Chincoteague

Aunt Larissa's glasses

hot summer fashion

i'd become very suspicious of the sun.

the Octopus

packed and ready to go- in pj's

Last week, we vacationed on Chincoteague Island, Virginia ("the eastern coast of Virginia, the southern part of the Chesapeake Peninsula", according to Bill). We stayed in an 8 sided ranch house, called "The Octopus" with Grace's Grandma and Grandpa Melone, Aunt Rissa, and Aunt Andra. Our days were filled with bike riding, reading, napping, eating at the Creamery (awesome fattening ice cream!), and enjoying the gorgeous scenery. Grace and I took a long bike ride together on what is called the "Wildlife Loop" on Assateague Island (also where the beach is located). You can't stop too much along the way, or you'll get eaten by the bugs- but it's so worth it. An amazing, flat, untouched landscape full of these pools of water, with deer in the distance. Egrets, herons, all kinds of birds we would never see in Philly. On the way to the beach, in the far distance you can see the legendary wild ponies. (Grandma bought her a little toy version of one- Grace still refers to it as a cow, because of its white spots!)

Bill and I had a great time trying to use boogie boards in the water. There were even a few surfers there. When we got home, and I was cleaning out my suit thoroughly, I found even more sand (yeah, I wiped out a few times). Unfortunately, Grace wanted nothing to do with the water- she would say, "No water!". She played with the sand, but only a little bit. I think her favorite part about the beach was leaving- she'd exclaim, "Bye beach!" with a big smile.

Like my friend Megan wrote on her blog- "vacation" is a foreign word to most people in the world. We're so thankful to have spent this much time with our family, uninterrupted. Long green peaceful days, away from the buzz of daily life was a good thing.

The first morning we were home, Grace and I took a long walk along Delaware Avenue. We got to a spot where we could see the water. A huge old tire covered in algae clung to the cement around the pier -- a little different than the untouched wetlands I was surrounded in the day before. For a week, we traded trolleys for boats, pigeons for seagulls, and crammed in houses for wide open spaces.

Thank you Lord, for the amazing creation that you give us to enjoy everyday- not just while we're on vacation. Thank you that you give us eyes to see beauty everywhere, in all the details of what you have made.