Meanwhile, in another town . . . .

OK, so the tall boy is away for a month, attending this swingin' program, and he is having the time of his life. Even though -- dig this: NO CELL PHONES ALLOWED! You know what this means, right? NO TEXTING!

The tall boy spends his time studying in a
rigorous academic climate.

The people are very formal -- a tie is often required for social functions. My shades-wearing knucklehead is in the back, still trying to master the Windsor knot.

Love the multicultural aspects of the program . . . .
Aloha Ladies -- who knew?

We stopped by for Family Day on Sunday, on our way back from the beach, and took care of all the necessities:

Junk food supply replenished -- check.

Ensure that he can live Coca-Cola in a Pepsi world (oh, the horror!) -- check! (three twelve-packs ought to be enough for the next two weeks, right??).

See the new Harry Potter movie
(# 1 on his list of things to do) -- check!

Gorge with food at Cheeseburger in Paradise
-- double check.

It was great to see the tall boy, because I do miss him dearly. Does he miss me? Not so much. When I say he's having the time of his life, I'm totally not kidding. He lives with a whole campus of nerdy goofs kids like him, who actually love to learn. He's taking classes like "Crusades and Jihads" and "Creating a Graphic Novel," as well as workshops on random things like swing dancing. Really! Swing dancing!

And he's very polite and all, and graciously hugged his sisters and me, but dang! -- he was so ready for us to leave. I had a foreshadowing taste of how it will feel to send this firstborn urchin off to college -- my nest feels emptier already!

Photo credits:
Virginia Governor's School for the Humanities/Christopher Newport University