Tradition

Dear Caroline,

So I was wrong. Last year I was very concerned that 2014 would be our last real family vacation. However, I am very pleasantly surprised that we were able to sneak away to the Atlantic Coast a week and a half ago to spend some time together. I haven’t been to the Atlantic Coast since I was in college (once as a chaperone during student teaching and also with my college girlfriends) It was an amazing trip and one that I really needed.

In a lot of ways it was a pretty typical beach trip. The condo that we stayed in was on a pretty empty stretch of beach and also had a pool. We got up every morning before the sun rose and walked the beach Leah was a one woman starfish rescue team. We laid out on the sand and by the pool. We spent time together. My mom made lasagna. The waves were perfect and it was not too hot. We stayed near St. Augustine and did some touristy things. We saw an actual MANATEE! I have always wanted to see one and there was one at the fort. We went to the fort, shopped on St. George Street, and went on a ghost tour. The ghost tour was mostly creepy in that people would jump out and yell at you. The tour took us to the old jail were people were actually hanged (1) and the lighthouse. 

Totally us!

At the Castillo de San Marcos

The best part, though for me, was the assurance that even though we have all changed and grown in the past year, we set all of that aside for a little while in order to come together as a family. It gives me a lot of hope that even though we are about to undergo a dramatic change, we can continue to come together for special events such as our yearly family vacation.

 

Wish #99: I wish for us to continue this tradition long after you join our family.

Love always