After today, Joseph must want to build an Ark
However, the two things Joseph liked the most didn't involve the water. He liked climbing the stairs to the giant water slide and chasing the beach ball around the deck of the pool. All in all, it was a great way to spend an afternoon for $20.
Shortly after arriving home from "Ray's" the first significant thunderstorm of the summer season rolled through Charlotte. For those that haven't lived in the South before, these storms are quite severe bringing torrential rain, hail and tornadoes (see link from the soon-to-be bankrupted Charlotte Observer). Joseph was surprisingly curious about the whole ordeal. After 2-hours of significant rain fall, the storm finally ended at 6:30PM.
Pictures of the Greenway under normal conditions:
(On a side note - the guy to the far left of this picture is crazy. He's our neighbor and something is seriously wrong with him. We suspect OCD. Every year at our street picnic - the picnic to which everyone is asked to bring a side dish to share - he brings half eaten food, like 1/2 of a turkey sandwich or a snack pack of 4 cookies, except 2 have already been eaten. He also picks single blades of grass from his lawn for hours on end - sometimes in the pouring rain after church when he's still in his suit).
Below is a picture of Joseph assessing the damage. You might think that he is a typical 1-year old just watching the other people nearby and the debris float by. However, you would underestimate Joseph. This future actuary was actually calculating in his head the amount of property insurance claims that will be filed as a result of this flood. He reported an approximate damage total of $1.5 million. He reported to his father potential real estate arbitrage opportunities as well. All this before pooping in his diaper...which actually may have occurred during the taking of this picture, given the look on his face.
First, we planned a trip to the indoor water park near our house. Remember when Joseph met Ray, the super cool Mecklenburg County Parks & Recreation mascot a few weeks ago (see post here)? Well, Ray has his very own water park downtown called Ray's Splash Planet.
When we first arrived, Joseph was a little skeptical. Whenever something scares him, he puts his hands over his ears. The minute we walked out from the locker room and he heard the roar of all the water running through the water slides and sprays, he covered his ears. We slowly took him into the water but every time Rich would dip his feet in, he would cry and cling to him. WARNING: Pictures of Rich shirtless follow. He is very worried that some of the ladies might have a rather strong reaction to his half-naked body.
Slowly after watching me splash around in a kiddie pool for 10 minutes like an idiot, he decided I had suffered enough humiliation and would stand and walk in the water by himself. Over time he let us take him down the mini-slide and even sat on my lap in the tube as we rode the lazy river.
However, the two things Joseph liked the most didn't involve the water. He liked climbing the stairs to the giant water slide and chasing the beach ball around the deck of the pool. All in all, it was a great way to spend an afternoon for $20.Shortly after arriving home from "Ray's" the first significant thunderstorm of the summer season rolled through Charlotte. For those that haven't lived in the South before, these storms are quite severe bringing torrential rain, hail and tornadoes (see link from the soon-to-be bankrupted Charlotte Observer). Joseph was surprisingly curious about the whole ordeal. After 2-hours of significant rain fall, the storm finally ended at 6:30PM.
In the midst of Joseph's bedtime routine, we heard helicopters hovering over our house for an extended period of time. This isn't highly unusual as we live near the largest hospital between Atlanta and DC which specializes in trauma, and consequently we hear a lot of helicopters. However, much to our surprise, it was a news helicopter. I though out loud to Crystal that the Greenway 200 yards from our house (which is known for flooding) had most likely flooded.
Pictures of the Greenway under normal conditions:
This is a favorite place of ours to walk with Joseph. It leads to a cute playground and lots of nice streets in our neighborhood. On the weekends there are often festivals, events for us to check out and countless Joseph meltdowns when he can't stay as long as he would like.
As I had some time to kill before we put Joseph to bed, I decided to take a walk with Joseph to survey the damage (Crystal stayed home to prepare dinner as she knows her role as a woman). As a turned the corner to the greenway, I knew immediately that something was wrong. I took a few more steps and turned around immediately to get Crystal. The flood was MUCH worse than anyone could have anticipated and even warranted letting Crystal leave the kitchen. The Hill family spent the next 30-minutes looking in awe at the entirely unplanned new outdoor water park near our house. Suddenly we had become waterfront property owners. 3 blocks of houses were under waste deep water and the entire road was completely washed out for at least 1/4 of a mile. Below are several pictures and a video of the damage (compare to the above).
(On a side note - the guy to the far left of this picture is crazy. He's our neighbor and something is seriously wrong with him. We suspect OCD. Every year at our street picnic - the picnic to which everyone is asked to bring a side dish to share - he brings half eaten food, like 1/2 of a turkey sandwich or a snack pack of 4 cookies, except 2 have already been eaten. He also picks single blades of grass from his lawn for hours on end - sometimes in the pouring rain after church when he's still in his suit).Below is a picture of Joseph assessing the damage. You might think that he is a typical 1-year old just watching the other people nearby and the debris float by. However, you would underestimate Joseph. This future actuary was actually calculating in his head the amount of property insurance claims that will be filed as a result of this flood. He reported an approximate damage total of $1.5 million. He reported to his father potential real estate arbitrage opportunities as well. All this before pooping in his diaper...which actually may have occurred during the taking of this picture, given the look on his face. 
2 comments:
Half of this post had me laughing a lot. OK, both halves did.
Alright, time to get back to watching YouTube clips of Donald Duck...
I didn't get to finish. I got SO excited by that half naked man picture, then I had to print the picture, then go by a frame, then explain to Jonathan who that foxy half naked man was in the 8x10 in our room. Awkward.
I lied. I did read the rest and choked laughing at Joseph's mad insurance calculating skillz. You two should be VERY proud of your kid. Even if he wasn't crawling from the womb (like a certain miracle child we know and love)...he's still pretty advanced.
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