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Jul. 24th, 2006 10:07 am
Back and blue
Here I am with my uneven tan, all that's left of my week in Florida. That and this semi-stupefied feeling of satisfaction brought upon by bursts of activity followed by extended periods of turpitude.
I hope I didn't oversell the vacation to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
monshu and B&E on Saturday, but this really does feel like the best family trip ever. Dad only began to blow his stack once that I saw, an attenuated outburst that would scarcely have merited a mention back when we were kids--and this despite the fact that my stepmom was really trying his patience with her incredible inability to hold on to small things (such as purses and credit cards) and her neurotic demands that he drop everything to help her look for them. I only got upset a couple times and only at my hapless older brother, who nagged me all week about biking with him and then managed to get separated within two minutes, leading to 15 minutes of waiting/running around looking for him. He was in good form most of the week, as were my sister (who I only saw annoyed once on the last day) and her kids.
Here's how close we were to the water. (Our building is the middle one in the photo; the building sites to the south have since been filled in.) An eight-block stroll up a quiet street past the flower-filled yards of pink beach hotels takes you to the cheesy local mini-mall which, in defiance of all expectations, has a seafood restaurant which boasts the best crab cakes outside of Maryland. (And that's not just my own opinion, it's the opinion of my Maryland born-and-raised father.) Three miles further up--and easy twenty minutes by bicycle even for a completely out-of-practice rider like me--and you come to a phenomenal state park with beaches, mangroves, uninhabited islands, and wading birds galore. Another couple miles, and you've made it to the local shopping district with a grocery and the other big-box stores you're likely to want on holiday. We hardly left the island for the eight days we were there.
During the Virginia trip, there was one outstanding highlight--the afternoon on Assateague. This year was like living on Assateague, only without the ponies. My BIL took my nephs to the beach or the pool every day, sometimes both, often multiple times. We saw alligators, crabs, chameleons, egrets, herons, kites, manatees, pelicans, and more in the wild and sea turtles in captivity. Everyone agreed that we have got to go back. My sister and BIL even bought into the place, so you know they will.
In any case, I tried to do some catching up with LJ but I don't think I made it back further than last Wednesday. So if there was an entry of yours you'd hoped I'd comment on, be sure to let me know. Also, if you want to welcome me back in person, why don't you join me at Big Chicks tonight for dollar burgers?
I hope I didn't oversell the vacation to
monshu and B&E on Saturday, but this really does feel like the best family trip ever. Dad only began to blow his stack once that I saw, an attenuated outburst that would scarcely have merited a mention back when we were kids--and this despite the fact that my stepmom was really trying his patience with her incredible inability to hold on to small things (such as purses and credit cards) and her neurotic demands that he drop everything to help her look for them. I only got upset a couple times and only at my hapless older brother, who nagged me all week about biking with him and then managed to get separated within two minutes, leading to 15 minutes of waiting/running around looking for him. He was in good form most of the week, as were my sister (who I only saw annoyed once on the last day) and her kids.Here's how close we were to the water. (Our building is the middle one in the photo; the building sites to the south have since been filled in.) An eight-block stroll up a quiet street past the flower-filled yards of pink beach hotels takes you to the cheesy local mini-mall which, in defiance of all expectations, has a seafood restaurant which boasts the best crab cakes outside of Maryland. (And that's not just my own opinion, it's the opinion of my Maryland born-and-raised father.) Three miles further up--and easy twenty minutes by bicycle even for a completely out-of-practice rider like me--and you come to a phenomenal state park with beaches, mangroves, uninhabited islands, and wading birds galore. Another couple miles, and you've made it to the local shopping district with a grocery and the other big-box stores you're likely to want on holiday. We hardly left the island for the eight days we were there.
During the Virginia trip, there was one outstanding highlight--the afternoon on Assateague. This year was like living on Assateague, only without the ponies. My BIL took my nephs to the beach or the pool every day, sometimes both, often multiple times. We saw alligators, crabs, chameleons, egrets, herons, kites, manatees, pelicans, and more in the wild and sea turtles in captivity. Everyone agreed that we have got to go back. My sister and BIL even bought into the place, so you know they will.
In any case, I tried to do some catching up with LJ but I don't think I made it back further than last Wednesday. So if there was an entry of yours you'd hoped I'd comment on, be sure to let me know. Also, if you want to welcome me back in person, why don't you join me at Big Chicks tonight for dollar burgers?