Journey in Concert

    When I was a kid I went to see Journey in concert with my big sister, Dena. This was a huge deal for me because I loved the band so much, it was my first big concert, plus I got to experience it with my sister. We stood in line nearly 2 hours to get our tickets because you couldn't get tickets any other way back then. The concert was so good. I thought I was a big shot wearing my concert tee to school the next week. I wish I still had that shirt!
    When it comes to music, Jeremy differs from a lot from the kids his age. He loves guitar, and rock music from the 70's and 80's is his favorite. He started listening to Journey in the car with me and loved their music. When we found out they were having a concert in Charlotte, we jumped at the chance to take Jeremy. His sweet friend Cassidy joined us, and I think she had fun even though she was not as familiar with their songs.
    I always loved Steve Perry's voice but their lead singer, Arnel Pineda, does an excellent job and he is full of energy. The guitarist, Neal Schon, is so very talented - he is amazing to watch. Jeremy had such a blast. It was really cool to watch him enjoying a band that meant so much to me as a teenager. So great to experience that with my kid!

Oak Island Trip Part II

    While we were staying in Oak Island it was a great opportunity to visit Wilmington and Southport. We had not been there since Jeremy was a year old.  We took the ferry over to Fort Fisher and drove up to Wilmington. Fort Fisher has a cool aquarium, but since Jeremy and I had been there on his class trip a few years ago, we didn't visit it this time. I'm a huge fan of aquariums though, so it was hard not to!
    Wilmington has a pretty historic downtown right on the Cape Fear River. We strolled around and did a little bit of shopping. Wilmington is pretty cool because it is a college town with all the conveniences of a city (with heavy traffic), plus it's on a river and minutes from the beach.
    I have to say though, that if I had to pick a place to live it would be Southport. We spent a little bit of time in Southport one evening and went back the next day to walk around. It has grown a lot over the years, but a lot has stayed the same too. I love to drive around and look at the beautiful old houses. It has been the location of movies like Safe Haven, because it is such a quaint town. I don't know if I will ever get to experience living in a small town on the coast - - but at least I can visit!
 

There is a really cool area of live oaks in Fort Fisher.

You can see some of the Battleship NC behind Jeremy.

Love my guys!

The seagull tucked his foot so far under, it looked like he only had one foot.

Southport waterfront