2010 in Pictures and Words

If you got a Christmas Card from us, it looked like this.  If not, well, here you go.

So here we go, 2010, in summary

January.

It snowed.  A lot (for Mebane).  Eight inches in one storm was the most snow we'd seen since 2002, and we tried to make the most of it, despite not really having much on the way of snow toys.

February

Zoe turned 10 (not pictured)

March

Dave spent two weeks in England for work (also not pictured)

April

We spent Easter weekend down at the beach on Oak Island.  It should've been a little too cold for the kids to swim, but it wasn't.

May 

Zoe runs in two different 5K races.  Dave's 16-year old pickup dies (temporarily)  Jennifer buys a (relatively) new Honda Pilot.  Tristan mini-tours coastal North Carolina.  Pig Pickin' 5!

Jun

The first Big Saia Family Vacation at Surf City.  Tristan tours the south and midwest

July

The Big Roth Family Vacation to Alaska and Canada

August

Back to School; 6th grade for Tristan, 5th grade for Zoe

September

Dave goes back to England for another week

October

Tristan turns 12. State Fair Time!

November

??

December

Tristan sings with the Triangle Youth Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker", and has a solo with the NCBC at the Duke Christmas concert.  

Zoe runs in the Reindeer Romp, coming in 2nd for girls 10 & under, and 3rd for boys and girls 10 and under.  She also performs with the award-winning Glenwood Show Choir

Jennifer got to be the Maid of Honor for her best friend Tiffany's wedding.

And then the year took an unpleasant turn that I'm not going to get into here.

So here's to 2011!

Happy New Year from The Traveling Roths.

The Great Northern Adventure, Day 9: A River Runs Through It

Awoke to fog and light rain.  Met at the main lobby  at 7:30 for our rafting excursion (exertion, as Zoe would say.)  The four of us plus Kayley and Krista  signed up for the canyon tour, class III-IV rapids.  We had drysuits, hats, and gloves, so we stayed dry, though chilly.

The rafting was great, and so was our guide, Cassie.  Tristan got her to sign a river rock for him, as his his rafting tradition.  I recorded some of it on Jennifer's Flip, using her new waterproof case.  It was an awesome experience.



We got back to the hotel at 11, and met our bus at 11:15 for the short ride to the train depot.  We had a short wait, then boarded the big domed McKinley Explorer trains for the eight-hour ride to Anchorage.  We brought snacks so we could avoid the high lunch and dinner prices in the dining car.

The Great Northern Adventure, Day 8: This National Park Brought to You by Aramark

Saturday, July 10th.

Luggage out at 06:00, bagels & coffee from the hotel gift shop and coffee bar, and meet the bus at 07:00.  A short ride to the Fairbanks train yard where we boarded the McKinley Explorer for the ~4 hour ride to Denali National Park.

It's a double-decker dome train with all the amenities, including a bartender in each car.  I had a Moose Mary and Jennifer had an Alaskan Mosquito Bite.  If there was booze in those $6.75 drinks, it was undetectable.  Each car features someone else who is expecting a tip for their unsolicited commentary during the ride.

The kids found a way to make their own fun.


We arrived at the Denali Train Depot around 12:30,

and took a five-minute bus ride to our hotel The McKinley Chalet Resort, (an Aramark property).  We didn't have a lot of time, but we dropped our gear and walked to the Denali Doghouse,

bringing Kayley and Krista with us.  We enjoyed some really good hot dogs and burgers, though overpriced, of course.

Walked back to the hotel in time to board an old school bus driven by an over-educated naturalist for a several hour drive around the park.

We saw some moose and birds, the historical Savage Cabin, and some somewhat informative talks by a period-costumed ranger (Aramark) and a real live Athabaskan lady.  We got back around six and tipped the Aramark naturalist/school bus driver a Hamilton.  Kind of a pushy broad, but knowledgeable.

We saw a sign for a pizza place with 49 beers on tap, so it was an instant winner for dinner.

All of us except Ella, Shelley, and Tristan went.  We had at least an hour wait, but that was enough time to sample three different beers whose names I can't recall.  We got a baked chevre, three-mushroom pizza, and a grinder.  We fed Dad again.  The food was pretty good.  Shelley showed up near the end (Ella was asleep in the room) and we took home leftovers to Tristan.  Bed around 11, sunset around midnight.  The weather is beautiful, and we slept with the windows open, enjoying the cool, dry breeze through the aspen and spruce.