Random Picture Friday - Atta Boy

July 2, 2010

Will usually isn't nice to Haden, but I caught him giving Haden an "Atta Boy" in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

See the rest of our Lincoln Memorial pictures.

Random Picture Friday -- The Cherry Tree at the Washington Monument / Rock City

January 29, 2010

Haden sitting in the big cherry tree at the foot of the Washington Monument at sunset




On our way to Memphis in 2005, we stayed overnight in Chattanooga and stumbled across Rock City. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. You walk a path through the nooks and crannies of a mountain, similar to Chimney Rock.


That's Mel standing above the Lover's Leap sign

Pigeon Forge / Dollywood

October 12, 2009

13 Oct 2009

We spent the weekend on the side of a mountain in Pigeon Forge, TN... didn't see any bears.

2009 VACATION, BRAD, Dollywood, haden, landon, MEL, Pigeon Forge TN, tai, will

Crue Fest at Virginia Beach

August 26, 2009

26 Aug 2009

Crue Fest was great. Godsmack gave Motley Crue a run. The only drawback was that Tommy Lee burned his hand on some sparklers and couldn't play... that and the $12 beers.

Because of the rip tides created by Hurricane Bill, the lifeguards were not letting anyone get into the water past ankle-deep unless you were attached to a surf board. We just laid out and read for a while instead. I wasn't going to swim anyway because the water was cold.

It looked like a scene from Jaws since everyone was just standing there looking at the water.


I'll have more pictures later... gotta go to school.



Crue Fest, Godsmack, Motley Crue, Virginia Beach, 2009 VACATION,

King Neptune

26 Aug 2009

Woo sheesh we've been busy lately. I'll put up more info on our Virginia Beach trip and Crue Fest later. For now, here's a couple of pictures of what has to be the most awesome statue on a beach ever.

Neptune Statue, Virginia Beach, MEL 2009 vacation

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11th Anniversary - Biltmore

August 5, 2009

Woo, it's been a hectic past few days with school and football.

Mel and I went back to the Biltmore Estate for our 11th anniversary this past weekend. They don't allow photograph-taking inside the house for some anal reason, which is unfortunate because the house is amazing.

After we were done with the house and winery, we went to an outdoor Oak Ridge Boys concert on the estate, which we thought didn't allow photography until we were actually in our seats. There was a big "no photograph" sign at the entrance, but when we sat down, they announced we could take pictures. So, I don't have any pictures of the concert.

A word of advice if you visit Biltmore and you're trying to get from the house to parking lot C: no Biltmore employee will tell you where parking lot C is. They will obnoxiously tell you that "you do not want to walk that far". Never mind the fact that I'm an Army veteran and Melissa is in great shape, we apparently can't handle a two-mile walk. They will tell you to go back to the House and catch a shuttle.

We did the wine sampling at the winery and bought a couple of bottles of wine. After the concert, I drove us home instead of staying over night. Got home at 2am Sunday.

I stopped for gas in Hendersonville and, inside the gas station, there was a rack of Biltmore wines for half of what we paid at the Biltmore winery. DOH!


Biltmore Estate, anniversary, MEL, tai, Oak Ridge Boys, concert, photography,

Concealed Carry at Biltmore Estate

July 23, 2009

Mel and I are going to Biltmore for our 11th anniversary, and I checked into whether or not I would be able to carry concealed there. I asked the North Carolina Department of Justice if it's legal for CWP holders to carry at Biltmore since it is private property; They deferred to the Biltmore Police.

So, I emailed Biltmore and received this response from the Director of Police Services:

Thank you for your recent email inquiring about our policy on CWP holders carrying concealed on our property. For safety and security reasons we do not allow weapons of any kind on Biltmore Estate property. If you have any further questions concerning the matter feel free to contact me directly. Thanks again for your interest in Biltmore Estate and we hope you will find time be one of our guests in the future!

All The Best,

Larry Rankine, CPP
Director of Security & Police Services
(828) 225-1418 office
(828) 225-6186 fax

In other words, Biltmore Estate is a victim zone for violent criminals.

Of course, since I'm responsible and obey the law, I'm not going to walk around with a gun at Biltmore. Sadly, though, criminals don't care what the policy is and they know that if they're looking for a place to go crazy, then schools and places like Biltmore are easy targets.

When is the last time you heard of someone shooting up a gun store or a police station?

I've never heard of that. Tim Roth said it best in Pulp Fiction when discussing robbing a restaurant:

Why not? Nobody ever robs restaurants. Liquor stores, gas stations... you get your head blown off sticking up one of them. Restaurants on the other hand, you catch with their pants down. They're not expecting to get robbed.

Most dangerous criminals aren't stupid and this is how they think. They will shy away from places where people might be armed and gravitate towards gun-free victim zones. It's common sense.

Schools have the same nonsense policy as Biltmore "for safety and security reasons". How has that worked out? I can't remember anyone ever shooting up a school. I mean, they don't allow weapons in schools, so schools are safe and secure. Oh wait... oops.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting#United_States

May 21, 1998
Springfield, Ore. Two students killed, 22 others wounded in the cafeteria at Thurston High School by 15-year-old Kip Kinkel.

April 20, 1999
Littleton, Colo. 14 students (including killers) and one teacher killed, 23 others wounded at Columbine High School in the nation's deadliest school shooting.

Dec. 6, 1999
Fort Gibson, Okla. Four students wounded as Seth Trickey, 13, opened fire with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun at Fort Gibson Middle School.

March 5, 2001
Santee, Calif. Two killed and 13 wounded by Charles Andrew Williams, 15, firing from a bathroom at Santana High School.

March 21, 2005
Red Lake, Minn. Jeff Weise, 16, killed grandfather and companion, then arrived at school where he killed a teacher, a security guard, 5 students, and finally himself, leaving a total of 10 dead.

Oct. 3, 2006
Nickel Mines, Pa. 32-year-old Carl Charles Roberts IV entered the one-room West Nickel Mines Amish School and shot 10 schoolgirls, ranging in age from 6 to 13 years old, and then himself. Five of the girls and Roberts died.

April 16, 2007
Blacksburg, Va. A 23-year-old Virginia Tech student, Cho Seung-Hui, killed two in a dorm, then killed 30 more 2 hours later in a classroom building. His suicide brought the death toll to 33, making the shooting rampage the most deadly in U.S. history. Fifteen others were wounded.

Feb. 14, 2008
DeKalb, Illinois Gunman killed five students and then himself, and wounded 17 more when he opened fire on a classroom at Northern Illinois University. The gunman, Stephen P. Kazmierczak, was identified as a former graduate student at the university in 2007.

It's a good thing those schools didn't allow guns.

Do people need to carry guns for protection? I'd say there's no need. But, there's also no need for anyone to drive. Buses work just fine. Imagine if drunk people couldn't drive because NOBODY was allowed to drive. Think about how many lives would be saved. It's not like driving is protected by the United States Constitution (it isn't). But it would be insane to say nobody could drive because a few people can't handle it responsibly. Why should we be forced to depend on bus drivers when most of us are perfectly capable of safely driving ourselves? Why should we be forced to completely rely on police for our protection? Besides, courts have ruled that police have no obligation to protect you; their job is to enforce laws. There is a difference... think about it.

“Law enforcement agencies and personnel have no duty to protect individuals from the criminal acts of others; instead their duty is to preserve the peace and arrest law breakers for the protection of the general public.”
—Lynch v. N.C. Dept. of Justice, 376 S.E. 2nd 247 (N.C. App. 1989

“...a government and its agencies are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular individual citizen...”
—Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. App. 1981)

If anti-gun people were concerned about saving lives, they'd be anti-car, anti-knife, anti-ax, anti-fork, and anti-baseball bat, but they're not. Their problem with guns is based on an unfounded stereotype of trigger-happy, Wild West movie characters. They love to hypocritically point out shootings while conveniently ignoring other causes of death like vehicular manslaughter.

In 2004/2005, I carried an assault rifle with me every place I went for 12 months, 24 hours a day. The other 20,000 soldiers around me at LSA Anaconda did the same thing, and none of us ever accidentally shot anybody.

So, I'll go to Biltmore and enjoy myself thoroughly, while hoping some day business owners and lawmakers will really take a step back and examine some of the policies and laws they enact.





Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC does not allow concealed weapons

Robert Wadlow

June 27, 2009

A model of Robert Wadlow, the tallest person ever in recorded history (8'11")(also a Mason like me), in the Ripley's museum in Myrtle Beach.

What's Going on Here?

Will Skimboarding

Jason and Jonathon Are Not Gonna Take It. Any More

Beach House

White House

May 3, 2009

From the vacation:

Scurrrrp

April 23, 2009

Sunset at the Reflecting Pool

April 19, 2009

Resting in Front of the Capitol

April 18, 2009

Arlington

Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Arlington

John F. Kennedy's Grave at Arlington