Camping, Part 4 - Day 3

We woke up well-rested on Sunday and had a lazy morning around camp before breakfast (eggs and sausage - we ate really well the whole time!).

Liliana and Lily hanging out with Olav.





Rudy snuggling with Kim.


After breakfast we started packing everything up. Here Lily and Liliana play in an empty tent.

Before we took the tent down, we had a family picture taken.

Kim occupied the kids with a story.

A butterfly landed on Liliana's sandal and stayed there for a few seconds.

The whole gang - one last picture before leaving our site.

Then the kids - our gorgeous Guatemalans. Rudy is the oldest and Lily is the youngest but there are only 5 months between them. You can really see how tall Rudy is in comparison to the girls. I'm guessing he'd be off the charts in Guatemala.

And not to be left out, Charlotte poses for her picture.

After packing everything up, Kim, Olav, Lily, Paul, Rudy and I headed for a trail that led to a lighthouse. Here we are overlooking the Chesapeake Bay (I think).

It was a beautiful walk. Lily and I are way ahead trying to hide from everyone.

Taking a rest.

Now Rudy and I walk ahead of everyone.

Lily and Rudy got in the habit of running ahead and finding the next bench to hide under. Then we had to pretend we couldn't find them and they'd jump out at us.

The lighthouse - it is high p on the cliffs, so it didn't have to be very tall. There was a very narrow windy staircase to climb up and look out.

After walking up the lighthouse, we took little rest on the lawn.

Once again, walking back the kids were behind us, instead of in front. Lily running to catch up.

Paul and Olav encouraging Rudy and Lily to walk, not be carried.

Such a cool picture of the dads and kids.

Paul and Lily running ahead - at the end at last!

Olav and Rudy taking one last look at the view.

One of the nice things about this trip was how well the kids all got along (yes, there were some squabbles but they were minor and easily overcome). It was also neat the way the kids got along with the other parents and would hang out, talk to, or walk with, someone else's mom or dad, even if their own was nearby.

On the way home, Rudy (delirious since he wouldn't sleep) said, "Look at my thumb. Take a picture of it. " So Paul did. We made great time going home. We really enjoyed our first camping experience (although is till say it is a lot of work - not exactly a vacation!) and had a BLAST with our friends. Maybe we can get together sooner than a year, but either way, we're doing it again next year!

A Pirate Adventure

Sunday was a cloudy, partly rainy day. But a local lighthouse was having Pirate Day, which we knew Rudy would enjoy, and it included a boat ride, which Paul was looking forward to, so we ventured out after church. Although this lighthouse is VERY close to us, and just around the corner from a place I used to teach, neither of us had ever been there before.



It is the tallest lighthouse in our state and the third tallest in the United States.

The Dread Pirate Rudy (Princess Bride anyone?).

Heading up the lighthouse. There were 228 steps - no, we didn't count, the steps were numbered and donated by different people.

It was rainy and foggy when we got to the top, and the height of it scared me some, so we didn't spend much time up there.

At the top, we took a break to be pirates.





After hanging out at the lighthouse, we headed over to the docks where the boats were. With my history of motion sickness, I chose not to ride the boat, so Paul and Rudy headed off. Paul was exhausted when the ride was over (after an hour), he said he and Rudy explored every possible corner of the boat (meaning Rudy didn't stop moving, as usual)!

Riding under the bridge that leads to a local town.

I love this picture- he's so intent and content and still all at once.

A clam boat that had just come in filled with clams. Apparently these clams go directly to the Campbell's factory (as in Campbell's Soup) that is less than an hour away from us. The captain of the boat Paul and Rudy were on said that these clams would be in soup by Tuesday. Pretty quick turn around!

We had a great time at the lighthouse and plan on going back for other events. It would have been great if it had been a sunny day but at least it only rained a little bit on us.