, is mainly for work purposes. Kelly has some seminars to attend and we are being accommodated at the Embassy Suites hotel. We are trying to meet up with some good old friends, Carmel and Vipul, and are anxious to finally meet 2 week old, Leyli Juliet Colgrove Lakhani. Of course, older brother Kavi, who will be two years old the week after our trip (August 23rd) is not forgotten, and we eagerly await seeing how much he has grown.

But not all is for certain, and with Ethan trying to overcome a cold he picked up nearly one week ago now (his first cold), we are playing it cautiously and may have to postpone seeing baby Leyli and family until another time. But we'll see. Ethan's first birthday is coming up also in September, and in the case we are unable to meet up with our friends, we may just all get together sooner rather than later anyways. So it's all good.

We look forward to seeing the sights in Nashville -- the zoo, the Opry, Centenial Park and the Parthenon (?) to name a few -- before heading back home.

And no sooner than a couple weeks later we will be back on the road to TN, this time to attend the TN Baha'i Summer School near Chattanooga (actually in Monteagle, TN).

Grandfather Mountain, NC

[photo: rain storm approaching in the distance, blue ridge mountain range]

Friday night and all day Saturday we went to Grandfather Mountain with Jessica, her sister Rebecca, and her best friend, Shashi. What a fun hiking/outdoorsy trip! We bought this cool back pack carrier for Ethan for which we got plenty of compliments everywhere we hiked. Long drive back home though, and still we've not caught up on sleep... and so this entry will be short. Check out pictures by clicking link above.

Mountain Country

Road Trip, House Hunters

3 days. 2 Nights. 972.7 miles. 3 states.

Amani and I set off to do a quick road trip to the Georgia mountains. Blue Ridge, Georgia, to be precise. We left Durham just after 3pm on Sunday 12/10. Being one for convenience and comfort, I packed a lot even for just a short trip. After all, I figured we were not flying, and so I can pack my car full of comfort things I normally would not take with me on a trip (pillow, comforter, even a portable mattress to sleep on). Amani on the other hand is a very seasoned road traveller, and has put a many miles on his Camry driving up and down the eastern coast of the U.S. many times. He packed a bag the size of my toiletries bag. His own camera case was bigger. OK, so I am stretching the truth some, but he packed VERY lightly. :-D

We drove through North Carolina, South Carolina and then Georgia. We stayed with a Baha'i friend, Sheidu, who lives in Marietta, Georgia (a suburb of greater Atlanta). Sheidu was a wonderful host, very jovial and a bright soul. We had a lot of great laughs and time spent together. But this trip was a rush, and was mainly for one purpose - house hunting.



From Marietta, we drove up the scenic Zeller Mountain Parkway Highway to the Blue Ridge mountains, leaving the sprawling city of Atlanta behind. In fact, what made our trip less taxing was the fact that we were going opposite the traffic for most of the time. As is well known, Atlanta has the worst traffic in the country (even worse than L.A.), and the morning commute did not disappoint. For miles, all we could see on the other side of the highway were headlights after headlights, all 6 or 7 lanes (!) reduced to a humble 35-40 miles per hour (if that). I couldn't help but think exactly where all these vehicles would end up in the city. Sure, not all will stay in the city itself, perhaps just passing through, but the shear volume of traffic and congestion was just astounding.

And only after just a few minutes on the opposite direction travelling north, the bustle of the city behind us, and only the blue mountains and scenic highway drives ahead of us, Amani and I were on our way to Blue Ridge.

We met up with a realtor, Carrie, who took us to many homes in the area. We eventually narrowed a location down - Buckhorn Estates - which was under 20 minutes to Riverstone and 24 minutes to Fannin Regional Hospital. There were a couple of homes in this golf course community that I was really interested in, but still nearly 7 months premature, moving forward on an offer would be too soon. In a couple of months, however, we will likely entertain a few sellers with offers.

More pictures to come, as soon as I download them from Amani's camera.