We spent the morning and early afternoon in Bristol today. It’s the first time we’ve been there with both kids. One of the highlights of the day for me was to take them to my old elementary school. I showed them the spaceship that I and my friends used to fight so many battles, and L took the helm while the Boy tried his hand at attacking.

Afterward, a little walk downtown. The Girl was fascinated with the idea of State Street — one foot in Virginia, the other in Tennessee. I was just happy to find Uncle Sam’s Loan Office (i.e., pawn shop) was still open. I must have gone in there 100 times as a kid to look at their guitars, hoping beyond hope that they’d have some mispriced gem that I could snatch up.