On our way. David made it almost all the way through Ohio until he admitted defeat and fell asleep, though not for long. At least while he was awake, he was so happy, and we got a running commentary of every. single. truck. we passed on the road

Friday morning after one of us (hint: not Mommy or David) got to rest a bit at Karen and Alan’s, we went downtown in Raleigh to the Museum of Natural Sciences. They have dinosaurs, and here is our way too cool son standing in the footprint of Acrocanthasaurus, the largest carnivore in the southeastern US

Pterodactyls flew overhead

David’s hand, Acro’s hand

Getting a closer look at some turtles and southern brown fish

The highlight of the first leg of the trip: dinner at Old Tyme Barbecue (one of Emily’s haunts in college) with old friends and hush puppies. This was David’s first encounter with hush puppies. It was a success

Erin, Rick, Sandra, and Annette smile over their sweet tea. Not pictured: Karen and Alan, conveniently avoiding my camera every time it came out

Alan entertains David a bit while Emily socializes

The very nice guy at Old Tyme wowed the easily wow-able crowd with a magic trick and not only gave David a quarter (which was promptly spent on M&Ms) but made a salt shaker reappear from under the table as well. Simply spellbinding

Lucky. After an awesome southern breakfast at the Farmer’s Market restaurant and a very long and sweaty trip through the market to buy the week’s produce, David takes a nap. Finally. Too bad Mommy couldn’t join him (Mommy was hungover for the first time in years, something that makes her both proud and regretful)