Oodomari Beach and my best-laid plans

Once there was a time when we might have gotten in the car to just go exploring, see where we end up. The journey was just as much fun as the destination, and the destination didn't matter as long as we were together. If we got lost it was an adventure! We could be spontaneous and know that whatever happened, we'd be laughing about it later.

Those days are long gone.

Now I do exhaustive research, reading reviews and comparing the pros and cons of every type of place we might want to go. With four kids and very limited time to spend together due to Tim's demanding work and travel schedule here in Okinawa, I plan our outings with surgical precision. We must know where to go, how long we need to get there, what are we going to eat, how long are we going to stay, and on and on and on. We are only here until the end of March and Tim spends most of his time working. I feel so much pressure to make our Saturdays count.

I've been wanting to go to Oodomari Beach for at least three weeks now, but either weather or Tim's schedule prevented us. I selected it for its beauty, the fact that it's off the beaten path (where we live in central Okinawa is so built-up and populated), for being a good beginner place to snorkel for the kids, and seemingly toddler-friendly too. (Some snorkel spots have way too many slippery rocks and coral.) When the forecast showed sunny and 80s for Saturday (it's starting to cool off -- hooray for fall) I was so excited. And I know Tim must really love me because he had just gotten back from a work trip at 9 the night before after the 36-hour trip back from Yuma, AZ; and didn't complain about getting his jet-lagged butt up and out early on Saturday, and driving an hour to this beach.

The drive to Ikei Island went exactly as I expected. 35 kilometers that took almost an hour as we crossed the island west to east and then passed through a couple of outer islands on the way to Ikei. We saw spectacular views off the bridges that connected them. Once on Ikei Island we followed a narrow, meandering country road, and then Google Maps informed us we'd reached our destination. To our left was a driveway that went down a hill, signs all in Japanese, and some tubes and life jackets hanging up. We guessed that was it and drove in. A little older lady appeared and collected 500 yen for parking. Then she pointed us in the direction of a trail that led down to the beach. I had been expecting to be charged 500Y per adult and 300Y per kid over 3 for admission, so this was a nice surprise. I should have known better.

One of the two shisas guarding the bridge to Ikei Island; almost everything here is guarded by two shisas. One has its mouth open to scare evil spirits away, and one has a closed mouth to keep good spirits in.

A man who spoke no English except for a few words, directed us down the trail and to the left, toward a table with a canopy. But as I looked closer I saw that the table cost 2000Y to rent and I declined because we had our little beach tent and we're used to picnics in the sand. We went back and forth a few times about where we should set up, the language barrier being an issue, but at last we began to get situated and put on our sunblock. I don't know why the man was so concerned about where we were to set up -- there wasn't another soul in sight. But then he left us and went back to raking the sand. Tim mentioned later that he might have been trying to get us to set up further back under the trees where we would have more shade. He saw how pale we all were and was just trying to be helpful.

Timmy was the first in the water with his brand new snorkel set purchased for this day, but the man approached us and gestured to indicate that was not allowed. What followed was a painfully long conversation between him and Tim in which neither of them could understand the other, and Tim kept repeating everything he thought the man was saying. It was the same thing every time. After about the 10th go round I laughed at Tim and he became indignant saying, "I'm just making sure I understand! Do you understand?" I said I did. Then I strode toward the water and called Timmy out. "Timmy! You can't snorkel in that water without a life jacket but if you go to the other side of that rope you can." He was like, "OK!" and he shot off. But that was a no-go, the man said. At length we were made to understand that the other side of the rope was owned by someone else and that would cost a separate admission charge of 500Y per adult and 300Y per kid over 3. A-ha. Life jackets could be rented at the beach on our side of the rope for 500Y apiece, which I did not want to pay.

Tim and I discussed it and I told the kids that we'd stay where we were and they could just use the goggles like they were used to doing. These snorkel goggles were way nicer than the goggles they were used to anyway. The girls pouted in the tent for a minute or two, but it wasn't long before everyone was in the water holding their breath and eyeballing everything beneath the surface. There wasn't too much to see as it turned out, and the water was not as crystal clear as the reviews had led me to expect. The water was so salty nobody could sink if they tried, there's no telling why the life jacket was necessary, but those were the rules and I don't make the rules. Tim thinks the life jackets were mandated because of the 10 foot drop-off that was maybe just 20 feet from the shore.

Once we were alone I had kind of a meltdown. I said to Tim tearfully, "This is not what I planned. Do you know how many reviews and recommendations I read? Do you know how many beaches I compared? I did everything I could to make sure this was the perfect day!"

Tim said, "Look around. It's beautiful here. Everybody's happy. This is the perfect day." I had to admit he was right. But I feel like the meltdown was something I needed to get out of my system, and once that was done I could relax and just go with it. An unexpected gift was when the kids starting bringing me pieces of sea glass and I began a beautiful little collection that is sitting on my dresser right now. That sea glass makes me smile every time I see it. The man brought us a couple of inner tubes to use, and I enjoyed floating around on one of them for awhile. Nobody capsized me but I know they all thought about it. The kids made temporary pets of the many tiny hermit crabs they found. All was right in the world.

Later on we shared this story with a friend down the street, and how none of it was what I had expected or planned for. "That's what Okinawa is," she mused. "You make plans.." "And they go out the window?" I offered. Well, that and things change. Someone might tell you about something and then it's different from the last time they were there, that kind of thing.

So our experience there might have been unique to us. We might decide to come back expecting to find lots of sea glass and hermit crabs, and it will be all different.

One time while we were all looking down at the sand, the girls mistook one of my toes for a really unusual piece of sea glass. Pedicures here are the best.

As the day went on, we noticed several people, mostly Okinawans, being corrected for going to the wrong side of the rope. If you paid admission on one side of the rope you were not allowed to even walk along the sand on the other. It was definitely mollifying for me to know that even locals were having trouble understanding where they were allowed to go. Also, after observing for awhile, Tim and I had to wonder if there would have been any advantage to having paid admission at the neighboring beach -- besides being able to snorkel without a life vest. As far as we could tell there was no difference between the beach on one side of the rope and on the other. Our kids would have only spent so much time snorkeling, and the rest of the time doing what they were doing now -- looking for creatures and sea glass, and just playing in the water. 

There are plenty of beaches where we can snorkel with or without a life jacket, but this beach and this day will always be a special memory to me. It was such a balm for my soul after a long and exhausting week, just getting to sit and soak in the beauty of the landscape and watch our joyful kids at play. I am so glad we went. 

It's doubtful that I'll be changing my planning and researching ways. I do have to be pretty intentional about how we're going to spend our time lest we let it all get away from us while we putz around inside the confines of Camp Lester and our concrete house. But I may need to relax just a little bit and learn to expect that it's not all going to go my way. It might even end up being better.

The Helicopter Parent's Paradise

I had really, really been looking forward to a beach trip on Saturday all week long.  It had been too many weeks since the last one, and I had it written on the whiteboard too, which is the same thing as etched in stone as far as we're all concerned.  But on Friday night when it started looking like the weather wasn't going to cooperate, we needed to come up with a plan b.  After a quick Google search I decided the Children's Museum in Savannah was just the thing for a rainy day.  I hoped it wouldn't be too crowded.  We hadn't been to Savannah before, and depending on how the day went, I thought maybe we could do some exploring elsewhere too.

It was a nice, scenic hour-long drive with lots of lovely marsh views, tree-lined highways and one big tall bridge over a river where the kids went "Wheeeee!" and then we were there.  The Children's Museum and the Georgia State Railroad Museum share the same space, so when we parked all we saw were trains and no sign of a children's museum.  Entry to either or both museums is through the gift shop, of course, so that's where we went to buy our tickets and find out where we were going.

Tim and I had a quick discussion as we stood in line about which tickets we ought to buy.  He was in favor of the Railroad Museum because he thought the kids would find it more interesting.  I said no way, they'd be bored out of their minds after 10 minutes of a guided tour of trains, and they'd be complaining about the heat.  He said, "Okay.."

After paying admission we were instructed to walk outside and go toward a brick building with blue beams and we'd find our way from there.  We saw the blue beams right away and headed toward them.  The building is kind of hard to describe. It obviously used to be part of a train station in some way.  It was a tall brick structure with pretty architecture and no roof.  Way down in what was maybe a basement at one point we caught glimpses of plants and umbrellas and colorful things that could maybe be for kids.  Tim said to me, "I hope we didn't just pay $40 for them to play in a park."  He suggested that maybe I could have done a little more research about this particular museum.  I walked toward the staircase which was guarded by two cheerful teenage girls who told me that yes, that open area below was the entire children's museum.  [I just looked at the website again, and I see it does say in fine print right there on the main page that it is an outdoor venue.  And the pictures have grass in them.  Oops.  Next time I won't do my research on my iPhone; I'm not too good at seeing everything on that tiny screen.]  If it rained like the weather report called for, we were all in trouble.

Initially we were very unimpressed, but after a few minutes I decided that I like the open air children's museum a lot better than the other museums I've been to in Richmond, VA, Cincinnati and Providence, RI.  That exhausted, claustrophobic feeling I got in those other places, I did not get here.  Once we'd descended down inside the bricks it got a little cooler, kind of like being in a basement.  Everything was pretty to look at in the natural light.  At one end was a garden and at another end was a maze with little activities along the way.  Along the sides of the building under the arches were little stations for building with blocks, reading books, dressing up, and who knows what else.  They climbed walls, they went down slides, they played under a mister when it got hotter, and they found the most adorable little frogs in the garden.

The one thing that annoyed Tim and me was that it was a helicopter parenting paradise.  The kids had plenty to do to engage their imaginations and keep themselves busy without Mom or Dad breathing down their necks.  And not only that, we quickly found out that the hovering was being enforced by the staff.  After Tim took Timmy to the bathroom, which was in an adjacent building, he saw that the girls at the top of the stairs were stopping kids on their way down and making sure they waited for their adults.  We could understand stopping a kid who's on their way out of the gate to the parking lot, but on the way down into a safe, enclosed space where it's clear that every inch has been approved by OSHA?  Come on, the adults should be allowed to drink coffee from the balcony and relax if they feel like it.  Now that I think of it, all children's museums are helicopter parenting paradises by design.  He should be grateful he got to witness it in open spaces with fresh air instead of the confined indoor spaces of other museums.

Tim and I spent much of our time parked near the garden (quietly) making fun of the hovering parents, but I also had to chuckle at the irony that I was hovering worse than anyone while I took pictures of our kids.

Building a "tower"

Drawing on a chalkboard inside the maze

They stopped en route to the bathroom so Timmy could find his sisters in the maze.

Wish my camera had the capability to focus on that itty-bitty frog.

"The boy took my (hard) hat," he told us.

After we'd been there about an hour-and-a-half it started to rain a little and  I took Timmy to use the potty one more time.  To my surprise, in the building that had the bathroom, there was also a big model train set.  I don't know how Tim ever pried him away from it the first time.  He was so excited, running from one side of it to another, calling out every move the trains made.  "Now it's coming out of the tunnel!"  "Now it's going under the bridge!"  And he wanted to talk about all the other details, the houses, the cars, fire trucks, etc.  

After that Tim and the girls found us, and after a few more minutes of train-watching we went outside to enjoy the picnic lunch that Tim had packed the day before for the beach.  It had stopped raining and it was pretty comfortable under the trees.  I slapped at ants on my feet and said, "Now I remember why I don't do picnics."  Then we had the kids pose for one last picture before we headed home in time for naps at 1:30.  We decided against any more exploring in the city because we were all too tired.  We'll have to plan something else to do in Savannah next time.  I don't know if we'll be back to the Children's Museum anytime soon because I know Tim didn't think it was worthwhile, but I think it was a fun way to spend half of a not-too-rainy Saturday.

Grandma and Grandpa visit

Tim's parents came to visit last Sunday and stayed with us until yesterday afternoon, with a mini-trip to Myrtle Beach in the middle to see friends.  It was such a welcome change to our routine to have them here.  It always is, but particularly last Sunday.  It had been a tough weekend, with not a lot of sleep for me to begin with, and a lot of things to do.  Then Delaney came out of her room on Saturday night to tell us her ear hurt.  And no matter what we did, she kept coming out.  Ibuprofen didn't help.  A warm compress didn't help.  I ended up just getting back out of bed at midnight and staying up with her in the living room to try to get her comfortable enough so that we could both get some sleep.  But that was not happening, and she was in so much discomfort she couldn't even sit still.  So I decided there was no sense in waiting until morning for a visit to the ER, and I took her there around 3 a.m.  It turned out she had an ear infection and within a couple hours we were back home with a prescription for Amoxicillin, and we were alternating doses of Tylenol and Motrin every few hours to manage the pain and fever.  So it was extra nice have their visit to look forward to after all of that.

Delaney was back to being herself by Monday night, but I kept her home from school on Tuesday and Wednesday because she still had a fever.  That was the first ever ear infection for us.  

Here are some pictures from the week.  Some were taken by me and some were taken by Tim Sr.  We didn't do anything too exciting, and Tim didn't take off work, so it was just a laid-back fall visit with some trips to parks and downtown, a lot of which happened without me, as I was home enjoying some time to myself when they took the kids out.  

Out to dinner on Tim's birthday.  We're studying the menu hard -- tough decisions to be made.

This is what Tim's parents got him for his birthday.

Kidding!  But a new lunchbox, book, bag of M&Ms, and homemade cards from the kids are nice to get too.

I can hold your hand OR I can hold the groceries, Grandma.

Grandma found her dream car, eyelashes and all.  Too bad she just bought a new Subaru.

After Tim came home from work on Friday we went downtown for the kids' fun run and packet pickup for our race the next morning.  It seemed to me the kids' run was better organized this year, and there was no chaotic herding of kids from one place to another.  The little runners were all so cute.  The grownups were funny too, practically tripping over each other to get a picture of their kid.  I know I'm lucky I didn't run into a tree or a sign or another parent. 

Delaney and I had to squish together in the third row with Annie.  

Walking to the convention center

High fives for the big panther

Delaney and a couple pals waiting for the pre-race warm-up to start

Just like last year, Delaney was in the 5 - 6 age group.  But they were a LOT faster this year.  The others took off right away, leaving her far behind.  Little Delaney brought up the rear with the law enforcement trainees jogging along behind.  I said to Tim at one point, "Look, there's one kid behind her.  She's not last!"  Tim said, "That kid's not even in the race.  He's a 3-year-old."  Oops.  They ran twice around the course, so about a half-mile.  I know that would have been tough for me to do at the age of 6.

She reminded me of a famous celebrity with her detail of bodyguards running along with her.

Look at her big smile.  She was having fun, that's the most important thing.

Phew.

Obligatory sister picture

Early Saturday morning, Tim and I snuck away while everyone else slept to go back downtown and run the 10K.  This year has been a really good running year for Tim and a bad one for me.  At the starting line I just prayed that I wouldn't do too miserably, with my sore knee and legs that turn to lead after two miles during all my "training runs."  After we reached the other side of the big bridge and the two-mile point, Tim gave me the iPhone and said, "See you at the finish line."  He loped off and that was the last I saw of him until we were done.  After I crossed the finish line, Tim heard my phone go off.  Our results had already been texted to us.  High tech!  Tim had shaved a couple minutes off his time last year, and finished at 47:16.  I had added a couple minutes on to my time last year, with a chip time of 51:51.  Last year we did it in 49:48 and 49:50, respectively, with Tim being first.  I was really amazed at Tim's improvement in a year, and I told him, "I think your best days might still be ahead!"  As for my own time, I was just pleased that my knee didn't hurt too much and I didn't have to go too slow.  Later on, the complete results were posted online and I was shocked to see I'd placed first in my division (women age 30-34).  Tim placed second in his (men age 35-39), and that was not at all surprising.  

When we got back home Tim and his dad went to the commissary, and then we had a lazy day at home until it was time to take them to the airport.  I hope they had as much fun as we did.  Now we are counting the days until Tim's sister Karen comes to visit in November.

Emerald Isle

We just got back from a week-long stay in a beach house in Emerald Isle, NC.  We had such a great time.  In almost every way it was perfect, and exactly what I hoped that this summer's last hurrah would be.  Being the weather.com addict that I am, I must have checked the forecast for that week at least 25 times, and every time it looked like crap, thunderstorms every day.  We hoped for at least an hour or two of sun here and there, but instead we were gifted with six gorgeous blue sky days in a row.  Tim and I were both a little leery of what kind of house we were getting into, after what happened at Topsail.  But the house was clean and comfortable, and decorated with bright colors and happy fishies and flipflops.  No nasty surprises after dark.  As always, the best thing of all was that view and the smell of that salty air.  It is my dream to live on the beach some day.  Tim is in the throes of midlife crisis right now (but he's not even 39, isn't that a little young?), and he's always talking about a new car, truck or boat.  I said to him, "How about we have a midlife crisis together and get a beach house?"  Beachfront houses too expensive?  We can trade in my nice car for a beater and get rid of cable.  Or live in a big van down by the beach.  It is fun to dream.

Delaney lost her first tooth on Sunday morning.  She was very proud and kept wanting to hold it and look at it.  She smiles for pictures in such a way as to make sure that gap shows.  Love this kid.

We went out for dinner three times.  Two of those times were to nice seafood restaurants, and one was just a burger joint.  Going out so many times in one week made me giddy.  I think the last time we'd gone out to eat before this vacation must have been when Grace was visiting.  We go out to eat only on vacations and when relatives visit.  It is true that Tim cooks as good and usually better meals at home, and I am happy to not have the hassle of hiring a babysitter.  But sometimes I love to put on something nice and have a change of scenery.  I called one of the places to verify that we should bring the kids, since the website looked kind of fancy.  They told me it was fine to bring kids, so no problem there.  However, the food was mediocre and that was disappointing since it had been highly recommended to us.  I blame Tim for making me into a food snob, particularly when it comes to seafood.  I can't stand an overcooked frozen scallop at the restaurant that boasts of being a premiere waterfront dining experience.  It's his fault, he made me this way.  Before I met him I was content with cheeseburgers at Ruby Tuesday.  Also, the view was not great.  Even still, I liked being out.  And we went for ice cream afterward.

But the restaurant we went to on night two was so nice.  I loved the food, loved the view, loved the wine.  And the kids were very good.  Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time one of our kids was disruptive in a restaurant.  Even Timmy is at his best when we're out to eat, especially if there's a window he can look out or something else interesting to watch.   Maybe we should do this more often, like once a month.

I said that we had six sunny days in a row, but now that I look at the pictures I remember that's not completely true.  The morning of day three was rainy.  The girls and I sat at the table and we played Disney Princess Uno, which is almost exactly like regular Uno, with only a few variations.  It's a lot of fun, and it even holds Annie's interest for a good half hour or so.  The only problem is that when it doesn't go her way she loses her temper.  We refuse to let her win.  She is capable of winning fair and square, and she did at least a couple times.  The other times she was not a graceful loser.  Still it was a nice way to make some time go by on a rainy morning.  Then it cleared up and we were back to beach activities (thank goodness because that was the only game I'd brought -- not very well prepared, was I, in light of the bad weather forecast?).  

These next few pictures took place after dinner that day, I believe.  We'd gone outside only to fly kites, and for awhile that was what everybody did.  But the tide was in and there were these long shallow pools that proved too enticing for the kiddos.  At first they contented themselves with running and stomping and splashing.

But the splashes got bigger and their clothes got wetter until Delaney decided to completely submerge herself.  Once she did that and they all saw that we weren't going to stop them, the other two abandoned any remaining pretense of trying to stay dry, since that was a lost cause anyway.

Dried off and ready for bed

Day 4 began with Tim taking the girls on a walk at sunrise while Timmy and I slept.  That boy makes up for being such a handful by being a solid sleeper, even on vacation.  

Then we spent a few hours on the beach.  Throughout this whole day I noticed a curious phenomenon, where it was sunny on the side of the sky that the ocean was on, but if I looked behind me there were lots of dark gray clouds.  I kept thinking that those clouds were going to roll over and there would be a storm, but it's like they knew to stay back.   Good clouds!

Later on, Tim made us a yummy dinner of burgers, pasta salad (from the grocery store deli), and corn on the cob.  He makes my life easier in so many ways when he's around.

Delaney liked not having to make any effort to keep her kite aloft.  Here she is digging in the sand, not having to think about her kite flying high above.

This was the night of the Blue Moon and Tim and I were obsessed with trying to get a good picture of it.  But our camera has its limitations (or maybe just we do) and a picture can't do it justice anyway.  We had a spectacular view of the moon every night of the week.  I can't remember paying so much attention to the moon at any other time in my life.  I left the curtains open over the sliding glass doors in our bedroom and looked at it every night before I went to sleep.

On Wednesday, day 5, we took our scheduled dolphin hunt boat tour.  Tim amused himself by asking Delaney, "So, what do we use to catch the dolphins?"  "What are we going to do with the dolphins when we bring them home?"  Delaney would tell him in exasperation, "No, Daddy, that's not what dolphin hunt means.  It just means we look at them!"  The boat ride was about an hour and 15 minutes long.  It was hot.  There were red, shiny faces all around.  It was the only time during this vacation that I wished for clouds.  I told Tim later that I know for sure now that we are not boat people.  I have more appreciation than ever for being on shore.  Tim argued that having your own boat is a way different experience than being stuck on someone else's boat.  Perhaps he's right, but I am still have no wish to get a boat.

The boat we rode on was in the same port in Morehead City where Tim got on a ship two and a half years ago.  The ship he was on was much bigger, though.  The one pictured above that we saw as we left the port is an LPD, the USS New York -- an amphibious transport dock ship.  

We did see dolphins.  But we also saw dolphins just standing on the beach at our house.  We also saw the Spanish Mustangs on Shackleford Island too, but they were very far away and .. meh.  The captain would stop the boat so we could look, but there was no breeze and we sat there baking.  We had to keep passing Timmy back and forth and make sure he didn't climb up and over the side.  I was relieved when it was over. This tour would probably be lovely on a cooler, breezier, or and/or cloudier day.  And without a two-year-old.

The next two days passed in a blur.  Beach, naps, dinners, ice cream, kites, walks, a game of Princess Uno once or twice .. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from Thursday and Friday:

OK, this isn't actually from Thursday or Friday, but it could have been.  We went to The Sweet Spot three nights in a row.  After one time we were hooked.  They have a gazillion flavors of ice cream and a toy corner in the back, with toys that are actually for sale, but the kids knew they got to just play with them and put them back.  They forgot all about the ice cream when they saw the toys.

Delaney had some money to spend, from the Tooth Fairy and from doing chores.  She spent all her money on a stuffed crab mama with baby that she found at The Sweet Spot.  But it wasn't an easy decision.  Tim took her to three different stores, and she told me that she hadn't found anything she liked.  Instead she wanted to buy a stuffed German Shepherd puppy on Toys 'R Us online.  I looked back and forth between the two of them and said, "You are clearly your father's daughter."  I know that at the age of 6 I could have (and did) walked into Wings or any other souvenir place and found all kinds of things to waste money on happily.  A young Tim, on the other hand, would have just kept shopping around, finding fault with everything, and saving his money for something he really liked.  Not that there's anything wrong with that -- just that being such a discerning shopper was not something I had learned as a small child.  In the end, she found "Crabsy" and "Snapper" and really liked them, so that's what she got.

We were watching the moon rise.  Timmy was saying, "Moon."

3 + hour naps every afternoon.  I took this picture when I had to wake him up to get ready for dinner.

This skinny little man is still wearing his trunks from last summer that are size 12 months and 12-18 respectively.  And the 12-18 month ones are too big!  It's not unheard of, though.  A friend of mine once told me her four-year-old son is on his third year in the same swim trunks.

Timmy was really being the Turd on Friday morning and I was getting fed up.  He wouldn't leave me alone.  He would take my hand and say, "Come on," indicating the water, but then would want to be picked up because he was suddenly "scared."  Even though he hasn't been scared of the ocean at any other time this whole summer.  He would say, "Up, up," and cry when I sat in the chair with him instead of standing while holding him.  Then Tim, after reminding me for the umpteenth time about how I had made Timmy this way, decided to take all the kids on a walk and give me a break.  I was never so happy to see their retreating figures.  I watched them walk away for awhile until I was sure that Timmy wouldn't turn around and freak out when he saw me going in the water.

On an unrelated note, another thing Tim and I liked about our location was that at any given time we were out there, we had our stretch of beach almost all to ourselves.  We would see clusters of people up and down the beach, but our area for whatever reason, was not very populated.  We liked having space.

I really wish I'd have gotten a picture of Tim holding his Princess Uno cards, or one of he and Annie staring each other down after he won.  Best of all would have been a video of he and Delaney doing their victory dance after we played as teams and they beat Annie and me.

Looking for seashells on our last night

We were talking today about the things that made this vacation so wonderful and what makes us miss it so much.  For me it was how relaxing it was and how even the mundane (like bathing kids or cleaning the kitchen) felt special with that view out the window.  I was in a different mindset.  I laughed more, I had more patience, and didn't worry about anything.  Tim mentioned that he liked being away from "our stuff."  When he's here he feels like there are so many things that need to be taken care of, cleaned, fixed, or maintained in some other way.  That's what vacation is supposed to be, a break from the everyday and all the "stuff" that weighs us down, and a chance to just enjoy each other's company.  That's not to say the kids never got on each other's nerves or our nerves, and needed to be disciplined at times.  But it was all somehow easier to deal with in this setting.  It was only 40 minutes away but it was a world away.

We spent the rest of the this weekend in a post-vacation funk.  It was inevitable.  We did some last-minute shopping for school supplies in the picked-over aisles of Target and Walmart.  Delaney moped all day today and told us many times that she does not want to go back to school.  I feel like the biggest slacker mom ever because she has nothing new to wear to school.  I took the only two things that weren't stained out of her closet, and that's what she's wearing tomorrow.  

And with that, our summer's over.  It was a great one.