Skipping Town

It was our last day in Cape May. I got up early for a bike ride to Cove Beach, and then walked on the beach for a bit before biking back home. I spent time on the porch punch-needling and drinking coffee until finally gearing up for the beach. It was another beautiful day, and we stayed on the beach until 3:30. Lots of swimming and Spike Ball and reading. Greta had a long morning of geometry but took a break at lunchtime so she could have some beach time.  We'd planned on going out for dinner but changed our minds and just ordered some food from Mermaids Restaurant and Quincy's so we could fit more into our evening. After we ate, we went to the beach and got a couple of friendly strangers to take our family photo.  We had to return the golf cart tonight, so we made our way into town in a variety of vehicles, a logistical puzzle worthy of a McKinsey interview: Jeremy drove the golf cart with all three kids and one bike balanced on the back; I drove the Volvo with Molly, Mom, an...

My favorite day of our beach week is always Tuesday, when the whole week still stretches ahead. Thursday is the end, really. I am not ready for our time in Cape May to be over. We made the absolute most of the day. I didn't go bike riding in the morning, instead choosing to sit on the porch with Molly to punch-needle at 6:30am. Molly and Mom have achieved near-mastery; I'm making my way, improving my technique. (No one else is interested in this BeachKraft, to their detriment.) We'd decided to spend today at Cove Beach. Around 9:30am, Jeremy drove me, Andrew, and Molly down to the beach with all of our canopies and chairs to get set up. He and Molly then ran home, while I "stayed with the stuff" (ie, got settled with my book) and Andrew went for a run. Everyone else joined via golf cart around 11, even Greta, who was able to finish her geometry and rode her bike down. It was a beautiful beach day. Cove Beach is my favorite. I finally took a nice swim and managed t...

Wednesday morning found me taking Lucia to urgent care because of a possible case of strep. She tested negative, but the little white spots on the back of her throat flummoxed the PA who was treating her, so we'll be following up with her doctor back home. She has no fever and feels fine aside from a somewhat sore throat, so who knows. We had one other errand this morning: picking up the golf cart we've rented for the rest of the week. Another new way to get around Cape May this year.  It was a beautiful day, so we spent lots of time at the beach, though the waves were very very high and rough. Everyone is still obessed with Spike Ball, which was a focus for the day. Andrew went back to the house at luchtime to make sandwiches for everyone and brought them back to the beach. At some point in the morning Greta worked on geometry, and she was able to come out to the beach with everyone else.  Lucia left the beach a little early so she could ride her bike around the neighborhood,...

I went for my usual bike ride first thing this morning, and then walked with Greta to the beach so she could take a quick dip pre-geometry. The weather turned unpredictable and rainy after that, so we had to pivot to non-beach plans. We decided it was the perfect day to rent a surrey.  Andrew drove Molly, Jeremy, and I to our bike rental place, where we asked to rent a surrey for four hours. This was not an option. The only option was a one-hour rental. The stoic young guy working the surrey rental area was unmoved by our request to rent it for longer than one hour, dismissing it as impossible because, in the past, anyone who rented a surrey for more than one hour would bring it back early and, disillusioned, demand a refund. The surrey, he told us, was heavy and diffcult to use and would not be fun for longer than one hour, if that. Without a surrey, we called Andrew to pick us up and went back home. By that point we were all starving, so we took a car and several bikes and made o...

 A full and active day in Cape May. I went for a bike ride in the morning, from our house to Cove Beach and back. Greta went for a run then settled into some geometry. At 9:30, we got ourselves ready for the beach and set up our canopy complex. It was a beautiful day, and the kids were in the water for hours.  We headed back to the house at 3. Some people went out for a run (Andrew, Lucia, Greta, Molly, Luca), some people (Greta) returned to geometry, some people (Jeremy) rode his bike to a farm stand for corn, some people (me, Mom, Dad) read on the porch. At some point the kids rode their bikes up and down the street. Some people worked on the puzzle. Andrew grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner, which we had with the corn plus a tomato and cucumber salad.   In the evening, we rode bikes into town to go into some shops--it was incredibly crowded--while Mom and Dad stayed at home. Then we all regrouped for a few rounds of No Thanks and Code Names. It was a full ...

The 11th annual Orlando Family Beach Week begins! It's our 8th year in Cape May. We arrived Saturday afternoon and got settled into The Blue House, the same house we stayed in last year. It was pouring rain for much of the evening, which was fine because we hadn't planned to go out. Molly had brought cauliflower and carrot pasta for dinner, and then we played Code Names.  Today (Sunday), Molly and I went to the grocery store at 6:30am, our usual beach routine, to shop for the week. We spent a little time in the morning on the porch, learning some new tidbits of family history from Mom and Googling random people from childhood summers long past. Greta worked on geometry in one of the bedrooms, trying to get a little bit ahead with her work.  We set up at the beach around 11, spent a few hours swimming/wading/reading/playing paddle ball, then came home to watch the World Cup final. This was almost certainly the first time our entire family has gathered to watch a sporting event ...