Vacation

We are thankful to be home after 9 days away from Keezletown. When Jason and I walked into our home, we both had a strong reaction to the spaciousness, pleasantness, and beauty of the place we inhabit when not on vacation. It was good to feel so strongly positive about returning home, and feeling more than ever that it is home!!

Highlights of our travel:

- Spending two days in Pennsburg with Jason's family before taking off on our camping adventures.

- Camping for 7 days in my family's 70's popup camper, bringing back many memories of previous camping trips. Enjoyed it more once we got the many ant nests cleaned out!!

- Watching Kali's thrill over the ocean and the waves chasing her.

- Seeing dolphins on three different occasions; a large pod very close to the shore one time where we got to see them up close jumping.

- Playing miniature golf with Kali who seemed more interested in the water and sand traps than the hole. On the final one, after receiving the maximum score on most holes, she got a hole in one and won a free game. Go figure!

- Walking the boardwalk through the wetlands at the Cape May state park (not the Wildwood boardwalk on the beach with amusement parks!) and seeing all sorts of water birds and other wildlife, as well as plants/flowers.

- Discovering a delicious breakfast involving sauteed veggies, eggs mixed with soggy bread and when cooked all together covered with melted cheese. This was a necessity when the ice in our cooler melted and got into our bread bags...

- Kali getting hours of bike riding time in around the campground - she is still nursing a few wounds...

- Walking, walking and more walking together as a family, enjoying down time and even some reading and journaling, and a few naps (though Kali did not participate in any of those.)

- A day trip to Belleplain State Forest for swimming in the lake and a fun canoe ride where Kali paddled us back to shore mostly "all by herself."

- Being joined the second weekend by good friends from PA and enjoying the hubbub and activity caused by having 4 little ones around 6 and under. Watching them reconnect and play together was heart-warming.

We came home with a number of souvenirs, most notably legs covered in bug bites, and with significantly less cash! But the reconnecting time as a family felt well worth it! More visuals from the week can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/bennerj8/VacationBlog#