Remember, I’m posting these on Eastern Time, and I’m posting them late at night, sometimes after the calendar says it’s tomorrow. Did that make sense? The point is, if it says it was posted at 12:15 a.m. on September 4, that entry probably covers September 3. Got it? Oh, and don’t forget to check out the pictures.
In Maryland
I got up with Ben this morning (Sunday) a little later than the normal time he usually wakes me up on the weekend. Difference is, over here in the east, it was 9:20. I liked that. It threw us off a little because when the in-laws said we could sleep in, I don’t know that they considered that our bodies were still thinking on Central Time.
While Shannon slept in a bit, I took Ben to the kitchen for a breakfast of firsts. He chowed down on some Waffle Dunkers – tasty treats from the frozen foods section. It was his first taste of waffles, and he liked it. He also liked the veggie bacon his gramma microwaved for him. He didn’t seem to notice that it was pig-free.
The in-laws’ house is in a great location. There is a huge field out front, probably about the size of two football fields, and a horse ranch beside their property. Behind the house is a tidal cove that rises and falls twice a day. It connects to the Wye River, which runs into Chesapeake Bay. They see many water birds and bald eagles back there.
The house itself is very nice, too. Evidently it was a topic of discussion amongst the neighbors living in the area before they bought the house. In some cases, one half of a married couple had wanted to buy the house, but the other one had not. There was just too much work to be done on it. Their work paid off, though. In addition to repairing it and completely re-doing the kitchen, they added a large deck and screened in most of it. After Ben finished breakfast, he played with toy cars out there as we drank our coffee. The cool breeze was a nice change from the hot Texas summer.
Before we left, Shannon’s stepbrother and his wife dropped by with their two boys. One is only nine weeks old, while the other is about Ben’s age. They don’t really play together at this age. They sort of play near each other, independently. Although, at one point they gave each other a huge – a big, bear hug, and lost their balance. Ben ended up crashing on top of his new buddy cousin, but both boys came out with smiles. They really just bounce around at this age.
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On the Bus
We left for Delaware at about 2:30. As the in-laws prepared the RV for takeoff, Shannon and I took Ben outside to walk around a bit. He saw the RV and said, “bus.”
The “bus” ride went great. Ben sat in the front passenger seat, as that was the only spot with a seatbelt needed to secure his car seat. In fact, the only other passenger seating in the RV was furniture like you would see in a living room. It was a nice ride. Ben’s gramma gave him a cup of dried banana chips and cinnamon dried apples. He gobbled them up. Ben loved taking in the sites (i.e., corn and soybean fields) as we made our way down and to the right on the map. He fell asleep about 45 minutes into the trip.
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Shannon Gets Carded
Just before we got to Ocean View, we stopped at a liquor store. I stayed put with Ben, who by this time was awake, while the other three went into the store. He said, “music,” so I hit seek on the radio and just left it on a hip-hop station. Shannon opened the door to the RV singing, “I got carded, I got carded!” She does look young for her age, and I’ve heard some places say their policy is to card anyone who looks younger than 27. Where they came up with the number, I have no idea.
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In Delaware
I misspoke earlier when I said that it would be my first time to see the Atlantic. On our Key West trip a few years ago, I saw the Atlantic. Oh well. There’s plenty of fun on this trip without that particular first.
Like watch about 20 pairs of bugs mating on one plant. That’s right. On one particular flowering plant, this one type of bug was all over the place. Most of them had a partner, doing it like they do on the Discovery Channel.
We all hung out for a while as the Mediterranean lasagna baked. The boys had a great time playing in the large living room as the adults caught each other up on life’s little details.
For the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit, we spent an entire evening without watching, hearing, or reading news of it. Until we got here, it was either on the TV back in Maryland, or on the radio in the RV. Nobody mentioned it all night.
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The Beach
After eating, it was off to the beach. The sun already had begun to set, so we rushed to get out of here and get our feet in the sand. The town was very crowded, as most beachfront towns in the U.S. are on Labor Day. The parking lot was almost empty, however, as was the beach. Just a couple of fisherman with large poles standing at attention (stop it) were there to see us. We let Ben walk in the sand on the way to the water. Thanks to the near-dark lighting and the unknown surroundings, he got a bit scared by the crashing sound of the surf. Shannon lifted him up, where he rested his head on her shoulder while the water rushed over her feet and back out to sea. The breeze blowing off the ocean made me feel more relaxed than I have in a long time. As Ben and I walked back through the sand toward the parking lot, I leaned down to ask him if he liked the beach. He said, “Yes.”
I have no pictures of that, as the flash would have lit up only the people. It was dark enough that even my video camera couldn’t detect an image.
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Winding Down
Back at the house, we put the boys to bed and then watched “National Treasure.” It was entertaining. I have a feeling the producers wanted to get it out there while The DaVinci Code was popular, but before it became a movie. Now, unfortunately, millions of moviegoers who never read that book will probably see the movie and think it’s a lot like “National Treasure.” They both deal with a prized treasure that has been hidden for centuries (even millennia) by a secret society. Different prize, different secret society, but cryptic clues are found and adventure is had by all. Hope I didn’t ruin those stories for anybody. I don’t know which will be remembered as the better movie, but I know which story I liked the best. Hint: it’s not the one that takes place in the U.S.
Today went much better than yesterday, and Ben will like the beach even more when he can see more than faint shadows with the occasional white breaking wave. I sit in Shannon’s aunt’s home office typing as everyone else sleeps. I’ll sleep well knowing that we have five full days of vacation to go.
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