We are guests in the home of Chris and Kristi for the week. And they have certainly rolled out the red carpet. We have slept like kings in their bonus/guest room for the past two nights. They treated us and the kids to a day at their pool yesterday, which was the perfect way to kick-start a vacation. Their two daughters have been great, playing with the boys on the Wii, on the trampoline, and in the back yard. Their eldest, Summer, gets a special mention for giving up her room and bed for M and O.
Last night, the men grilled steaks, salmon, and summer vegetables while Kristi and I made mashed potatoes, salad, and bread. Unexpectedly (though Mike says she was parked in the street with binoculars scoping out the house for the moment when the steaks came off the grill), our friend Tina rang the doorbell right at dinner time. So, she and her two sweet kids joined us for the meal.
Kristi swimming with Ollie.
The kids eating dinner together at the kitchen counter.
Chris, having morning coffee with us on the screened-in porch. Aaaahh...
What's on tap for today? We're just going with the flow, seeing where the day takes us. It's good to be back in Clayton. And among friends.
Thirteen hours from now, we'll lock the door behind us, climb into a taxi, and head off to the airport!
North Carolina, here we come! For three blissful weeks. Yay. Yay. Yay.
We'll spend a week with friends in Raleigh. Mike will check in with work, we have appointments to get our visa paperwork sorted out, get our teeth cleaned (still free with our US insurance there), go to our favorite restaurants (hello, Neomonde and, mmm, tortilla soup at Fiesta Mexicana), visit Jer and Kara petsitters extraordinaire and THE KITTIES, check up on our house, see the Langness and Hutchins families, get in a killer workout with go-to gals B.A.T. and Lisa, get a few things out of storage, and all that good stuff. We must have really made the transition to living like Europeans now since Mike's planning to buy jeans and cigarettes in the US to bring back here! All in all, we are going to have six fun-filled days with friends. Can't wait. Oh, kicked off with a Def Leppard concert with my girls. I know I am insane, but I'm going straight to the concert after we land...Rental car to Kristi's house to shower...Then, get dressed (big hair and blue eyeshadow = mandatory), grab some coffee to wake up and then, off to the concert! Crazy...but I wouldn't miss it for the world. (Not a huge Def Lep fan, but I mean, I would go see Barry Manilow if I were going with Tina, Kristi, Ann, and Ra). And look, I already made my freezer-paper-stencil custom T-shirt for the big night:
Next...off to Black Mountain for seven days! Woohoo! Get there in time for dinner on Friday. Mmm, my mother-in-law's (a.k.a. "Nanny") cooking is simply the best. We'll be there for her 70th birthday party, for Fourth of July fireworks, for Merrit's 8th birthday. I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch swing with a glass of sweet tea. Taking the kids up to Montreat to play at the park and in the creeks. We've been invited to the home of our most awesome friend, Eric, and his girlfriend, Anne, for a cookout and campfire. Sweeeeet! Cannot wait to catch up with them under the stars. Summer in the WNC mountains...ahhh...I can practically smell the air. Smells like home. I think most of the family (Too many to list! You know who you are!) will be in town for my mother-in-love's birthday--and to see us!--and preggers Page will be there with her not-so-little-anymore-baby-bump. Hoping to get to see Les and Donna and Mike's brother Chris and Chris's new bride! I am also looking forward to a few runs through my hometown's streets, up Cherry Street to Lake Tomahawk, sprint up a couple of killer hills, get a great workout in while I'm on vacation to work off those big Southern-style breakfasts!
Week three...heading east...stopping overnight in Wake Forest to see Mike's sister Kim and her husband Gilbert and our nephew Tyler. Then we'll keep on driving east to a rental house on Emerald Isle, where we'll plop our beach chairs down in the sand for the perfect week-long R&R getaway. My mom is coming down from her house in New Bern to spend the week with us. Can you say "shrimp boil?" Oh yeah, it's so on. We always cook up lots of fresh seafood when we go to the beach with my mom. She sent me an email of what she's bringing and it just says it all...beach towels, life jackets, fishing poles, Old Bay seasoning, sunscreen, cooler, beach chairs, boogie boards...I just can't wait. One whole week of warm sand, hopefully sunny skies, long beach walks with Mike, playing in the surf with the boys, fresh seafood and...most of all, good time with my most wonderful and most awesome MOM!!!
Just 13 hours till we kick off our summer holiday! We are all counting the hours!
Our Beaver Scouts troop held a family hike last evening at Rising Sun Country Park. Dads, moms, and siblings joined in. All day, rain threatened to cancel the hike but, thankfully, held off...this lovely day out would have been a shame to miss!
I didn't bring my camera, but when the kids all started feeding grass to this gorgeous horse, I remembered my iPhone and caught a few shots.
The park, explained Scout Master Dave, is on the site of an old coal mine. We all climbed to the top of a rounded hill, the highest point for about 25 miles around and, wow, what a view. We could see from the mouth of the Tyne, to our southeast, all the way up to Newcastle. Dave pointed out various landmarks and points of interest.
On our hike, we passed between horse pastures and walked by a small stable. Stopped by an educational dipping pond with its little boardwalk and swaying reeds. Crossed meadows of tall grass and Queen Anne's Lace on mown paths. Walked along gravel paths shadowed on both sides by hedgerows. Rounded the edge of a small, picturesque duck pond. Dodged puddles and horse manure on wide, muddy paths. And wandered along dark, wooded stretches of path. We ended the walk with a brief stop-over at a playground, where the kids let off even more steam. (Can't believe they had any left!)
What a beautiful property the Rising Sun Country Park is. Mike is excited to go back with his mountain bike. And, since it's only about a 10- or 15-minute drive from our house, we'll be sure to go there again for family hikes.
Okay, so the reason we are here in the first place is The Job. Since we arrived in England, Mike has been working hard on the latest release in the Driver franchise, "Driver: San Francisco."
Here's a sneak peek of the game:
While there is still much game testing, bug fixing, production, marketing, and distribution to come before the game will be on the shelves, Mike's role as Art Director is pretty much done.
Early reviews are starting to come in. And the reviews have all been great!
Last week in L.A., Driver San Francisco had a booth at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo, one of the biggest and most important industry tradeshows). The game won some awards and was nominated for others, including:
Winner, Best of E3: Best Racing Game by Machinima.com
Winner, Best Racing Game by Digital Trends (Yahoo!)
Nominee, Best of E3: Best Racing Game by XPlay (G4)
Nominee, Best of E3: Best Racing Game by Shortlist.com
Nominee, Best Multiplayer by Digital Trends (Yahoo!)
And here's some Driver buzz. This video features YouTube star Freddie Wong, who said Driver San Francisco was his game of the show:
And here are two interviews with Martin Edmonson, the Creative Director at Reflections:
And check out these excerpts from industry reviews that have come out since E3.
“Of all the things I wasn't expecting at this year's E3, Driver: San Francisco's multiplayer turning out to be the "have you tried that yet?" game is definitely in the top three. The genius "shift" system brings a whole new dimension to driving games and delivers the "still in the race" feel whether you're a veteran of the genre or dabble in it from time to time.” - Alexander Sliwinski, Joystiq
“I played several rounds and each became more intense than the last, as the other players learned the tricks and tested strategies.” - Alexander Sliwinski, Joystiq
“… Ubisoft Reflections could have the surprisingly solid multiplayer experience of the year on its hands. We were pleasantly shocked a year ago by the polish of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood's multiplayer and Driver: San Francisco is causing that same type of rubbernecking.” - Alexander Sliwinski, Joystiq
“Driver: San Francisco was one of my biggest surprises of E3.” - Lawrence Soontag, Machinima.com
“The game looks amazing, sure, but where it really shines is in the gameplay department.” - Lawrence Soontag, Machinima.com
“Driver: San Francisco is a truly original experience, and one that will challenge the preconceived notions of the genre.” - Lawrence Soontag, Machinima.com
“When you add an open-world San Francisco setting filled with hundreds of miles of roads and the sort of eccentrics unique to the city--believe us, GameSpot is based there--you have a pretty good idea of what sort of craziness this game has in store. And now that we've seen what you can get up to in multiplayer, it somehow seems even crazier. “ - Shaun McInnis, GameSpot
“It's a weird system, but it's one that works oddly well in an open-world driving game where sometimes you just really want to be driving a different car.” - Shaun McInnis, GameSpot
“But in multiplayer, it's just plain-and-simple insanity.” - Shaun McInnis, GameSpot
“It's a fast and frantic game mode that breeds a sort of paranoia and tension we haven't seen in a lot of racing games. It breeds this partly because there are so many people after one target and partly because that one target has every reason to believe that every car in the city is out to get him or her.” - Shaun McInnis, GameSpot
“When I went in for some multiplayer, I expected the worst, but once again Driver: San Francisco proves that it can be a blast.” - Greg Miller, IGN
“Having to run from everyone and avoid possible places people could shift was my favorite part of the game.” - Greg Miller, IGN
“This racing, crazy turns, and shifting went on for a while, and while I'm sure it sounds simple, it was a blast. I'd play this at home.” - Greg Miller, IGN
“I played a lot of games during E3 preview week last month, but none had me so entertained as Driver: San Francisco.” - Chris Kohler, Wired
“I was glued to the multiplayer game that Ubisoft showed off at its E3 Expo booth last week in Los Angeles, a game of car tag that lets you shift between different cars on the fly.” - Chris Kohler, Wired
“The Shift mechanic will be used throughout Driver. It’s a thoroughly unrealistic but quite fun bit of business.” - Chris Kohler, Wired
“But that’s what makes Driver: San Francisco such a fresh, unique experience. Once you realize that you’re never stuck in your car and can jump to any other one instantly, the strategies begin to unfold.” - Chris Kohler, Wired
“What left me feeling good about Driver after my demo was that in this age of bloated, overly complex console games, it embraced pick-up-and-play instant fun. I was already interested in this game for the promise of driving illegally around the city I live in, but the multiplayer demo has me looking forward to it even more.” - Chris Kohler, Wired
“I'm not even all that crazy about driving games in general. But I really, really, really, really, reaaaaaally want to buy Driver: San Francisco.” - Tony Ponce, Destructoid
“I lost both rounds I played, but I lost gloriously! This game feels more like the Matrix than the goddamn Matrix games! I'm anxious to get back in the driver's seat and start dicking around with the laws of time and space once again!” - Tony Ponce, Destructoid
“You might not have machine guns or rocket launchers, but you're never safe, even for a moment.” - Chris DeAngelus, Worthplaying.com
“If the main game can maintain that amazing intensity, it might be exactly what the franchise needs to stand out among its competitors.” - Chris DeAngelus, Worthplaying.com
“After the last couple mediocre Driver entries, it's pretty reassuring that we're already enjoying these pre-release demos.” - Andrew Hayward, GamesRadar.com
“…but what we played this week was fast, fun, and consistently engaging – certainly not something that'll put prospective players in a coma come late August.” - Andrew Hayward, GamesRadar.com
Saturday. 1:30 p.m. Mike says, "Let's drive west."
Okay.
Hi, Mike here....in order to keep things "real", I'm going to edit this post along the way...just so you get a correct understanding of what this day was all about. My thoughts will be in italics....because that's what my thoughts look like.....slanted.
With no real destination in mind and having done no pre-planning or preparation, I grabbed our New Members packet from the National Trust before we left the house and then we stopped at a gas station to buy a road map of Great Britain and Ireland.
My lap in the car.
Mike decided he wanted to see the Irish Sea, at the other side of the country. So we fueled up and hit the road.
You didn't think I mean the gas tank, did you?
It was drizzly, but we didn't want to be cooped up inside the house all day. We decided to travel along Highway B6318, a two-lane road that runs through what's known as Hadrian's Wall Country. I like Mir's use of the word "decided"...what she means to say is, we drove in circles until we saw a sign that said "Hadrians Wall Thisaway----->" And we happened to follow that road through the country side.
B6318 and the ancient wall, begun in AD 122, run side by side from east to west across England's northernmost counties. There's also a footpath that many hikers and backpackers walk each year, from sea to sea. Eric and Anne, we're going to hike along the wall when you guys come out...we've already picked the beginning of the hike and the end...we won't be going sea to sea, just the best part of it IMO.
Photo source: www.en.wikipedia.org
As we drove along, we knew we were on the right road, we could see hikers on the footpath, but where was the wall? I mean, there were lots of walls. All looked really old and broken down in places and covered with moss. Does a 2,000-year-old rock wall look different from a 200-year-old wall?
We stopped for a late lunch at 3:00 at the Errington Arms.
As soon as we walked in, Mike said he felt like he was at the beginning of a D&D quest. This reference was 100% lost on me because I was cool in high school. Sheesh....OK, so yea, most games did begin at old taverns where you meet rangers and magic users and went on quests for things like the "trousers of the shimmering whale" or the "black sword of the phoenix"....oh no...I'm a dork.
Ollie is the dungeon master. Did I get the lingo right?
Can we stop the D&D references now please?
This D&D geek grew up alright.
The food was great. Because it was between lunch and
dinner, they were only serving sandwiches.
No bother, everything we ordered was delicious.
The big boys both had Wiltshire ham and mature cheddar with tomato
on homemade ciabatta bread.
After a great meal and a pot of hot tea, we ventured onto the Hadrian's Wall Path--just for a little bit. An entry point to the path went up and over the rock wall immediately behind the Errington Arms.
Mike helps Ollie up and over the step-ladder.
He does look a little like a hooded, dark figure from a D&D adventure, no? For crying out loud...I was looking down because
I thought I had stepped in some sheep dip.
We walked straight through a sheep pasture.
Don't step in the poo, boys. We called this the poopath,
also known as the turtrail.
I am the stoic sheep of the north, I will slay you with my dominant stance!
Not Hadrian's Wall.
Just one of many lookalikes.
Nice one Mir....get everyone's hopes up...yep,
just another wall.
When we finally saw the wall, it was pretty obvious that it was different from the many old, mossy walls we'd been seeing the whole drive so far. It was much wider than any of the other walls we'd seen.
Photo source: en.wikipedia.org
Eventually, we had to choose whether we were going to go southwest, toward Carlisle, or northwest, toward--well, not much--just a few small towns that looked like they were nestled along the shores of the Solway Firth, which opened up to the Irish Sea. (I think "firth" is what they call a bay or sound in Scotland...?)
Yes, Scotland. Somehow in my awesome map-reading abilities, I missed the border. So Mike goes, "Um, Scotland?" as we pass the Welcome to Scotland sign. He looks over at me. OK, at this point I kind of started losing it...Mir was the navigator, her job was to navigate. And now we were in Scotland, which was cool, but not our intended destination. I usually enjoy spontaneous trips, but by now I'd seen enough sheep and was ready to see the water.
Oops.
And we drive into this little town called Gretna Green. We see signs for The Old Blacksmith Shop and The Blacksmith's Museum. And there are lots of little B&Bs along the main road. And a run down hotel or two that maybe, once upon a time, had been semi-grand. And then we're out of town and back on quiet two-lane road with nothing but fields of sheep. Awesome.
We try to go left/south towards the water's edge. We try it in East Rigg, then Rigg, and then Newbie. In Newbie, we found a road that went down to the firth, but were blocked by the gates to a chemical plant.
No waterfront. Nowhere.
It's about 7:00 by this time. The boys are hungry. Their bedtime is in 30 minutes. We learned on our last spontaneous trip to Scotland to keep an overnight bag in the car, so this time we are prepared. And so we say, "Let's look for a place to spend the night and grab some dinner." ...but, there were not restaurants around, and every little town we went through was dead quiet...except for the sheep.
Our plan is evolving on the fly, which is sort of driving Merrit crazy because he keeps saying, "Where are we gooooooing?" We try to be understanding because, after all, they've been in the car now for a long time. Mir is being very gracious with the term understanding...I nearly wrenched my back trying to swing around the front seat to tell Merrit to quit whining...oh no...we're all losing it. This is where you read about the family who got lost in Scotland and all that was found was a burned out bmw, empty cracker packs and a note reading..."The sheep are all around us now, watching...WATCHING us unfold (see what I did there?), so we've decided to join them. Goodbye everyone, see ewe later..."
I wish I had some pictures of Gretna Green but, we didn't take a single photo. Why?
1. The town was sort-of run down and forgettable; not much to see
2. It was raining harder now
3. We were on a mission: Food and shelter
We did however, video this exciting moment:
I ducked through the rain to about six different lodges, inns, hotels, and B&Bs. For a small town, this place sure had a lot of hotels! And, curiously, every one of them was booked! We were flummoxed. We use this word when we play D&D too.
At one hotel, I asked the receptionist, "Is there some kind of convention going on or something? Everywhere is booked." And she looked at me like I had a second head and said, "Well, there are a lot of weddings..."
Every hotel I went into had large framed photographs (like 50 or more!) of the different brides who'd had their receptions there. At one motor lodge, I walked through a wedding reception (bride in white gown and groom in a KILT...not kidding!) to get to the reception desk. It felt like a scene from "The Wedding Crashers." I was tempted to grab a glass of champagne and start talking up the guests, but Mike and the kids were waiting in the car, so...
I said to Mike, "What's up with anvils in this town?" Every hotel I'd gone into had a huge anvil in the lobby, or propping open a door, or whatever. This was a first for me. I'd never seen an anvil in real life--only in Roadrunner cartoons. And in one day I must have seen seven. Very weird.
We decided to drive to Carlisle. Thankfully it was only 11 miles away. My map reading skills, again, are horrible. It looked, like, really far away on the map! I would like to point out that this is the time Mir chooses to confess that her map reading skills are horrible...not on a 7 hr drive through the country but here on a blog. Neato.
So we find a vacancy, but it was £100, and not even that nice of a hotel and so I say, "Don't kill me, but why don't we grab some dinner and just drive back home? Look, it only took us 10 minutes to get to Carlisle on the main highway; I bet it's not that far back to Newcastle." And, for the first time, I used the map's grid and key to work out (duh!) the distance between Point A and Point B. "It looks like it's only about 54 miles to get back home." HA HA HA....oh boy, that's a good one buddy"
So we stop for dinner.
Mike, disenchanted with England and Scotland by this point, suggests
McDonald's.
And then regrets it.
With lead bricks in our bellies, but having spent only £9 to feed a family of four (isn't that how they ALWAYS getcha?), we get in the car and find our way to highway A69. The dual carriageway is going to get us the 50-odd miles to Newcastle in less than an hour! Sweeeeeet.
Because it stays light outside so late now, it was dusk all the way home. The boys slept, Mike and I listened to music and watched the fields pass by, enjoying the idea of the money we'd saved by skipping a hotel and the thought of waking up in our own bed in the morning.
Our mellow drive back went something like this:
Now, are you ready for the punchline?
We were talking the next morning about how our whole trip--but especially our detour to Gretna Green--was like an episode of "The Twilight Zone." So Mike googles Gretna Green, Scotland. From en.wikipedia.org:
Gretna Green is one of the world's most popular wedding destinations, hosting over 5000 weddings each year, and one of every six Scottish weddings.[2]
Gretna's famous "runaway marriages" began in 1753 when Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act was passed in England; it stated that if both parties to a marriage were not at least 21 years old, then parents had to consent to the marriage. This Act did not apply in Scotland, where it was possible for boys to marry at 14 and girls at 12 years old with or without parental consent (see Marriage in Scotland). Many elopers fled England, and the first Scottish village they encountered was Gretna Green. The Old Blacksmith's Shop, built around 1712, and Gretna Hall Blacksmith's Shop (1710) became, in popular folklore at least, the focal tourist points for the marriage trade. The Old Blacksmith's opened to the public as a visitor attraction as early as 1887.
The local blacksmith and his anvil have become the lasting symbols of Gretna Green weddings. Scottish law allowed for "irregular marriages", meaning that if a declaration was made before two witnesses, almost anybody had the authority to conduct the marriage ceremony. The blacksmiths in Gretna became known as "anvil priests".
Since 1929 both parties in Scotland have had to be at least 16 years old, but they still may marry without parental consent. In England and Wales, the age for marriage is now 16 with consent and 18 without.
Gretna's two blacksmiths' shops and countless inns and smallholding became the backdrops for hundreds of thousands of weddings. Today there are several wedding venues in and around Gretna Green, from former churches to purpose-built chapels. The services at all the venues are always performed over an iconic blacksmith's anvil. Gretna Green endures as one of the world's most popular wedding venues, and thousands of couples come from around the world to be married 'over the anvil' at Gretna Green.
So there you have it, we stumbled into a one-of-a-kind destination and didn't even know it. Gretna Green. Not that we'll be going back. Ever.
Breakfast of smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels and
handmade Father's Day cards from the boys.
And what Father's Day is complete without a full-on pillow fight and rough-housing session! While the whole 2-on-1 wrestling session lasted about 20 minutes, here's one clip for your Father's Day viewing pleasure:
Happy Father's Day to Mike, who is simply the best. :-) I love you!!
Yesterday afternoon, Ollie and I walked past the school to the beach to spend some time before it was time to pick up 'big brother.' Ollie is in his element at the beach!
Sharing his findings with me.
So little against the expansive shore, sea, and sky.
Fascinated by the lifeguards' rescue gear.
At 3:30, we picked up Merrit and walked up to the nursery school where Ollie goes three afternoons a week. Today was not a day he normally attends, but it was the nursery's annual Sports Day. Ollie was on Team Red.
Lots of parents and grandparents cheering on the athletes.
It rained last night but was only partly cloudy this morning when we walked Merrit to school. Perfect puddle-stomping conditions! Ollie made the most of it on our way back home. We even detoured down the alleyways, which have more--and bigger--puddles!
I can't think of a single family I know that grills out more than Mike and I. Seriously.
We grill out year-round, rain or shine, and not just your standard fare either. One of our favorite things to grill is Simply Fit Mama's grilled Tex-Mex pizza. Another favorite summertime meal is brined and garlic-marinated shrimp kabobs, chicken sausages, and water-soaked corn grilled in the husks; how many times did we come home from the pool starving and grill that up for dinner?
Of course we also love sticky BBQ chicken legs, steaks, hamburgers, and hot dogs. But we have also been known to grill tuna steaks with wasabi-mayonnaise, whole cabernet-marinated rump roasts, and whole spice-rubbed pork tenderloins.
And all kinds of veggies: Eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Oh my goodness, my mouth is watering...
So I repeat: What happened to us?
Here's Mike, showcasing the disposable £3.00 charcoal grill he bought at Tesco. I must admit, it sort-of did officially feel like summer when we layered the shrimp kabobs on the teeny-tiny grill surface.
Mike has huge banana hands...or this grill is really, really small.
The end result was delish but, sadly, there was no room
on the grill for sausages and corn on the cob!
After about a month or two of attending Tuesday night Beaver Scout meetings, we attended our first off-site event, a sleepover in the nearby village of Embleton. At the end of the weekend, the Scout Leader Dave invested four new Beaver Scouts into the organization. Merrit was one of them!
Merrit received his Beavers neck kerchief, certificate, and a handful of badges
that he earned over the weekend. He's quite the proud little Beaver, isn't he?
Called a camp out, this was really more like a lock-in. It was just for moms and sons, and we had 22 moms, 22 five-to-seven-year-old Beaver Scouts, Scout Leader Dave, and two teenage Boy Scouts who helped host the weekend and were earning service badges/credits for their help.
The theme for the weekend was Space Exploration. The lodge was decorated with badges from NASA's different space programs, and American flags, and the NASA logo. (Okay, I felt a little American pride, yes!). The boys each had an astronaut's lanyard with their name on it. There was a Flight Crew Rest Area (moms' table) with magazines and snacks for moms only. The leader, knowing rain was in the forecast, had put together individualized activity packs filled with space-themed mazes, word finds, coloring pages, and crafts--including a back-pack oxygen tank that each kid made and decorated (you can see Merrit wearing his in the rocket launch video below). So much thought and preparation went into the weekend! It was amazing.
Merrit and two friends with their self-decorated space helmets on.
Thankfully it wasn't an actual outdoor camp out because on Saturday, as they would say here, "The weather was rubbish!" Dave and his two helpers had lots of outdoor activities planned but the only two we actually went out in the weather to do were a water-bottle rocket launch followed by a walk to the sea and back.
The walk to the sea would have been so lovely if the weather had cooperated. We walked through the village, past an old hotel, two pubs, and a few B&Bs registered with the English Heritage Society, then along a paved path with a big field stretching out to the left, past some sheep, over dunes, and onto such a wide, beautiful beach with the ruins of Dunstanburgh castle just off in the distance.
Merrit was worried that the sheep were cold and wet. We could hear them
bleating, but we talked about how wool is naturally warm and waterproof.
The sheep (off to the right in this picture; you can't see them)
were probably more comfortable than us, even in all our rain gear.
The kids rush onto the beach. You can see Dunstanburgh Castle in the distance
on the far right. We'll have to come back to see it another time for sure.
By the time we got to the beach, every last one of us was soaked to the skin. Some of the kids actually went into the sea up to their waists since they were already so cold and wet anyway. I can only imagine how cold that water was!
We all trudged back to the lodge. Merrit and I were sort of bringing up the back of the pack so by the time we got there, piles of wet shoes and jackets were at the front door and every last radiator was draped with jeans, socks, and sweatshirts. I'd underpacked, so we both put on PJs while our clothes dried on a radiator. The Scout Leader put on Space Buddies for the kids to watch on the big screen.
For dinner, Dave drove to the nearby town of Seahouses to pick up 47 orders of fish and chips, or chicken and chips, or haggis and chips. We all ate while video footage of Apollo moon landings, space shuttle launches, and international space station tours played on the big screen.
We played some indoor games. Then had a sort of dance party with hang-gesture songs like the "Hokey Cokey" (not the "Hokey Pokey" here) and "Going on a Bear Hunt" followed by the Macarena, YMCA...well, you get the idea. Y'all know that Merrit loves to dance, so that was his favorite part of the weekend! All the moms got in on the fun, too. Everyone was giddy and tired from the cold, wet day and the dance party so the boys fell asleep pretty quickly at about 10:00pm.
The moms retired to a back room where Dave had set up a little party for us. There were appetizers and music (which turned into karaoke in the wee hours...but I'd gone to bed long before that). Some of the moms stayed up until 5:00am! Crazy.
Sunday dawned to a absolutely gorgeous day! The kids had cereal and Dave and his helpers fixed a full English breakfast for the moms: Sausage, bacon, baked beans, fried eggs, toast, mushrooms, and tomatoes. There were leftovers, and the boys were allowed to plow into them, which they happily did.
After breakfast we all headed out to a nearby park. The boys played outside for about two hours and the moms talked. It was great to get sunshine and fresh air after being cooped up indoors most of the day before.
The final activity of the day was a closing ceremony. Merrit was invested, and received badges for joining the Scouts and for activities completed during the weekend.
