After he and Andi both finished their schoolwork for the day, they rode all the way around the block together. Max didn’t fall at all. When he rode back into our spot here…he ran into the back of our car. Don’t worry. He didn’t even get a scratch and neither did the car. After we realized there were no injuries, we all had quite a belly laugh about that.

On Tuesday, Max did his schoolwork while we did business stuff and then Richard took the boys to the park. In the afternoon, the boys played outside while Richard drove to the store and bought goodies for a cookout. Andi, Frank and Randy all stayed for dinner. It was a lot of fun and we sure will miss them.

Wednesday was the day Max was dreading. He started to get teary-eyed whenever he thought about leaving Andi. We woke up early and got all packed up. I’m pretty sure I will never get all the sand out of this RV! It is EVERYWHERE! Andi and her dad spent about an hour with us before it was time to pull out. Max said a tearful goodbye and we took pictures. We pulled away and Max and Andi were waving to each other. Max was very, very sad for the rest of the day and that evening. He called Andi after we got to our next destination. That cheered him up a bit, but not much.

It rained most of the day, which fit Max’s mood. Our next stop was a hotel in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. We parked the RV, checked in, and went to our room. It had quite a 70s feel to it with all the light greens and geometric patterns. I’m pretty sure Carol Brady herself decorated it!

We dumped our bags, and found a fantastic North Carolina barbeque place for lunch. If you’ve never had North Carolina barbeque, you have sadly neglected your taste buds and your soul. It is AWESOME! After stuffing ourselves with pulled pork, we visited the Wright Brother’s Museum for one of Max’s field trips. Luckily, the rain had stopped for awhile.

It was very interesting for all of us…except Mason. He was far more interested in the huge empty field outside, where he made a friend. His friend didn’t speak any English and Mason doesn’t speak Spanish (except for a few phrases he’s picked up from Dora the Explorer) but they got along so well! They laughed and ran and laughed some more! You see, you don’t have to speak somebody’s language to be their buddy! When we left, Mason cried and said, “Oh no! My friend!!”

I posted a short video of Mason with his friend HERE. Toward the end, you can see how easily a 3-year-old can get distracted by a passing truck. Ha ha.

That evening, we drove along the coast, looking at endless rows of homes for rent. Of course, it’s not the busy season so most of them are vacant and look very cold, dark and lonely. It was chilly and still misty with intermittent rain so trying to imagine thousands of people in flip flops and bathing suits, trudging to the beach, was a bit difficult. We had dinner at a local place that was just a hair better than awful. We shoulda gone back to the barbeque place!!

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

Wednesday is Richard’s busiest day of the week so we usually stay in that day. Boring but necessary. The next day, Max borrowed my camera to take some pictures of several Canada Geese that appear to be wintering at the campground.

The zoom knob had been sticking a bit but would turn if you were gentle with it. Max wasn’t so gentle and…it broke. That was the third Canon SD600 that I’ve lost.

The first and second ones I bought were over $200. The third was a bit less. I was thrilled to find one on ebay, refurbished, of course, for $90 with free shipping! The camera is a really good one, and popular, too. Since I know all the bells and whistles for it, I don’t have to read another boring manual if I just keep buying the same camera. The seller on ebay said he could get it to me before we left South Carolina. Hallelujah! I’m not sure how I’d get by the rest of the trip without a camera!

On Friday, we visited the oldest restaurant in Myrtle Beach. It’s a German one and the entire place has all kinds of stuff stuck to the walls. My view during dinner was a large poster of Princess Diana. I ordered escargot as an appetizer and tried to get Max to eat his first snail. He said he’d do it for ten bucks and I eventually agreed. He put it in his mouth and said, “Mmmm!” But, we could tell he was faking it. He then chewed and chewed (they are kinda chewy), swallowed (without gagging) and held out his hand with a smile, waiting for the cash. Heh…

For dinner, we had sausage, sauerkraut, the works! It was AWESOME!

The next day, Richard took Max and Mason to the park while I worked. Max made two new friends that day – Andi, who is almost 12, and Randy, who is 12. I was surprised by the age difference but all the kids got along great for the entire rest of our stay at that campground! That night, we went to a seafood restaurant that overlooked a waterway. Max took this picture with my phone.

Sunday was a BIG DAY! We moved Max’s training wheels up an inch and he finally believed what we’d been telling him for a few days. He wasn’t really using the training wheels. They weren’t even touching the ground when he rode. However, he still said he wanted to wait “just one more day” to take them off completely. We spent the afternoon at the beach with Andi and Randy. Andi’s dad, Frank, met us out there, too. The kids made a HUGE sand turtle, flew kites, and jumped over the small waves. It was quite chilly but they didn’t seem to mind getting a bit wet. As the sun started to set, our lips started turning blue so we made the kids come inside. We invited Randy, Andi and Frank over for dinner and we ordered pizza. Andi is also homeschooled so she and Max have lots in common. Randy is in regular school and lives at the campground. Some campgrounds have year-round residents so that isn’t at all unusual. He was a very well-mannered and soft-spoken boy and we liked him a lot, too.

We were a bit sad that night because we knew that was our last Sunday in Myrtle Beach.

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

I got caught up on laundry and, after a jaunt out for sandwiches for lunch, we took the boys to the beach in the afternoon. The weather on every Sunday of our trip here has been absolutely perfect.

Shaded Reflections

A Perfect Day!

We came home later, washed off the sand, and headed to our favorite restaurant here. We had the same waiter as the previous weekend. He’s on leave from the military, mending a severely broken ankle (lots of pins and screws) and he’s very friendly. Dinner was incredible and we had a great time!

On Monday, I got a bit of work done. Zach decided he wanted to spend his last full day here shopping. Max had been excited about Zach coming because, unlike Ali, “Zach likes to do fun stuff, not shopping!” So, Max was pretty surprised to learn we were going shopping, not go-kart riding or laser-tagging. Ha ha. He had fun anyway because the ducks converged on us again when we arrived. There was no shortage of friendly seagulls, either!

Who’s Making Fun of Whom?

Mason Likes Metallic Chicks

I found a neat shop with inexpensive beach clothes, and was able to buy some goodies for the girls back home. I also found two cool tops for myself, made from recycled materials. Zach bought some goodies for his girlfriend. The shops were in an outdoor area and the weather was just a bit nippy, but sunny and gorgeous. It was a perfect day! Max and Mason took a ride on the dinosaurs.

Zach chose the restaurant again that night so we had brick oven pizza at an Italian restaurant. The pizza was outstanding and I later contemplated just putting the bathroom scale under the sink until we get home. I mean, WHAT is the POINT of dieting on a trip when you are surrounded by local restaurants serving delectable treats, right?!

On Tuesday, we woke up early to head to breakfast and the airport. We were very sad to see Zach go but we’ll see him again very, very soon! Zach said it was the best vacation ever!!

Tuesday was also the day we decided to delay our return to Maine by a week. Why? Because of the weather. Last week, two more storms were moving across the country and it was below freezing and snowing just a couple hours north of here. If we left too early, we’d need to have the RV re-winterized before we left, to prevent the pipes from freezing.  So, Richard has changed all our reservations for the rest of the trip, and backed everything up by one week. It might be foolish to think one week can make a difference when they’re having the coldest winter in 40 years down here, but we can hope and pray!

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

We “cleaned house” that afternoon and picked Zach up late that night at the airport. Max and Mason love to go to the airport! Zach’s plane arrived a few minutes before we did and he met us outside. Mason was sooooo disappointed that he didn’t get to go inside the airport. He started crying but Zach was able to calm him down and make him smile.

We slept in a bit the next morning, and then got some work done while Max did his schoolwork. Zach was “on vacation” so he got to pick all our activities and restaurants during his stay here.

So, after “work” on Friday, we all jumped in the car. Zach had scoured a couple of tourist pamphlets and books, but wanted to see what was nearby. We first stopped for a fantastic lunch at an Italian restaurant. Mason wasn’t behaving very well. He kept wanting to sit behind me and “hold the reins” (my ponytail)…and he kept saying, “Giddyup, Mommy!”

There was a “red hat” group sitting next to us. That was a treat. We left there, and next went to Barnes and Noble. We ALL love bookstores, of course, and we treated ourselves to Starbucks afterwards. We drove around some more, showing Zach was was nearby. He wanted to eat at the Brazilian steakhouse for dinner. That was the third time we’d eaten there in three weeks and we’d keep going if it wasn’t so darned expensive! For dessert, we went to Marble Slab (yum!!).

On Saturday, we worked a bit. Zach wanted to go to our favorite pizza place here for lunch. They have large TVs all over the place and they were running a show about people doing tricks on their bikes. Max is just learning how to ride on two wheels and he really enjoyed that.

After lunch, we worked off some of those pizza calories with a very competitive round of putt putt. I admit it. Zach won (even after landing in this water hazard!).

Richard and I tied for second. Max did really well, and got his first hole-in-one ever. And, we didn’t keep track of Mason’s score because, well, you can see why HERE.

For dinner, Zach wanted to visit a Japanese steakhouse. We don’t think the food was better than the first one we’d visited but the “show” by the chef was more entertaining. We walked around a bit after dinner. It was chilly…but downright toasty compared to Maine. We were definitely looking forward to a sunny Sunday on the beach and we were not to be disappointed! More on that later. Have to get ready for (yes, another!) dinner out. Whoo hoo!

I’ve posted more pictures of our trip HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

Anyway, Max entertained himself that night by turning into a robot.

On Wednesday, we headed to the aquarium for the day. Max was signed up to attend their homeschooling class and I was going to let the fish and sharks entertain Mason for the day. The aquarium was, by far, the nicest one we’ve ever visited. Mason liked the big slide the best!

After Max attended the class, he was able to roam around, too, and he enjoyed the big shark display the best. We let him take pictures.

Mason got frightened in the tunnel that meandered through the shark area so he asked us to hold him, saying, “I keep my eyes kwosed!”

My favorite part was the display of sea dragons. I’d never seen one before and they are exquisite!

Max got up the nerve to pet a horseshoe crab after the lady told him he could avoid their wiggling legs by holding one upside down. That didn’t stop the crab from using its tail, however, and Max got a bit nervous at that point.

The day at the aquarium was one of the highlights of our trip so far! I’ve posted more pictures of it HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

Ali’s flight was a bit delayed because, on the last leg of her trip, somebody stood up while the plane was on the runway, about to take off, and raced for the bathroom, saying he was going to be sick. The flight attendant got him to sit in a seat but then he passed out. They returned to the gate, but ended up taking off with the ill person on board. I wasn’t happy to hear about that. Ali pointed him out when she got off the plane and he, quite honestly, looked just fine to me. Not sure what the story was there.

Max and Mason were so happy to see Ali that they didn’t want to go to bed.

The next morning, we got up early and went shopping (one of Ali’s favorite pastimes). When we arrived, a huge flock of ducks approached us. Ali found a cracker somewhere (in her pocket?) and gave it to Max. He offered a few crumbs and then we all laughed for several minutes while they converged on Max and followed him.

After Max ran out of crumbs, we shopped and bought some fun goodies for the loved ones back home. Ali’s favorite store was a HUGE candy store she’d seen on the Food Network. We found types of candy we’d never seen before! They had a very impressive Jelly Belly castle and we had a hard time dragging Max, Mason AND Ali out of there!

That night, we had a very nice dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse. Ali is majoring in culinary arts and she enjoyed that quite a bit. We planned to visit several nice restaurants during her visit so she could try different foods on her trip. Yes, we must make these types of sacrifices for our children. Heh…

On Wednesday, I had to work a bit in the morning but we then left to have lunch at a fantastic bakery…and then more shopping! There are, of course, far more places to shop here than there are in Bangor, Maine. Ali and I found a store that featured lots of cooking products and that’s where we spent most of our shopping time. After we finished shopping, we were heading back to the car and Max noticed a small bird on the sidewalk that didn’t move when he walked close by. I took a picture and noticed the bird just looked at me, but didn’t move. I pulled a glove out of my pocket, put it on and gently picked it up. It had a broken foot but I couldn’t see anything else wrong with it. I placed it behind some bushes, out of the wind, and piled up some bark around it for more protection from the wind. We returned the next day to check on him but he was gone. I’d like to think he was just stunned after his injury but that he happily flew away later that evening. (That’s what I told the boy, anyway!).

We went out for a very nice dinner again that night. I was starting to think I might have to buy some pants with elastic waists if Ali stayed extra days!

On Thursday, we did it all over again but we started out with a HUGE breakfast (ug!!!), and then went for our very first helicopter ride! Mason calls them “Kelihoppers.” That was great fun and the Kelihopper didn’t crash so we were happy.

The shopping place we found that day wasn’t as nice or as large as the other two we’d visited. We still had a great time and even attended a wine tasting. That was interesting and fun. Mason fell asleep in the car after we shopped and we went searching for the restaurant we wanted to take Ali to. It took quite awhile but we finally found it. The GPS was way off!

The dinner was amazing! Max and Mason liked the restaurant because they had pillows in the booths and they could kick back with their ipods while we enjoyed a very fun and filling four-course meal.

On Friday, we had to get up early to take Ali to the airport. Max cried when she left, but smiled later when I reminded him that Zach is coming for a visit next week!

I’ve posted even more pictures HERE.

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

When we got back to our spot, we put the slides back out, put the jacks back down, and got ourselves hooked back up to electricity, water, sewer and cable. Then, the boys finally got to open their Valentine’s Day bags. Mason likes his “Cars” book the best. It has buttons that make (really loud and annoying) brake-screeching and horn sounds (what was I thinking?!). Max liked his kite the best (from Ali) and Richard REALLY liked his box of books.

We are planning to attend Burning Man in 2011. I bought Richard several books about it. He spent most of yesterday afternoon reading them. I can’t wait to read them, too! We’d love to hear from anybody else who has or plans to attend Burning Man!

I got candy and a romantic magnetic frame. Richard had even pulled out the printer and hooked it up to print a picture of us to put on it!

We didn’t want to fight the VDay crowds at dinnertime so we went for a late lunch / early dinner (linner) and the meal was outstanding, second only to the service. The older kids have been giving me a hard time about Mason’s hair being so long (he doesn’t want to cut it and I think he’s adorable anyway). There was another boy at the restaurant with hair longer than Mason’s. I took his picture to send it to the older kids. Heh…

Anyway, I noticed during lunch that Richard looked a bit red. He’d been in the direct sunlight when he was working outside the RV.

He’s not supposed to be in the sun between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. because it can cause him to get vasculitis that can then last for months, and necessitate Prednisone.
Think of it as sort of a sun allergy. We kinda forgot about the 10 to 3 rule because in Bangor, during the winter, we’re not outside this time of year anyway. The boys wanted to fly their kites in the afternoon after lunch but I wouldn’t let Richard go back out into the sun. He was happy to sit in the RV and read his books anyway.

I took the boys to the beach with their new kites from Ali and the wind was just about perfect. Not too strong but blowing almost steady. We unfurled the kites and let them go and it was SO MUCH FUN! Even Mason was able to hold on and make it fly. It was his very first kite-flying experience. The kites did some loop-de-loops on occasion, much to the delight of the boys. The surf was very calm, it was bright and sunny, and there was almost nobody else on the beach. Best of all, it was warm enough to take off my winter coat!

After awhile, a seagull walked up to Max and started squawking at him. Max got a huge kick out of that. It never got close enough to touch but it was definitely yelling at Max. He finally stopped laughing and said, “What’s he want, Mom?”

I replied, “He’s asking if you have any Cheetos in your pocket.”

That set off another chain of giggles for Max and Mason. Other seagulls came nearby, too, even though we weren’t feeding them anything. I pointed out the juveniles vs. the adults and told the boys we’d come back out tomorrow with the bird field guide so we

can read exactly what type they are, what they eat, how they live, etc. There was one tiny bird out there that walked very, very fast and, when he walked, his head moved rapidly front to back. The boys thought he was hilarious, too. After awhile, Max showed the squawking seagull that his pockets were empty and he seemed to give up and flew away.

I let Max bury himself in the sand. I sent a picture of it to Richard with a note that said, “Your turn for laundry!”

When the sun started to set, we went back to the campground. After bathing the boys (tons of sand!!), we watched movies while the boys played and we had a small, light snack for dinner. We were still full from our big lunch and from all the Valentine’s Day chocolate. What a GREAT Valentine’s Day!!!

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

On the way there, I took a picture of a snow-laden palm tree. Not, THAT is something I’ve never seen in Maine, or anywhere else for that matter.

The sand was covered with snow and the parts where nobody had yet tread were absolutely beautiful.

We were tickled to find a tiny snowman waiting for us just on the safe side of the water line! What a treat! It was sure nice of his maker to leave him there for others to enjoy.

On the way back, I took pictures of the dune fences and the beach grass, also laden with snow.

This morning dawned not-quite-clear but very bright compared to yesterday’s heavy sky. The sun peeking through the clouds onto the snow and sea was beautiful.

Within just a few hours, it warmed right up (to 40) and it sounded like it was raining outside. The sound was coming from huge globs of slushy snow dropping from the RV…and from the trees, cars, and everything else. We were concerned about black ice tonight because we have a special dinner and a show planned but the roads have dried quite nicely. Good thing, too…’cause we pre-paid for the evening!

Since it’s the weekend, we got a few new neighbors at the campground today. One pulled up with two parents and a kid inside. We don’t see many RVers with children this time of year because most of the couples with children have them in regular schools (meaning most of our camping neighbors this time of year are retired folks). Every once in awhile, we run into somebody who homeschools like us but it is very rare. So, when Max saw a “kid” pull up next to us, he got excited.

However, when I looked out the window, I noticed that 1. the “kid” is actually a pre-teen (or even a short teenager); 2. he spit on the ground when I was looking at him (that’s something I raised my boys to NEVER do in public); and 3. his parents are currently unpacking everything and getting set up while he’s sitting on his haunches, not helping at all. Three strikes against him. Max isn’t going to be allowed to introduce himself.

Perhaps you think I’m being to snotty but all our children (5 of our own and 1 sweet young man we picked up along the way a few years ago), ages 3 to 23, are well-behaved, polite and loving souls. None of them smoke, drink, have tattoos, weird piercings, purple hair, or anything like that. They all have fantastic, ambitious, mature friends and we proudly take at least partial responsibility for our children’s maturity and accomplishments (one in high school has high honors and one in college is on the President’s list – 4.0 GPA) . Heck yeah, we’ve chosen our children’s friends along the way, and we have at times prohibited them from playing with (or dating) one child/teen or another when it became obvious that the other child was walking down a path that we didn’t want our child to follow in.

Max and Mason are best friends right now (and we’re hoping that lasts a long time!). They are playing hide ‘n seek in the RV this afternoon because it’s pretty muddy and cold outside. That’s not such an easy game in this limited space but they’re having a grand time! Max calls Mason “Honey” like we do. It is so sweet. And he’s very protective of his little brother and Mason worships his big brother. I remember when Max couldn’t wait for Mason to walk and talk so they could play together. I am so glad they get along so well. They play together all the time much like Ali and Frank used to do (they were 20 months apart while Max and Mason are 4 1/2 years apart).

Anyway, Max will be too busy to be making new friends with spitting pre-teens this week anyway. Ali is coming for a visit! She’ll be flying down next week and she’s bringing some surprises for the boys with her. Ali LOVES to shop and heaven knows there are TONS of shops here! Richard may be cutting up the credit card come this time next week. Heh…

The boys talked to Grampa on Skype this morning, and we all talked to Frank and Matt as well. If you don’t have Skype, get it. It’s wonderful! Max is able to show his artwork to the grandparents and much more just by holding things up in front of the computer camera. Max was showing Grampa their Burt and Ernie dolls and how they can make them fart (big sigh…).  Yeah, spitting bothers me but bodily function humor, well, that’s alright.

We will be eating dinner in the RV tomorrow night to avoid the Valentine’s Day crowds. Heaven knows I bought enough chocolate to get us by!! We’ll be going out plenty next week anyway because Ali, who’s a culinary student, will want to try all the best restaurants. I may need to go on a diet when we get home!

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

On Sunday, we took the boys for an afternoon romp on the beach with their new airplanes. Each time they threw a plane, it would fly a few feet, land, and break into pieces. So, if they wanted to throw it again, they had to put the wings and tail back on. What a rip-off!! Later, we glued the pieces on so they wouldn’t be such a pain in the backside…but now we can no longer store them in a cabinet so they’re taking up some much-coveted space on the dashboard of the RV.

That night, we had dinner at a place that looked nice but the food was truly awful. Who knew you could muck up pumpkin shrimp bisque so badly? I had an oyster sub sandwich for dinner and the tartar sauce had some weird spice in it that made it taste like anything but tartar sauce. I always like my fried seafood with tartar sauce. Just plain, old-fashioned tartar sauce. Period. Chefs really should not mess with the basics…like tartar sauce! Or, they should offer the regular stuff and some jazzed up version if the customer wants it. Richard didn’t eat much of his dinner, either, and Mason didn’t touch his fried shrimp or french fries. He’s been coming down with Max’s cold and his appetite was obviously on the fritz that night.

On Monday, I worked while Richard helped Max with his lessons. They took a long walk down the beach that afternoon but I kept Mason in the RV with me because he would start coughing if he ran around too much. Around 5:00, we put on our jackets and headed for the car. We had some packages to mail out, there was another restaurant we wanted to try and I was tired of being cooped up all day. We buckled Mason into his car seat and he started coughing. And he coughed, and he coughed, and his eyes started watering and he started crying. So, I unbuckled him and brought him back into the RV and Richard and Max drove to the shipping place and to the grocery store to pick up some dinner items (quiche). Mason went down for a nap after his coughing quieted down. The night air obviously didn’t agree with him. He is not running a fever so I’m not too worried.

So, what did we ship? Well, I promised to make my nephew a handmade doll (all boys need a dolly!) and I started and finished it on Sunday evening. Sock dolls are SO EASY! Before we left my sister’s house, I asked her for a pair of her socks. I told her I’d send them back…but that she wouldn’t be able to wear them anymore. Heh… Here’s a picture:

Sock Doll

Bottom of the Sock Doll’s Feet

We also shipped some souvenirs and local foodstuffs back to Bangor. Our loved ones there will be pretty happy with their goodies!

While I was writing this, we learned that a good friend in Bangor got hit by a car today. She will be okay but she’s in surgery right now. From what I understand, she was running and there was a car accident and one of the cars went up on the curb and hit her.

She got a compound fracture. This is one of the downsides of traveling. If something happens at home, you can’t jump in the car and drive to the hospital to hold someone’s hand, or pop by the neighbor’s with a casserole. However, all the loved ones in Bangor have rallied together to provide support. They’re awesome!!!

P.S. Some of you are asking why we’re not naming the restaurants, etc. Seems we’ve picked up a stalker of late so we’re not publishing our exact location. No, I’m not kidding. Not to worry. We have dealt with this before and we have professionals dealing with this one now. After the trip, we will add the names of and links to the restaurants (the good ones, anyway).

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

We left my sister’s house three days ago…and it’s a good thing we got outta there! She’s supposed to get 16-24 inches of snow by this time tomorrow. Yuck!! It’s supposed to be 57 here today so we’re not at risk of snow. However, the front coming through is supposed to give us a lot of rain and I got a bit nervous this morning when they issued a coastal flood advisory for this area.

I called the campground office and they said they believe the flood advisory is only for low-lying areas inland that are actually below sea level.  However, she said she’d get an update and call me back if we need to move / evacuate. Lovely…

We found a local healthfood store yesterday and were able to stock up on groceries. Mason is eating an organic waffle right now and Richard made us organic egg sandwiches for breakfast. We also got plenty of organic chocolate and popcorn to get us through the storm. Heh…

Last night, we had a fabulous dinner at a steakhouse that feeds you all the meat you can eat. We had several different types of steak, lamb, chicken, sausage and ribs. I doubt any of it was organic. I asked Richard if we needed to pick up some Lipitor on the way back to the campground.

The wind is blowing pretty good here and the RV is shaking a bit. The waves are really pounding outside and the sound is almost deafening when you’re not in the RV. We pulled the boys’ outdoor toys inside last night, knowing they might blow away today. Mason has decided it’s “Pajama Day” in the RV today.

Pajama Day in the RV

We’re staying “home” in the RV all day and tonight. It’s quite cozy and warm in here and we have plenty of movies on DVD to entertain us this evening. Right now, Mason is in his jammies, watching Nickolodeon while Max is doing his homeschooling lessons on the Medieval Period with Richard.

UPDATE: Max and I dashed down to the beach this afternoon to see how high the surf and wind were. His poor umbrella didn’t stand a chance…

ANOTHER UPDATE: It’s 6:00 p.m. and it’s REALLY coming down out there! The wind is hitting something on the RV and making this horrible “FFFPPHHHHHRRRRRR!!!” sound. I’m too chicken to go outside in this deluge to see what it is. I am frequently looking outside to see if the tide is moving past the dunes. For now, just lots and lots of puddles and mud. The RV is moving and shaking so much that it feels like we’re driving down the road!! You know what they say…if the RV’s rockin’, CALL 9-1-1!!!

PREVIOUS POSTS FROM THIS TRIP:

• DAYS 9-10: We Made It!
• DAYS 8-9: Should We Stay or Should We Go?
• DAYS 5-7: Snow, Snow and MORE SNOW! ARRRGHH!!!!
• DAY 4: Air and Space Museum!
• DAY 3: This Is Getting RIDICULOUS!!
• DAY 2: Twelve Hours on the Road! Ugg!!
• DAY 1 Evening: Thank Heaven for Duct Tape!