Saturday at Topstone

We went to Topstone late Saturday afternoon, our first visit of the season. The summer air was so warm that is was comfortable, even in the shade and as the sun was starting to go down. We swam, kayaked, lit the charcoal, read, swam some more, and eventually, had dinner of sizzling hotdogs with chips and fresh salsa at a picnic table near the water. Norah wasn't with us. She'd gone to visit her best friend in New York, a new privilege she has now that she's driving. More and more she is off doing something, so less and less is she with us. We're already adjusting to what it will be like when she's off to college in the fall. We did alright without her; We had a lot of fun. She did alright without us. She had fun at her friend's, too. 

We're home! And even made it in time to start some laundry and some grocery shopping. Once the car was unloaded, Norah promptly sat down to the piano. 

The girls had to take a bucket of the unwanted shells back to the beach before we left, so they said “Goodbye” to the ocean and took pictures of the sunrise and got a few more bug bites to take with them to Connecticut. 

We hugged Mom and Dad “Goodbye,” and Dad prayed over our journey. Mom and Dad always stand on the porch and wave as we drive away. Dwayne always gets tears in his eyes. Always. He did even at the end of the visits we made when it was just us, before kids, back when we were the kids. 

We stopped at Buccees for the first time. Wow! 

We stopped for the night in Statesville, North Carolina for the night. A local place, Twisted Oak, has some of the best food we’ve ever eaten and that is without exaggeration. We all ordered something different and shared everything.

Dwayne’s brother, Brandt, and his wife, Lisa, and some more of their kids came in late last night. We were all at church with Dad today for Father’s Day which was really special. We grilled burgers and dogs and had cake and ice cream to celebrate every recent event- graduations, birthdays, Father’s Day, even Flag Day. We played Chronology and several rounds of Codenames in teams of boys vs. girls and also in pairs and ate leftovers and snacks till late this evening. The cousins played some video games, too. We are packed and ready to hit the road back to CT before the sun comes up.

“Telling stories to littles is not the same as a calling,” Heather said, blushing. “I can think of few higher callings,” Master Eefaw said... 

I’m finally reading these books for myself. All of my daughters have read these silently or aloud to each other. They’d come downstairs beaming with joy or weeping with literal grief, but they have faithfully kept every spoiler from me, not because I asked them to, but because they wanted me to experience the stories for myself. Of course, they have urged me to read these books often, but they submitted to the fact that I was always reading other things instead. So I’m using this last bit of vacation to start catching up with the girls.

The day began with Levi’s bath. We enjoyed a few hours at the beach in the afternoon. It was probably our last beach day given tomorrow’s full with other plans. We enjoyed a lot of company today. Our nephew Steven arrived from Virginia. Dwayne’s cousin Christina drove over from where she is staying in Florida to visit. Dwayne’s cousin Karen and her husband Roger also came from where they are living in Florida. We all shared dinner and conversation.

While Dad, Dwayne, and “the littles” went to the beach, Norah and I went to a few thrift stores. Norah found a few more items for her college wardrobe at great prices. She also got some nice knitting needles and yarn and tatting supplies at deep discounts. The thrift stores here are definitely nicer than the ones back home. The girls made “breakfast for dinner” with Mom and Dad and started a movie while Dwayne took me to The Ocean Grill for a nice dinner out alone. We had a table with a view of the ocean. While in downtown Vero, we found out Mom’s favorite ice cream was back, (the machine has been broken), so we went home, asked them to pause their movie, invited them to ice cream. (Neither Avril nor Adele thought much of the frozen orange juice I ordered. You can see their disgust in the pictures.) When we got home again, they finished the movie, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, but Dwayne and I walked on the beach at sunset. As the stars were coming out and we were heading home, we saw two sea turtles! One was digging her nest! We watched her for sometime, giving her plenty of space. (The picture we took is from a distance.) The other turtle we saw was just coming in from sea, but she promptly turned right round and headed back into the waves when she saw us walking. They are amazing creatures and can move quite fast when they want to! We feel very blessed to have seen them. They are huge! 

Dwayne and I snuck off to breakfast at a favorite local spot. We like to go out together there alone on the days when we have grocery shopping or errands to do. It’s not fancy, but quaint, and it really suits us. I explored one of nice consignment shops here in Vero for a few minutes yesterday and found a book about the local trees, something I have grown very curious about in all our time outdoors here. We spent the afternoon visiting another young couple we adore, Ruth and Justin O’Donnell, who recently relocated from CT. Our girls swam in their pool with their sweet little girl Gwen. We had dinner out as a family on our drive back to Mom and Dad’s. This morning on our beach walk, a friendly stranger offered to take our family picture. We are looking forward to another few days here, enjoying so much time and conversation with Mom and Dad.

 More walks, beach time, cards, video documentaries, etc. 

Pictures from today- Grandma always reads animal stories to Adele in their quiet moments together. After a beach walk and breakfast, we packed lunches and all visited Gifford’s Aquatic Center together. They have a zero entry pool, slides, etc. We were all throughly worn out and ready for quiet afternoon reading/ naps.

Sunday = Sunday School and Church with Mom and Dad, then Hannah and Steven came over for beachtime, dinner, and Codenames 

Today = More Codenames, Souvenir shopping, the Vero bookstore (It’s tradition), and ice cream. I had a chocolate soda (chocolate syrup, vanilla ice cream, and soda water). It was delicious! I’m getting lots of reading done!!  

We also started a puzzle and our next Narnia read aloud- The Silver Chair. 

After dinner, Dwayne and I walked on the beach at sunset. We’re still watching Planet Earth every night before bed. We’re almost done with the series.