August 2003

Pictures



Dear Friends,



This Miner Update is dedicated to the theme of transportation. In May,
Lisa finally decided that she had had enough of pushing a lawn mower
over 13,000 square feet of turf so we bought her a riding mower. It
was the smallest one that The Home Depot sells, but it's very
maneuverable. She has had a good time mowing the lawn ever since. The
lawn mower was actually the second convertible that we bought this
year. The first was ordered in January by Lisa (while Steve was in
California), and finally arrived in May just in time for her birthday.
(That's a new twist on a "surprise" birthday present where the giver
doesn't know about it.) It's a red Toyota MR2 Spyder, nearly as small
as the lawn mower. Lisa aptly describes it as her "mid-life crisis
toy".



We planned to take the Spyder on our trip to the Outer Banks in July.
However, the weather was uncertain so we took the SUV instead. That
turned out to be the right decision as it poured with record rain (3-5
inches per hour) while we were driving up the coast. Fortunately, the
rain eased and we enjoyed a couple of days exploring the area,
including Kitty Hawk where the Wright Brothers' museum and memorial is
located. In December of this year, America will celebrate the
centennial of their first flight. We also climbed to the top of the
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse -- 268 steps. This is the lighthouse that was
recently moved inland to avoid being destroyed by the ocean. They made
TV program about how this was accomplished. Consult your local PBS
listings!



Near the north end of the Outer Banks, we stayed at a wonderful hotel
called The Sanderling. It is right on the ocean, and guests are
treated like royalty (almost). We particularly enjoyed the
complimentary bottle of wine, the afternoon tea cookies, and the
oversized hot tub.



Back home, the dogs were proud sponsors of the Azalea Fifth hole for
the second annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation golf
tournament at Brunswick Plantation.



Steve will be in California for two weeks starting on Monday, and Lisa
will be visiting for an all-too-brief weekend, arriving Thursday night.
It will be her first trip back to California since we moved over two
years ago. We've been invited by Arnold to work on his campaign for
Governor so we'll be very busy! Regarding Steve's October trip, which
happens to coincide with the recall election, all he can say is "I'll
be back".



See you soon!



Steve and Lisa