We are back on "The Shore" after a long, emotional trip across the State for my grandmother's funeral. It was difficult, both because of the long drive with 2 children under four, and because it was for such a sad reason. Tracy's parents were kind enough to take the girls for several days so I could focus on helping my mother and grandfather. The girls had so much fun with their Pops and Gigi that India tried to negotiate another day out of us, but I think their grandparents would have keeled over from exhaustion had we left the girls with them another minute! Kate didn't sleep well (she's a terrible traveler and a Mommy's girl) and they are both high energy all the time. Thank you, Dex and Judy, for allowing us that time. It was a huge help.

My grandmother would have adored some of the funny things that happened; we had some funeral crashers (a Southern, small town phenomenon), my grandfather kept commenting loudly on every visitor's appearance ("Boy, he's really aged" or "Whoa, she's a little plump"), my mother introduced the Lineberrys, who own the jewelry store, as Mr. and Mrs. Diamond. We did a lot of laughing. I'm not sure that all of my granparents' friends approved, but the ones who told me they loved my grandmother's dirty jokes at bridge club must have seen some of my grandmother in my mother, sister and me.



This afternoon the girls and I went to the park in Wachapreague, about 5 minutes from our house. The park looks just like every elementary school playground, decidedly unscenic, but Wachapreague is gorgeous! It's where we used to put in our kayak pre-girls, and is considered the "flounder capital" of the East Coast. The building in the left-hand picture is a restaurant and one night we changed our minds about eating there and Robert Plant was hanging out in the bar all night! For part of the summer there is a carnival fundraiser that also overlooks this area...the ferris wheel view is fantastic. The marsh in the back is typical of the "seaside" and leads to the barrier islands that line and protect the Shore. It's a pretty amazing place. I hate to wish the days away, but I can't wait until the girls are old enough that we could justify the expense of a boat. The barrier islands are a great beach destination and sometimes you can be lucky enough to be the only people on an island. Fabulous!