October Outdoors

Eek, what a busy month October was! It began with a trip to Colorado. For my brother's wedding! Thank you for planning it in a glorious spot at a spectacular time. (Also, my brother is MARRIED!!!)

This was preceded by a September during which we all tried to make sure we had proper clothes for a fall wedding in the mountains. Or honestly, even just fall clothes that fit (Elise was all out of pants and did I unthinkingly donate Kalina's hand-me downs?!?). Turns out, only Matt had everything he needed. As the predicted weather switched from slightly chilly and partly cloudy to quite chilly and drizzly, and as all reasonable, matching cardigans sold out pretty much everywhere, that final week before the wedding was a bit of a scramble. 

Elise also packed her loud, sparkly rubber chicken, because Uncle Tom.

The trip started with a strange noise that the van was making, and by the time we'd almost arrived, Naomi's dental appliance had broken. On a Friday afternoon. When the office was closed. When we were a state away. We adopted my favorite strategy: pretend it didn't happen and that everything would be fine. Although we only got it reattached nearly 4 weeks later, due to busy-ness at the orthodontist's office, things still seem to be fine. For the record, Naomi is a trooper.

The remaining 45 minutes of the drive were pretty perfect. We arrived with plenty of time to make it to the rehearsal dinner, after first saying hi to Aunt Nancy and checking out the gift shop at the YMCA of the Rockies, where we were staying along with Aunt Nancy, Grandpa and Marianne. Because the time to buy souvenirs is definitely before you even begin the trip, right? Of course.

We weren't able to check into our room yet, so we headed over to the rehearsal location where we got to meet the bride's family and see lots of Tom's friends we hadn't seen in forever (or ever, in the case of some of the girls). Naomi was taught not to just drop the flower petals--because that's boring--but instead to toss them high in the air. She was totally up for it. The ring bearer, meanwhile, napped on his dad's shoulder. Naomi began to see that throwing flower petals would only be part of the job, and that she could have her work cut out for her getting that ring bearer up the aisle.

We caught up with people, ate a lovely dinner, and even squeezed in the most straightforward game of Telestrations I've ever played, with other guests, before heading back to our room for bed.

The next morning we trekked out on a gorgeous hike past the Twin Owls, along with other members of the wedding party and cousins. We enjoyed exploring and catching up along the way. Then, it was time for us to decorate for the reception and get all the bits and pieces in place (including, we debated, the chicken in a place of honor as part of the head table's centerpiece. Although we hated to waste the opportunity, we decided against, in the end. We didn't want the bride to have any reason to second-guess her decision. :) ). 

Back at the Y, after a drive through the elk festival in downtown Estes, which turned out to feel a lot like driving through an actual elk herd, we had enough time for a cooler lunch, showers, dressing and--for Naomi, hair curling before heading back through the crowds to the wedding. Naomi was actually quite excited to get all dressed up and although the curls didn't stay in very well, she exuded radiance and looked quite lovely.

And the wedding! Naomi scattered the petals with gusto, and also probably helped the ring bearer feel comfortable enough to make it up the aisle. The ceremony was gorgeous, and not nearly as rainy/chilly as I'd feared throughout the week before as I'd stocked up on all the warm wedding-ish things I could find for the girls of the family.

At the reception, the chicken did make an appearance on the cake table, and the photographer may have snapped a photo, but it wasn't too disruptive, I don't think. The girls enjoyed their food--Naomi having secured my promise beforehand that if she ordered the chicken fingers and fries she wouldn't actually have to eat the chicken ("Mom, a chicken had to die!"). I debated, but decided that in the spirit of unforced celebration, Matt could finish off the chicken. Elise had been glad, when we responded to the invite, to be allowed to choose the grownup lasagna instead of a kids meal. It all felt fancy and delicious--we don't attend too many formal occasions. Yum.

Elise managed to get in a little dancing (and maybe Naomi, too?), as did Matt and I, but I believe Kalina stayed glued to her spot, in true Hanks-Odegaard style. 

We had a lovely time but were ready for bed before everyone else was. However, that meant we were awake in time for a short hike in the morning with Aunt Nancy. The rain had held off so well, but we were nearly drizzled out this morning, being a little cautious about finding ourselves in a downpour a mile out from our warm, comfortable van. Still, we enjoyed some beautiful aspens and didn't really get wet, thanks to all the raingear I made us drag along. (I packed for ALL the weather.)

After hiking, we stopped at the store to pick up all the amazing brunch food, before heading to a lovely, elk-infested park for the post-wedding picnic brunch and a few rounds of spikeball. After which we said goodbye to all the relatives, and began adventuring on our own, namely in the form of a hike at RMNP. 

We may have spotted some endangered fish, but we definitely made it to our destination: Emerald Lake. After which, the weather looked a bit iffy (was that rain?) and still not wanting to be out there in a downpour, we yanked the kids away from their quiet admiration of the view and quickly retraced our steps to the parking lot. No rain, so we hiked the easy Bear Lake loop.

For dinner we decided to return to the yummy-looking mac and cheese we'd seen in the grocery store's deli when picking up the food. As if we'd only dreamed it, however, the mac and cheese had been replaced by a shiny, sterile, completely empty serving bin, ready for the next day's mac and cheese. Honestly, I think I was the only one that had major problems with that (hot. warm. comforting. dinner. now.). Matt, sensing the kids were in danger, wisely removed them toward the summer sausage, crackers, and cheese, while I glared at a row of prepackaged cold deli food.

Once eating my stupid pasta salad, doctored up with summer sausage, back at the hotel and divvying up cookies, though, my good nature returned and we made our plans for the next day before everyone else went to bed and I sat up for 2 hours reading alone in the dark (which I had 0 problem with).

The next morning we first hiked, and then hung out at a favorite part of the park: the Alleuvial Fan, an area with large rocks to climb and a waterfall. Climbing around on the rocks and wading in cold, clear water was pretty fun, but even better was taking turns with Elise's LifeStraw and sampling the water. Delicious, refreshing, clean... the list goes on. Best of all, no one got sick!

Back at the lodge, we ate a quick cooler lunch and Matt began putting in 1/2 day of remote work while the girls and I headed to the craft cabin. Kalina mosaiced an amazing cat pawprint, Elise turned a picture frame into a creative half-mosaic, half mountain artwork (and it turned out really cool!), and Naomi painted a lovely pumpkin for fall. She's been super into pumpkins lately. It poured while we were in there (and I chose that moment to run to the car to bring everyone's rain jackets in case it was still pouring when we left...not my best-thought-out idea ever), so I was glad we weren't hiking.

After our projects were finished, we headed to downtown Estes for some souvenir shopping. I love hiking with my girls, and I also love shopping with them, and I love that they love hiking and shopping as well. Kalina was looking for a t-shirt (preferably for much less than the $30+ we were seeing on many price tags), Naomi wanted a rock animal, and Elise wanted maybe a shirt, maybe a keychain, maybe a sticker--we'd see. 

Naomi was delighted to find two dinosaur rock animals she wanted, and kept her spending at that. Kalina eventually found a shirt that fit pretty much all of her qualifications, including price, and Elise found a super reasonable long-sleeved one as well. We also somehow found something to buy at the taffy store (aside from gifts for our pet-sitters), and wandered through an art gallery that left us all almost wanting to be CEOs when we grow up so that we could buy all of it. 

A spectacular sunset, a cooler dinner, and a bunch of packing rounded off the day. And the next morning, we headed back home. It sure is a long drive... wish we could make it more often, but we're pretty sure we'll be back!

But we weren't done with epic outdoor adventures in October! As part of her role as Girl Outdoor Lead with our AHG troop, Elise had the responsibility of planning the fall campout! And as there was no mentor in place for her and I'm her mom, plus the troop vice coordinator, I did my best to support (not control) her. Spoiler alert: the campout turned out awesome and Elise and I feel like we make a really good team. 

Actually, much was beyond Elise's control: she helped narrow down campsites, but our coordinator chose her #4 choice out of 4 options. The option we chose included a built-in evening activity--Elise was on board, but again didn't have much say. We also informed her we wanted to tie-dye matching troop t-shirts on the campout--an idea she loved, but had no say in. And finally, our troop shepherd and her team had an hourlong activity to do. So Elise was left with scattered chunks of time to accomplish her goals: namely, to complete/work on the Camping badge!

Elise decided that we'd go on a hike, and she figured out the meals, with some help from another team member. She also created the schedule--a monumental task that many adults would have trouble with--made a controversial decision about how the girls would contribute, delegated/invited other girls and adults to help, and wrote various communications. She wrote a packing list and made sure we had the right supplies.

The kicker: "I feel like I didn't do enough," is how she self-evaluated. Read: "I'd liked to have done it all!" Glad she likes her job!

One thing she couldn't have planned: the weather, which was pretty much perfect. 

In the end, despite a few mess-ups, the camping badge was as earned as it could be, the hike was fun, the meals were enjoyed, the evening activity was... okay and memorable... tie-dying was amazing, and the girls seemed to have a blast. It's going to be really hard to top, but as Elise is brimming with ideas, I'm pretty sure if anyone can do it, she can. 

Beach "vacation!"

Not sure we'll ever top our latest road trip. But we don't have to, right? Right??

It began with a longish drive to Mammoth Cave National Park. We pulled in in the early evening and managed to avoid the predicted rain long enough for a beautiful (albeit short) hike in the woods above the cave system.

We also checked into pretty much the cutest little cottage we'd ever seen. Right out of a fairy tale, including no air conditioning. We were off to a good start, despite the tick Elise got on her pretty much the second she stepped off the beaten path (turns out, Daddy was actually right with his warning this time!).

The. Cutest. Cottage.

We'd all been to Mammoth Cave before, although Naomi hadn't been born quite yet at the time. It soon became clear that she greatly preferred it that way. Here's a list of the fears she confronted within the first 5 minutes:

-Giant spiders

-Dark

-Being hundreds of feet underground (10 would've been okay)

-Heights

-Those metal steps that are full of holes with no backs

-Close spaces

-Those metal platforms that are full of holes and cross over heights

-General creepiness

But not bears. Elise had heard, in preschool, that caves are crawling with bears, and pretty much the worst thing you could do was to enter a cave (this she remembered from our previous trip). Fortunately, this cave was bear-free at the time.

Our junior ranger!

Naomi did survive the tour, and even enjoyed the stalactites and stalagmites at the end. (The rest of us loved the tour, but kinda felt bad saying so.) Back at the surface, we grabbed lunch from the cooler, and chilled in the visitor center a bit. Naomi completed the Junior Ranger badge program and was sworn in (and she wore her badge faithfully for at least two full weeks), and everyone bought something, except Matt. By the time we were ready for more adventuring, though, it was about ready to rain. Five minutes into our hike, we were turning back--but at least our next hike would be indoors (i.e., the cave).

I was hoping Naomi would enjoy the cave more the second time, having "conquered" her fears. Plus, I knew it was a more level route, with wider spaces and less towering scaffolding. No such luck. After the ranger's dire warnings about who should and should not go on the tour. Naomi was in tears. "Please don't make me go!" she begged, feeling as though she fit into the category of people who either didn't want to take health risks or "just wouldn't be comfortable." I assured her that the warnings were for people with medical problems, and she'd be fine. Trooper that she is [required to be sometimes, due to her family of origin], she allowed me to drag her into the gaping hole that was the entrance to the cave. 

Bat not pictured. Naomi being
a trooper.

This time, she hated it even worse. Fortunately, the people around us were kind, and hopefully not too annoyed--several of them congratulated her at the end, at least.

However, with the light at the end of the tunnel literally in site, a fellow tourist pointed out a small, furry bat cleaning to a somewhat low ceiling. Naomi turned around in her tracks and went BACK into the cave to visit this sweet little sleeping bat. She loved it. After lots and lots of pictures, our smiling girl virtually danced out of the cave. So it ended up that no matter how terrible each tour was, there was something to like as she finished. Note: every time Naomi is scared, bring her an animal. 

Our next stop that evening was a random hotel in Tennessee, a few more hours down the road. I'm pretty sure the kids had ice cream for dinner (ice cream may have been promised a couple hundred feet underground during the second cave tour), and then we supplemented it with--you guessed it--cooler food at the hotel. 

Elise: I kind of feel like I want some lettuce. [unheard of for Elise]

Me: Here's a pear.

Elise: I feel like that will be too sweet. [also unheard of]

In between trips out to the car, we drooled over the microwaveable meal vending machine in the lobby. 

Kalina: I just want real food.

Me: Me too. But this won't really taste as good as it looks...

I almost caved in. Secretly, I was super proud that it only took about 2 days of "unreal" food before at least two of my kids were ready for my home cooking. I promised them real food once we got settled into our AirBnB in St. Augustine, and maybe Subway on the next day's drive, and then we went upstairs and made toast, apples and peanut butter, recombining the ingredients we'd been living on for (only) two days. The toast, at least, was warm and comforting--just like Mom's.

The next day, we drove the rest of the way to St. Augustine, Florida. The kids are champs in the car, and we all enjoyed listening to Elijah of Buxton, a somewhat humorous, exciting, educational, heartwarming, character-building book about a boy living in a free slave settlement in Canada. We did have Subway, and enjoyed every crumb.

We had just a bit of trouble finding our AirBnB and its parking spot, plus it was chilly and drizzling and getting dark when we pulled into the beach. Blech. Nevertheless, Matt, the hero, took the kids to beach in rain jackets until it really was too dark, while I tried to get organized. Throughout the evening, we kept staring at the forecast, hoping for a change from all the predicted rain.

How we all felt when
we arrived at the
beach.

The next day began with the beach and a much-appreciated grocery-store run (me). I couldn't wait to stock up on healthy favorites. Only one problem: due to inflation and a tourist town, a small head of broccoli cost $4, strawberries were $5, and nothing else was much better. I stared long and hard at all the selections, weighing the amount we'd be likely to eat, with nutritional value, with prep difficulty, with general acceptance--there should be a degree in these things. 

My best values:

-White peaches, which are never that good anywhere else, but were delicious in Florida, and "only" cost $3.99/lb. Comparable to the cruddy ones in Kansas that cost roughly the same.

-A colossal bag of popcorn. Chips were $4/bag. This 20-serving monstrosity cost me $6, plus had all the "wow" factor that a vacation treat should.

Back home, I proudly served a not-cooler-food lunch amid beach time.

The beach was amazing. Relatively flat but still with decent waves, and with white sand that didn't retain heat, it did feel like a paradise. However, no amount of sunscreen could keep the girls from getting burnt. We decided to pull them in and check out some attractions in St. Augustine.

See all the nesting birds
in the background?

We ended up at the Alligator Farm. The alligators were cool, but our favorite site was alllllll the nesting water birds that somehow chose the trees hanging over the alligator-infested waters of this little zoo as the ideal place to raise their young. We saw all stages of chicks, observed feedings, heard their calls, and avoided being sullied. Plus, the alligator shows and such were pretty cool, too, and we got to chat with a keeper for a while and learn what it's like to be one. 

Then, back to the beach. But we still couldn't ignore the history (actually, I couldn't ignore the history, and there was no way I was going to let my children do so). On our second day, after visiting a beach that was supposed to have better shelling than our own--and kinda did--and where it wasn't supposed to rain--and it kinda did--we all toured the old Spanish fort, which became extra interesting to the kiddos when a history professor volunteer in costume began telling them the stories. Plus we could go up on the roof.

A cool spot on the
roof of the fort.

The stories were great, and the fort was fun to explore, but the girls were still eager to be on the beach, where we ended up spending all afternoon. Being a little bit intrigued, however, they also kinda wanted to see more history. So on Monday, with Matt working a 1/2 day, we headed to the historic district to take a tour that had gotten rave reviews by parents online. I figured it was worth a try--after all, they were supposedly going to fire a canon and it'd be way better than watching me try to lead them around and look stuff up on my phone. 

Naomi and I like
old houses. :)

Their attitudes were good, but I could tell they were putting on a brave face, and were anticipating another activity that Mom got way more excited about than they did. Plus it was hot.

But within about 2 minutes of starting our historic district tour, the tour guide had made them laugh at least a couple times, and then she kept them laughing all the way to the end. Not only did they learn a ton, but the girls delightedly retold it all, sometimes word for word, to Matt back at the condo. 

We also were able to walk around the old buildings in the historic district, shop for souvenirs, and purchase some amazing popsicles for an overall incredible morning. Win! Plus, they were excited to go to the Ponce de Leon Fountain of Youth Historical Site the next day. And we still had plenty of time for the beach.

We drank from the 
fountain of youth!
Except Naomi, who
was weirded out by it,
but also nervous she'd
get in trouble with the
docent if she didn't
actually drink.

Feeding an albino
peacock!

The Fountain of Youth site was also pretty cool (although Elise was a bit let down by the fact that the water came out of pipes), especially the peacocks that roamed the grounds and seemed to almost meow like cats. Sweet Naomi's anxiety reared its head when they shot a cannon again--no matter how many kind history buffs tried to explain to her that there was no cannonball and it couldn't possibly hurt her, she wasn't budging from her spot 50 feet away. I let them finish their thoughts, not trying to explain that it was probably the noise that actually bothered her the most, but that she probably couldn't put that into words yet and just knew that she really didn't want to see/hear it go off. [Sometimes the bigs don't understand that life actually is more difficult--in some ways, anyway--for their ultra sensitive little sister and I try to remind them that while they were super excited to see a cannon shot again, it was super stressful for Naomi, and that same situation repeats itself all the time. But it'll get better.]

I think this is Elise's
crab larvae. I think.

One of these evenings, we took the inflatable kayaks out to a wetlands for an evening paddle. We saw a couple alligators and a bird or two, plus some jumping fish. But mostly it was a beautiful evening on the water. And Elise was able to collect a plankton sample, from which she was able to observe, under her pocket microscope, her much-anticipated crab larvae! It was actually pretty cute with its big eyes and everything.

On the way to and from, we spotted a fruit/gator jerky shop that became a family joke. What if we own roadside gator jerky stand? Where we'd process the jerky along the side of the road, and then sell it. And where would we get the gators? Also alongside the road. Get it? Get it?? This kept us amused for quite a while. And presumably, will for the near future.

Also exciting: in one of the low-tide "tide pools," Kalina caught a skate. It was adorable and didn't even seem too concerned with us. We found a second as well. Naomi's toe got caught by a crab, and Elise, throughout the trip, got stung by jellyfish 3 times, bringing her total to 6. 

Elise in her happy place. Which
is pretty much the entire ocean.

The girls built large sandcastle systems (or in Naomi's case, fairy villages) complete with bridge, and Kalina dug down to the water. They mastered boogie boards (even Naomi tried them!) and Matt attempted to snorkel--but couldn't see much. 

We were sad to leave our beautiful beach condo and beautiful beach and lovely beach town, but our trip held many more adventures, and on Wednesday, it was time to begin them. We loaded up the van and met Uncle Brian at a kayaking place, snagging the only shady spot in the lot (yes, that's notable. "Park in the shade." -Me, everywhere we stopped), and then snagging Uncle Brian!

This site was particularly cool because we might be able to see monkeys--the remnant of a tourist stunt from like 90 years ago. We figured we had a 50/50 chance.

Yay! Gorgeous water, and 
so much fun to kayak with
Brian!

With incredibly little fanfare for such an amazingly beautiful spot, we loaded up our kayaks and pushed off into the spring-fed river. The water was clear as glass, such that we could always see to the bottom, even when the bottom was 50 feet below us. This was unnerving for at least one of us (the same one who doesn't like stairs with holes in them above large drop-offs), but pretty exciting for everyone else.

We partially fell in with a tour group that pointed out a momma gator and a couple of baby gators (which Naomi had really, really wanted to see), and also cruised past some turtles and plenty of fish. But not monkeys. Naomi chose this time to mention that 1.) She was ready to be done and 2.) Monkeys were the thing she wanted to see the very most. (But no pressure.)

We weren't seeing any monkeys.

Coming into the end of the paddle, we were all super hot and one of us was fading fast (honestly, maybe two of us...). We saw a small group of boaters pointing out something near the water. An alligator? We decided to check it out. 

It was so bright, I had
no idea if any of my
photos were turning out.

Thanks to three young guys breaking the law and tossing snacks, a cluster of monkeys had gathered near the water's edge for free handouts! Including cute little tiny baby monkeys clinging to their mammas. Jackpot! Obviously, you don't usually get this kind of display, because people aren't usually illegally feeding them. But we weren't going to see anything. We did keep a bit of distance because they can potentially jump into boats. Not that that wouldn't be fun...

Gorgeous night, just no gators.

That evening, we headed out to look for alligators at an amazing boardwalk over a swamp (no alligators; lots of amazing birds, though, and a few not-very-skittish, adorable marsh rabbits!), and then got to observe the bats leaving the bat house at the University of Florida, which was totally incredible.

The next day, we headed to an animal rescue zoo. But not just any animal rescue zoo--this one was the only place in Florida (that I could find, anyway, and that was near enough) that would guarantee a manatee sighting! 

We drove a while, then hopped on a boat, and finally ended up at this cute little zoo, where some of the signs were misleading and we very nearly missed the manatee feeding! We ran up just as the volunteers was finishing sprinkling leaves of lettuce all over the feeding area. But it did the trick!

Look carefully for the anoles
on Matt and Elise.

Manatee nostrils are totally
a thing. Or should be.

The manatees were amazing, just for who they were. The coolest part was the nostrils. Or the soft, friendly eyes. Either way, we watched for a long time before they swam off, and then we wandered off to check out the rest of the critters. Beginning with the resident anoles, who at various times found themselves placed on Elise's and Matt's heads for pictures, until they once again gained their freedom. 

Along this path, I realized we'd never taken advantage of the underwater viewing portion of the observation area. Coincidentally (maybe), I saw one of our manatee friends returning to the feeding place. Should I, also return? Would this manatee actually show up there if I did? And stay there long enough to make the short trek back worth it? Was this just me being a crazy person?

I had to try, and somehow I got everyone to follow (but kinda far behind--I was super motivated and can walk pretty fast). Sure enough, as I climbed down the stairs, the manatee was ready to meet me at the viewing window.

Naomi in her
favorite hat,
with her new
favorite animal.

Fortunately, everyone else also arrived in time for some super fun close encounters through the glass, as the manatees seemed to actually want to interact. Naomi fell in absolute love, and resolved to buy a stuffed manatee at the gift shop (her first--and only--stuffie of the trip! She's growing up!). We hung around quite a while, and then finally saw the other animals, including the oldest hippo in captivity, who was actually an honorary resident of Florida.

The gorgeous spring

We then tried to kayak again, but were thwarted by the fact that the kayak launch closed shortly before we arrived. Oops! We instead headed to an amazing swimming spot at a clear (chilly!) spring. On the way in, we spotted four baby armadillos. [Did you know that armadillos generally have 4 clones as offspring???] On the way out, we spotted a couple snakes climbing trees.

The spring was gorgeous. And the people-watching was fantastic. Matt, Kalina, Elise, And Brian were able to snorkel around, with visibility almost as clear as the air. Naomi did an amazing job of swimming around in a life jacket and not being scared, and I kept an eye on everyone. With the water feeling fairly cold, though, no one lasted super long. Still, it was an amazing stop.

More yummy food, some good conversation and a few board games rounded out the day.

The next day we were faced with rain, but still managed to go back to the alligator boardwalk and see a giant one, in addition to lots more birds and a few smaller alligators. We were taking our time walking back to the car, though, when we heard a steady noise off in the distance. And saw clouds...and rain...headed our way. We ran for it, and sheltered in an old barn with a bunch of other people, reaching it just as the rain did. After a bit, the rain let up for a few minutes, and we ran the rest of the way back to our car. 

Amazingly, not too far down the road, another park was avoiding rain. We stopped for another hike, and were joined by a dynamic and intrepid park ranger who took us to see an alligator nest! He and Elise got along great, both having an affinity for anoles and a certain somewhat obscure YouTube channel called Journey into the Microcosmos. He took us and another group on a fairly long hike, along which we sometimes shared the road a bit with a family of 4 sandhill cranes, who didn't seem super bothered by our presence as long as we didn't actually approach. We arrived back in the car about 5 minutes before the rain this time.

Happy early birthday, Uncle
Brian! We even left him the
rest of the cake.

After lunch, a few games, and a grocery run, we headed out another hike to a gorgeous sinkhole, and then to an amazing pizza dinner. When we returned back, timing worked out such that Matt and Brian were dealing with some things outside while the girls and I were very sneakily able to make a birthday cake for Brian (his birthday was in about a week and a half--too soon not to celebrate!). Somehow, we managed to finish everything, and clean up, before the guys came back in. Surprise!

The next day, after a final amazing breakfast and a quick vacuuming for the van, which my emotional health really needed, we left for our friends' place along the Gulf coast, stopping at a very nice Waffle House along the way. Because that's where you eat in the south. Our friends had moved to their new area about 11 months prior to our arrival, and into their new home exactly 1 week. Phew! It was gorgeous, and a short walk/bike ride/car drop-off (woohoo!) to the beach. We didn't know what to expect when they cautioned us that "it's not a great shelling beach," but we definitely didn't count on the best shelling of the trip! We came back with piles of beautiful specimens. 

We used to play in our stream
together; now, it's the ocean!

We enjoyed catching up, a fancy dinner of steak and shrimp, and then celebrating their adorable nearly 1-year-old's birthday--a little too late at night for his tastes, unfortunately, but it was still fun. By the time we left the next morning, he was juuuuust starting to maybe warm up to us a little. 

We also enjoyed learning about what it's like to actually live in one of those beach tourist destinations. Turns out, like Kansas, it has its pros and cons. Hard to argue with snorkeling at a coral reef whenever you feel like it (except us--we weren't in town quite long enough), but also the prices, traffic, and scarcity of actual goods for actual full-time living would be tough to take at times. Not to mention the culture sometimes...

Not pictured: cousin Ed, who's
actually taking the picture.

Speaking of culture, our next, and final, stop was at my cousin Ed's place outside of New Orleans. His place backed up to a small part of an alligator farm/mini zoo, and once we had chatted for a while with Ed, Julie, and their 6 kids, we drove the 5 minutes to the farm. 

It was different from any zoo we'd ever seen (except for the reptarium 15 minutes away from our house that the girls and I had visited, but ironically, Matt never had). Although we weren't overimpressed with the conditions for the animals, we did see that the owner clearly loved his brood and was doing his best--the hurricane last year set him back quite a bit. He came out of a building with a couple other visitors, between them holding a couple large snakes and a 4-foot alligator, and started handing the animals to the children to hold. Elise got the gator first, thus fulfilling a goal of the trip (actually, it was to kiss a baby gator, but she decided this counted). They passed around the gator, snakes and a parrot, and also got to take turns feeding the porcupine and another furry animal. 

Check the box on
holding an alligator!

Only in Louisiana, right?

We could've held this
bird all day.

We watched him hoist a giant alligator snapping turtle, we played with kittens, we helped put a wandering goat back in its pen. And we heard stories about all the alligators the guy keeps as pets and usually interacts with (he kept his distance this time, though, it being breeding season).

After dinner and some more chatting, we headed to our hotel, choosing to find another gas station after police cars with their lights and sirens turned on started pulling into the one we were initially at. Despite a long check-in process, and after eying all the rules posted around (thankful for them), we were in our room and mostly asleep within an hour. 

And then it was time to go home! We were excited to be driving through yet another area of the southeast--the Mississippi Delta. And we were excited to see our cats, and were ready to be in our own beds again. Less excited about the 12-hour drive we faced.

But the scenery was interesting, especially when we started listening to Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry less than 50 miles from the town highlighted in the book. In fact, it was a relatively uneventful drive, until...

With only about 1 1/2 hours left to go, we took a wrong turn. We didn't realize until we were almost to Springfield. From which it was about 2 2/12 hours to home. This was frustrating, but honestly, it was about the only thing that went wrong during the trip. Understandably, it was a bit of a low point for Matt, who'd done all the driving (I did offer!!). We agreed it was nobody's fault (or everybody's fault, which is pretty much the same thing). 

This guy deserves a beach trip
to recover from this beach trip!

We still made it home, but only to mild threats of "next year, we're vacationing in Branson." Which honestly didn't make any of us very excited. We felt better after hearing from friends that the turn we missed was suuuuppper easy to miss. 

Now that several weeks have passed, and we all agree that we may actually travel again sometime. I can think of at least a few of us who are totally ready to return to Florida--although we're still not sure we can top this trip!

Old St. Augustine. We felt like
we were in Spain!

Kalina did all the
knots, and could
probs be a sailor.

Back to the beginning: Our trip to North Carolina

A sailboat ride in the sound!
Amazingly, we saw dolphins,
but the water was too shallow
for them to jump.

Last April, when Covid numbers were quite low, and our family was eagerly anticipating another summer adventure, and Elise, in her own Elise way, suggested North Carolina so she could see where she was born, we booked a trip! Assuming we could be a bit flexible once we got closer to the date.

Turns out, not everything we booked was super flexible. Plus, vaccines happened. Plus, the kids aren't getting any younger. Plus (and I hate to admit this may have factored in, but I think Matt could see the desperation in my eyes), I knew I would never stop working if I didn't leave the house. For a long time. Far away.

So we threw caution and unanswered emails to the wind, invested in some better masks than the ones I could sew, and took our trip.

Good choice? We may never know... seems like it, though.

I like how nearly every event starts really, really early in the morning. And I only just found out from Kalina that this one actually started at 12:04 a.m., when she snapped awake, assumed the clock was wrong, dressed in the bathroom among drowsy and confused cats, and nearly woke her sisters before realizing that, actually, the clock was right after all and slept the rest of the night in her clothes. Hah! It can happen to any of us, right?

Fortunately, we were able to truly start our day at a more normal time, but were heading out the door by about 7:30 in the morning. We were grateful to Grandpa and Marianne for driving us, but I admit, considering we hadn't known for sure even a week in advance that we were actually going to make the trip, I still didn't quite believe it would actually happen. It became more real when they drove away, and we were left at the airport with only our suitcases and other odd items we wanted to bring along (an empty cooler, a fishing rod).

And what an empty airport it was! Security was waiting for us for a change! And the flight had quite a few empty seats! In fact, the only hitch was that Naomi had developed a fear of flying since our last airplane ride. Even the Takeoff M&Ms (yes, they're a thing now in our family, harkening back to Kalina's first flight at age nearly 4) didn't help. Naomi cowered close to me while Elise talked plankton with Matt behind us and Kalina listened in, amused. 

What ended up working for Naomi was simply losing herself in her book (a hand-me-down dolphin book from Elise) so she almost forgot she was on an airplane. I swear this girl is more like me every day. Flying never became easy for Naomi, but she managed to sit with her sisters on our second flight while Matt and I kicked back in front of them. Elise: "I'm not a very good comforter, I'm not sure this is a good idea." They all survived.

Amazingly, our flights were on time, our rental van was ready, our hotel room hadn't been given away, and we did, in fact, find ourselves in a beachfront hotel by about 9:20 that night. Ready to drop, but equally ready to wake up to a beach day the next day. The only thing that didn't seem to work was the bluetooth in the van, so the girls had to listen to us reminisce about our early days in North Carolina for a large portion of the journey. They bore it well: after all, we were taking them to the beach.

First thing the next morning, after Matt did a grocery run that left me eerily uncomfortable because I  hadn't done it (and it was missing some of the things I'd had on my mental list--can he not read my mind?!?), Elise opened an early birthday present, as she'd requested: a new, intact net and a beach aquarium, both of which have become a near-yearly tradition since they actually do seem to wear out. 

And then beach!!! The beach makes everyone happy: Matt for the fishing, Naomi for the sand, Elise for the water and critters, Kalina for pretty much all of it (and shells!), and me because occasionally someone will take a long walk along it with me. 

In the afternoon, and after my own somewhat harrowing Wal-Mart run, everyone cleaned up so we could head out for a large highlight of the trip: a sailboat ride Matt had lined up! Naomi, in accordance with her distrust of any vehicle that isn't a car/van, was hoisted onto the boat rather reluctantly--but that all cleared up as soon as she found out she could go into the cabin and pet a friendly dog and cat the whole time. To each her own. Elise, on the other hand, amused herself simply by proving how much of a natural she was on a boat, even after only a few minutes! She also tried to spend time in the highest and lowest positions she could get to. Fortunately, the boat owner didn't freak out about our monkey child, and reassured us that in many places, the water was actually only a few feet deep.

Kalina, not being a very extreme person, enjoyed the beautiful water, clouds, sunset, breeze, etc., and simply had a lovely time. Not as good as Elise's, Elise would want to remind everyone. But still a lovely time. Just not as good as Elise's. ;)

The next day, I annoyed pretty much everyone by insisting that we visit the Wright Brothers' Memorial (it's right across the street and we could see the tower from our hotel window, for goodness sake!) and the Atlantic's largest sand dune state park, just down the road a little, instead of spending another day entirely on the beach. Sorry (not sorry).

The coolest thing was that we got to use Elise's 4th-grade national parks pass one last time, as we arrived on August 30, which still counted as her 4th-grade year. (We tried to use it on August 31, but there was no entry fee into the historic site we visited. Bummer.)

Actually, the giant memorial was also pretty cool. Even better, we all thought, was the flight path that was marked out with large stone memorials. Kalina ran the whole thing, actually faster than the original flight (she was proud). 

The North Carolina heat was creeping up to the point that the girls started to actually believe my stories about how hot North Carolina can get in the summer, and the time was nearly 11:00 when we reached the sand dune. So we took the path that looked like it might offer tiny bits of shade, watching hang-gliders take lessons along the way, and made our way down to a little cove for some wading. Matt hates sand and just wanted to fish (but was a good sport anyway), but the girls all agreed it had been a good idea to come. 

We didn't spend long, and were heading back around 11:30 or so, ignoring a directional sign since we were both pretty sure the trail curved farther left, and we knew a less optimal trail wound around to the right. Soon the footprints ahead of us began to look older and more weathered, and the signs we had expected to see had not appeared. We guessed too far left, apparently.

Technically, we didn't know where we were, the sun was only getting hotter, shade was scarce, we were surrounded by sand, there were no people, and our water would run out within the next hour or less if we all continued to drink it, which we needed to. Not really an optimal situation if you look at it that way.

Fortunately, however, we could backtrack if we needed to (although that sounded like an arduous, hot option at this point), we knew there were a few buildings and trees farther to our left, and if we just walked right we'd eventually hit a trail. Plus our phones still had signals, so....

So our adventure was right-sized when, with our phones, we quickly determined that a rough trail up ahead would take us back to our parking lot. We took the trail and made it back to the parking lot. 

A real flounder! Two
eyes on the same side
and all!

And back to the beach! Matt enjoyed the best beach fishing he's ever had, catching several varieties of fish, and the girls and I went looking for sea turtle nests (carefully roped off by park rangers, but still exciting!). That evening, after a long, long beach walk, we did find a sea turtle nest that they had just finished excavating (bummer!), and that had been laid on Kalina's birthday!

The next day could possibly be considered the highlight of my homeschool career so far, as we were able to visit the super-cool historic site within a few weeks of reading that chapter in our history book (within a series that covers history from hunter-gatherers to modern times over the course of 4 years, no less!). Compare it to getting a football signed by the winning Super-Bowl quarterback for your home-town team. 

A replica of the ship that sailed
to Roanoke Island. Fun for 30
minutes. Not for like 2 months.

The weather was hot, and either covid or end-of-season reductions had closed some of the fun kids' activities at the Roanoke Island living-history park, so my elation was kept in check. However, thanks to some fantastic interpreters, one of whom eloquently, and at great length, warned us of the trepidations of trying to bring the nail he'd blacksmithed for us back home in our carryon luggage, we greatly enjoyed our visit. We each got a chance to turn chair posts, shave wood, and stand in the stocks (the kids opted out), plus spend some time on a replica ship that felt waaayyyy too small to carry the 100 people it apparently did. And canons. 

We followed this up with a mediocre seafood lunch, and then a visit to the actual Roanoke Island site, with an informative tour, during which we all nearly melted. We were ready to move on.

A hot, humid, steep
climb in a mask!

Bodie Island
Lighthouse!

This time, moving on meant heading south on Hatteras National Seashore to our next location. We began with a pre-arranged climb up the Bodie Island lighthouse. We'd had to order tickets first thing in the morning (like, I set my alarm). Elise desperately wanted to climb it (surprise!), Kalina was fairly willing to be convinced, and we ordered one adult ticket as well, that I knew would go to Matt most likely because although I was pushing the lighthouse climb (how often do you get to climb a lighthouse, honestly?), I get really shaky with heights. Then Naomi astonished us all by saying she wanted to try it, so I booked an extra 2 tickets, because if there was even a chance a climb could happen, I wanted to enable it, and purchasing a ticket was the only way to even go inside.

As soon as Naomi actually looked up at the towering spiral of stairs, however, her courage failed her--especially when we were told only one person could climb each flight of steps at a time. I convinced her to climb about half a flight, then I climbed a flight, and then we headed back outside, where a nice ranger gave Naomi a junior ranger booklet, which she enjoyed far more than a lighthouse climb. It had a word search, after all.

This actually worked out really well, because Kalina scoffs at junior ranger booklets, and Elise does as well, though not as loudly. So although Naomi completed a couple when she was really too young (when her sisters weren't scoffing), she had yet to complete a booklet while being the right age to enjoy it. Sometimes it's nice to get Naomi away from her sisters for a bit...

We unfortunately missed seeing Matt and the girls at the top of the lighthouse (I guess they didn't think to wave?), but were happy to share stories once they'd made it back to solid ground again. The biggest surprise was how much Kalina enjoyed an activity she'd had to be talked into. We all already knew Elise would have fun. This ended up being such a highlight of our trip, totally worth the early wakeup (and the donation of two virtually unused tickets!).

Next, we made the trip down the skinny, less densely inhabited, windblown island to the spot near the tip where we'd be staying for the next four nights. The room was beautiful (think mini-apartment!), and soon we were all out on the beach finding the best shells of the trip, and catching a fish or two. Elise verified that the hotel was, indeed, mere steps from the beach, just as the advertisement promised. (Actually, she verified that it was exactly one jump from the steps to the sand.) 

We also verified that several kittens lived on the premises! Kalina enjoyed watching as one kitten stalked a littermate, while another brother or sister stalked it. We noted that on a beach, the world is your litterbox. 

In this wilder part of the island, we found a lot more sea turtle nests! On a walk one evening, we were able to speak with a couple who were watching the nest to keep it safe from all types of dangers, since it was getting close to hatching. We thoroughly enjoyed learning from them...until the skies opened and rain poured down, sending us on a 10-minute, harrowing run back to our hotel. Eek!

Our favorite sea turtle nest.

We checked back on the turtles each night and each morning, always making sure to fill all the ghost crab holes with sand to help keep the crabs too busy to catch turtles. The evening after it rained, we decided not to stick around as long, watching the sky. It didn't rain that evening--but the baby sea turtles hatched just 30 minutes or so after we'd been there, as we found out the next day. Ouch!!! I remember asking Kalina if we should turn back and just go check back one more time on the turtles, but trying to convince myself there was absolutely no chance, and we were crazy for considering it. Turns out, I wasn't crazy, and next time I will probably be more likely to convince Matt to stay and risk another drenching. (To be honest, though, our clothes took nearly 2 days to dry, so....)

To finish out the sea turtle saga, the following night was our last one, and we stayed until the couple watching the nest left, just in case more baby turtles would follow, as they often do. No luck. We still learned a ton and enjoyed being caught up in the excitement of it all. 

Elise loved riding the waves!

Over the next couple days, the weather varied from, at first, quite hot, to, by the end of the week, quite chilly! We enjoyed some lovely beach time, and the older girls became braver in the water and on the boogie board. Elise got completely drenched by waves at least once, but she was totally fine with that. Kalina and Naomi built some pretty cool structures in the sand, we gathered tons more shells, and we even flew a kite. Along the beach, we found a puffer fish (past rescuing), jellyfish, and plenty of crabs.

We liked this ice-cream store,
but the heat made the cones
really drippy. Like, really,
really drippy.

Off the beach (because we did leave, sometimes a bit too much for Matt's liking--but there's so much to see in the area!), we visited the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, spent a rainy and very chilly morning in a pretty cool shipwreck museum, stocked up at the grocery store, visited a toy/candy store where Naomi found a souvenir, and visited one of the typical beach shops, where we bought a second boogie board that ended up being our only one, as apparently our first one had blown away in the night. Bummer! In the room, Naomi diligently worked on her junior ranger book, and we enjoyed a few meals in front of the TV--a complete novelty to us.

On our last day, we took the ferry to Ocracoke Island, a pretty exciting trip. Because it's a ferry. I'd heard that the shells on a particular beach near Ocracoke were nearly so plentiful that "a perfect conch could wash up right at your feet." Matt, reluctant to leave his fishing pole, mocked the ad that told me this, but the girls and I convinced him to go with us anyway. Thank goodness, because there's no way I wanted to drive onto a ferry... :)

Matt was right--although each girl found a special shell, our haul was overall disappointing Trying to keep moving so that we'd be able to get back to the hotel in decent time for more swimming later that afternoon, we only stayed for 20 minutes or so. We weren't in our swimming gear anyway.

The pony pen was a bit disappointing (why are the "wild ponies" cooped up in a pen???), but Matt had found an amazing restaurant right on the dock--the best in outdoor dining! They actually were serving 3 different foods on the older girls' seafood bucket list: calamari, shrimp, and crab cakes. So we ordered them all, ate approximately half, and spent way too much. But totally got what we came for.

Afterward, we went to go get Naomi's junior ranger badge, as she'd completed all the necessary requirements and was quite proud/fulfilled. Unfortunately, the only park ranger was leaving for lunch, but she very kindly did the whole junior ranger thing with Naomi, and Naomi wore her badge for weeks afterward, creating small, but unfixable, holes in all her summer dresses. Fortunately, she'll be too tall for most of them next summer, anyway.

Our last stop was a hike (so, not really a stop) out to the location of Blackbeard's last stand. We liked it for the cool hermit crabs and water to play in.

The last morning, we took a long walk on the beach before reluctantly heading inland to our kayak tour of and Alligator River trail. Nobody wanted to leave, and let the powerful serenity of unspoiled beach recede with the waves. Fortunately, the waves had one last gift for us. A perfect conch washed up nearly at our feet, just as the advertisement had promised could happen. I was gratified to see that Matt was the one to find it. Hah! He got to claim the perfect conch, and I got the last laugh. It now sits proudly on our mantle, except for when the girls are holding it up to their ears. 

Sad to leave such a nice spot, we picked up some breakfast ice cream on the way out of town. In cups this time, not cones. We also stopped at a sound-side inlet to try to find some cool microorganisms and plankton for Elise to view in her pocket microscope. She found one cool little guy, but not the hoards of crab larvae she was really hoping for.

Our adventures certainly weren't over, because the kayak tour turned out to be incredibly awesome. Winding through narrow water trails and spotting a couple gators was pretty cool, but the best part was when, paraphrasing Kalina, "I was paddling at the front of the group, and a big strong guy started paddling up towards me, looking like he wanted to pass me. I just kept going. Eventually he got really interested in a tree off to the side and dropped back to look at it." Probably for a whole host of reasons, Kalina and Elise were better paddlers than most of the rest of the group. Yay! Naomi survived, by the way. She's becoming a good sport (or at least a really resigned one).

We then drove the rest of the way to Raleigh/Durham, and pulled into Matt's aunt and uncle's house for a quick visit (unfortunately, Aunt Ruth, and cousin Lynn and her family were at the beach). The girls were a bit nervous about meeting Uncle Peter for the first time in their memories, but within 30 seconds he'd charmed them all with his gregarious personality, funny stories, and kind and hilarious insights. We didn't want to leave, but knew we had a big day the next day and figured we would probably want to have slept. 

In a sad turn of events, Elise dropped a bag of shells she was bringing home and most of them broke. In an Elise-like about-face, however, she decided some of the pieces could be glued together to make a sea turtle, so that's good.

In the morning, we packed everything tightly (and more securely) to be ready for our flight, and set out to do the best we could at showing the girls Durham. Of the sites we wanted to see, Duke Gardens was the only one that was open, didn't need advance reservations at an inconvenient time, didn't cost a fortune for the short time we'd be able to spend, and provided some nostalgia. Seriously, like the only one. 

The gardens were appropriately beautiful, and I had fun telling Kalina a few of the things she used to do there (chase the geese and ducks, hang out on a bridge, etc.). We greatly missed the giant lily pads, but did enjoy taking the path up to Duke's campus to see the cathedral, and reminiscing a bit more about the time we spent in Durham.

There were so many places we wanted to eat at for lunch, so we turned to the most convenient option: the Mellow Mushroom in the tobacco warehouse district, which was pretty cool since the area's transformation began when we lived in Durham. We loved the pizza, too. Ironically, we hardly ever spent time in the tobacco district when we lived in Durham, and had eaten much more frequently at a number of other restaurants, but, whatever. The store we wanted to look into was closed, so we just did a quick lap and headed south to our old home, driving past a historic church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached once.

Elise seemed very concerned that we'd zoom past our house and she'd blink and miss it, but with our tiny, twisty neighborhood, that would've been nearly impossible. The house was still cute (although yellow now!), and Matt was interested to see that no one had fixed the front steps, which had needed fixing even when we lived there. 

But how much would Kalina remember? She had told of us a few memories at our house. Not too surprisingly, though, it looked quite different to her, even the mailbox area she seemed to remember fairly well. I was hoping we'd jog a few more memories, but we simply didn't.

Next, we drove to an old favorite park, where we unloaded the contents of the rest of our cooler since we couldn't bring it on the airplane. We walked a bit around Woodlake, just for old time's sake. And then it was time to depart. There's a lot more we could've done, but we wouldn't have traded our time at the beach.

Heading home was sad, and most of us questioned at least once whether we should just move back to North Carolina. I'm guessing we'll all be back someday... and this time we're totally stalking a sea turtle nest until it hatches.

Kalina's sand structure!

We did see sea turtles!

We had trouble getting good selfies! This is the
only really good one.

Naomi was feeling silly. But at least she was
smiling!