Matt Stegall

Vacation

A week at the beach, new and improved. New and improved because we actually slept. No newborns, no infants. Just worn out kids that feel asleep early and stayed that way until morning when they were ready to do it all over again.

Will showing off his sleeping skills mentioned above.

Spencer went on her first destination bike ride. It was only about five miles, but she thought it was an epic adventure and talked about it the rest of the day. I did too.

The destination was Breakfast at the The Great Southern Cafe where Mickey Mouse pancakes
were the special.

Will was fascinated by the 'copters.

Molly.

Will and his cousin Ellie firin' up some ice cream.

Sadly, the house we have stayed in for several years is for sale. Hopefully the next owners (if it manages to sale) will keep it as a rental and not change the unique feel this house has.

Hollywood.

Spencer would have been happy to just stay in the pool all week.

Best. Restaurant. Ever.

Memorial Day Weekend

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
George S. Patton

Hope everyone takes just a moment during the grilling and parties this weekend to remember all the soldiers and their families that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our great country. It's pretty easy to forget as most of us (myself included) have never really made any sacrifices because our nation is at war. It's just a blurb on the TV and a talking point for politicians hoping to say what voters want to hear.

Below is an email I received last year. Typical email that had been forwarded ten times over and I usually delete, but the some sender had typed "important" in the subject line so I opened it. I love photo journalism and can honestly say it was one of the most moving and thought provoking images I have ever seen no matter how you feel about the Iraq War, our current administration, etc. Sadness, pride, patriotism and lots of other feelings go through me every time I've looked at it. Below the picture is a letter from the Nashville paper several days later.

Dear Tennessean:

The Tennessean's April 5 photograph of young Christian Golczynski accepting the American flag from Marine Lt. Col. Ric Thompson is one of the most moving and emotion provoking images I have ever seen.

I attended funeral services for Christian's father, Staff Sergeant Marcus Golczynski, on April 4, along with my six year-old son, dozens of Marines, and several hundred others who came to pay tribute to this fallen hero.

As one would expect, many of your readers were touched by this incredible picture. On April 9 you published two letters from those who have used this image as a basis to criticize President Bush and the war in Iraq. These writers should know that Staff Sergeant Golczynski had previously served one full tour in Iraq. He wrote to his family, shortly before his death on March 27, that he had "volunteered to do this a second time due to our deep desire to finish the job we started. We fight and sometimes die so our families don't have to." Tragically, Staff Sergeant Golczynski had only two weeks remaining on his second tour.

I look at the photograph of Christian every day. It is displayed prominently in our home. Our hearts ache for Christian and for all those who have lost loved ones in this controversial conflict.

Our nation is at a historical crossroads. Do we call an end to the struggle in Iraq or press on? Staff Sergeant Golczynski eloquently told his son how he felt about giving up. Perhaps there is a lesson for all of us in this man's life and the choices he made. He was undeniably a man of tremendous courage and conviction. America must now choose whether to complete the job. When I look at the face of Christian Golczynski, I am reminded that doing what is right is not always easy and doing what is easy is not always right. Christian's dad knew that too

James Drescher Franklin, TN

Warm weather.

The weather lately has been just about perfect. Cool mornings, warm afternoons and longer days. Life's just better this time of year, more to do and more daylight to do it with.

Taken in a few Greenway rides lately.

Trip to the Splash Pad. Will takes it all in.

The girls hangin' out.

Will telling me how much fun he's having while enjoying lunch.

My wife and I celebrate our ten year anniversary this week. Dated for eight years, married for ten. I've been ridiculously lucky my entire life, but running across Whitney and somehow conning her into dating me has been my crowning jewel of good fortune. Her only real shortcoming would be bad taste in men. Thanks, Whit!

I need to change the subtitle of my blog...

...from semi-daily to semi-weekly. I haven't had a chance to take pictures and for some reason I just can't post without pics. I'll just dig up some random snap shots for filler.

Follow-up from my last post- Spencer is on her own on the bike, starting and stopping by herself with no problem. Crappy video from my point and shoot camera below. Can't wait to take her on a bike ride.

Countdown to vacation is on. Shortly we will be headed down to the Gulf Coast for a week of hanging on the beach, eating great food and I might even enjoy an adult beverage or two. After experimenting last year on a new house, we are headed back to a house we have stayed in several times before, next to Grayton Beach, named Gulf Coast Nights. The house is great, but the pool area is even better. The owner cut just enough trees for the footprint of the house and pool resulting in a really nice, private feel.

Grayton is one of the communities along "Scenic 30-A", a collection of beach towns which are pretty strict about tasteful development and ecological impact. No billboards, tacky junk or amusement parks, but lots of bike paths, dune lakes and my favorite restaurant, The Red Bar.

Recent kid pics.

Princess Molly.

Molly harassing her brother.

Poor Scout being the good patient while Molly plays with her Doctors kit.

Some tacky sunglasses from the lost and found at work. Will thinks they are pretty funny. I'm betting he won't think this picture is quite as funny during his teenage years.

Great moments in parenting

Sunday, Spencer and I went down to a parking lot near the house for some bike practice. What she didn't know is that I brought a wrench to take off the training wheels. After many guarantees for her safety, some coaxing and crying, I finally talked her into giving it a whirl. It didn't take long before dad's hands came off the handlebars and she was on her own!

She pedaled unassisted for about a hundred yards yelling "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!". When she finally came to a stop at the end of the parking lot, she had the most excited look I have ever seen on her face and said "Daddy, I really did it!". The look on her face, the excitement in her voice! The whole moment was pure magic and I'll always remember it.

Kids are awesome. Sharing the joy of their accomplishments and watching them learn makes all the craziness worth it.

We worked it some more and she kept getting better and more confident. Won't be long before I can take her on little rides while I pull her brother and sister. Some pics below before we ditched the training wheels

Greenway ride

The Wednesday night Haw Ridge ride was rained out so we fired up some Greenway action. Nice to have warm weather and daylight. Spring is a really good thing.

Hit a little offroad in the middle of the ride.

Had a great group, fast and fun.

Nice to arrive at the pub with daylight left and sit outside without freezing half to death. Market Square was buzzing folks.

Spotted this awesome machine/long board hauler and thought it would make for a nice picture. Come to find out it belongs to all around good guy and owner of the Heuristic Workshop, Eric Ohlgren aka Donger. This old CB twin is gonna be his steed for The 555. Sounds like a ton of fun. Cross the country on nothing but highways and a $500 motorcycle which may, or may not, leave you stranded at any point. Those types of adventures don't exist much anymore.

Hats off to the participants. I'm jealous.

Kind of reminds me of one of the first serious books I read as a kid. ZEN and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Need to dig that back out and read it again sometime.

Frozen Head

With Sundays forecast calling for mid-60's we decided to have a family picnic at Frozen Head State Park. Frozen Head is a really cool natural area about an hour outside of Knoxville with lots of steeps, rock formations and an abundance of waterfalls.

I drove up a couple hours in advance and rode the one trail in the park that is open to mountain bikes- a 6.6 mile climb from the campground up to a fire tower at 3300 feet overlooking Brushy Mountain State Prison and the big mountains that surround it. This trail will be part of my big point-to-point adventure ride I mentioned in a previous post.

The first three or so miles are very steep, but lots of scenic creeks and views.

About half way up I ran across something not many people will ever get to see- a Bobcat. Growing up I had run across their tracks many times hunting with my dad, but I pretty much assumed I would never actually see one. The bobcat is nocturnal and a live sighting is quite rare.

He was right in front of me when we spooked each other. He ran right up the road a bit and by the time I dug my camera out he was a good ways up the road. I squeezed off a shot, but in the excitement I ended up with a blurry mess. Now I know why no one seems to get a good picture of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.

Even though it was in the fifties down at the campground, the shaded areas near the top still had a good bit of snow from the days before. The puddles were still semi-frozen and it was getting way too cold for the t-shirt and shorts I had on.

I turned around about a half mile from the top. It was cold and I had run out of time. The descent a blast. Not may trails around here give you such a long continuous downhill.

The rest of the afternoon was spent having fun with the kids. As witnessed below, it's about impossible to get three kids to look at a camera at once.

The play ground is right next to the creek. Molly action shot!

The park is full of short hikes with lots of landforms.

Rare animal sighting #2. Another nocturnal predator that you won't spot very often.

Great afternoon spent with the family.

Hopefully my next ride will from my childhood stomping grounds, Whites Creek, looking for a connector to the Black Mountain area. Another unexplored section of my adventure epic.

Gotta get better at this...

...posting thing. Try and allocate 10 minutes a day to post some pics and type a couple words.

Trying to ride more lately, but it's tough so I've resorted to mounting up on the elliptical machine. It torture. Bland exercise at it's finest.

I've started dreaming up this HUGE death march ride that will be a point to point across several counties. Not sure if I'll be able to get it together or not, but it gives me an excuse to take part in one of my favorite activities- pouring over maps. Hope to do a couple scouting rides in the next few weeks.

Molly and Will had a birthday. Two and Three.