East Coast Quick Trip Part 3!

Beware! This post will have lots of videos. Apparently, those don't show up on the email post, but I hope you can click on the link and go to the blog and see the videos. If not, please let me know, and I'll try to figure out the issue!

We left Philadelphia Saturday (I believe in the last post, I originally said we spent Thursday night at the Abrams', but it was really Friday night!) and drove a few hours to Long Beach Island. We'd spent several days there two years ago, and it had been great. I had hoped to spend more time there, but Darren and Janice had been hosting friends from California who left Saturday morning, and the boys started camp on Monday, so that left us about a day to visit.

Darren sent us the wrong address, but across the street from the wrong house was a young man selling lemonade. So Maceo and Cassius got a cup each.

Capitalism is alive and well in NJ.

We got there at about 2, and we found a bonanza awaited us! The previous visitors had rented bikes for a week, so we got to use them for free. We biked on down the way to get some ice cream and some shrimp, oysters, and steamed clams. My good eater tried the steamed clams, liked them, and ate another! 

Maceo is getting good at casually riding one handed.

Evan is a little older than Mace, but he was very good at
engaging with them and playing.

After that snack, we went to the main attraction! However, while the air was warm and the weather lovely, it had been windy and cold the previous days, and therefore the water was a balmy 65 or so! Cassius did some boogie boarding, but that was the extent of our entering the water.

DON'T LET THE ICE COLD WATER TOUCH YOU!

That night, after a lovely meal of haddock (Maceo ate three pieces!), steak, ribs, salad, and fruit (Cassius likes strawberries, like I didn't already know that), the boys slept together in their own room, and I watched the beautiful sunset from the roof.

The next day, we went to the beach for a little morning visit and did some digging. Then, we biked to the water slide park! The previous visitors had left their passes for us, so we got that for free, too! Last time we went, both boys were a bit trepidatious about the whole endeavor, though Cassius will fight you on that now. And this time, they were, too. They insisted on first doing the little kids' slides. We made our way from there over to the lazy river ride, and then finally went to the slides. Cassius did the rides tandem with me first, over Maceo's protestations that he wanted to ride with me. And then they were off! In the end, they did every slide all by themselves, and it was hard to get them to leave! 

In the following video, you'll see action shots from the cold ocean and the beach; Cassius riding the tandem slide with me; Maceo and Evan racing down the new fast slide; Cassius, Evan, Darren, and Maceo racing down the slide; and finally, Cassius and Evan racing. I love the slow motion yell Maceo makes in the fourth clip and the little yip Cassius makes in the final clip.

But leave we did, off to lunch. Maceo ordered fried chicken (!), a first, and Cassius broke from his vacation meals to have pizza. We left the island soon after and made our way home to DC. This whole time, they've been playing a traveling game from my youth where each kid counts the animals on his side of the car for money (cows are 1 cent, horses, pigs, goats, sheep are 5 cents, and wild animals are 25 cents!). Maceo ended the trip with 4.11 and Cassius, who naps more, ended with 2.28!

That evening, Maceo suggested we do a Glow and Grow. "What's that?" I asked. "It's when you say one thing you liked and one thing you want to be better." Maceo suggested a different camping site at Douthat State Park next time that had fewer gnats and people. Cassius suggested a second day at the water park (Both good suggestions!) And they both said the whole trip was the Glow, which made me very happy.

East Coast Quick Trip Pt. 2

After camping, the boys and I embarked on our next trip: Philadelphia and Long Beach Island, NJ.


We stayed Friday night with our friends the Abrams. They have three kids: Oliver is going into 9th grade, Evan is going into 7th grade, and Josie is going into 4th grade. However, they all are very nice with Maceo and Cassius. Cassius was especially interested in Evan. For example, he asked Evan to ride in our car back from the pool to the house. And Evan seemed to like the attention. Upon arrival, for lunch, Stefan made smashburgers, which Maceo really liked. Cassius ate peanut butter on bread. We went to their swimming pool and had a great time, though the swim test to use the big slide and the diving board was too stringent for the boys to try. They also enjoyed wrestling in the muddy mulch near the jungle gym during adult swim. For dinner, Maceo tried a traditional Philly Italian sub. He didn't really like it. Cassius had peanut butter on bread.

The kids took over the lunch table.

500 is the rage at our house, but luckily
it's a universal game and all kids know it.

 In the morning, Maceo and Cassius watched Oliver and Evan play Fortnite, a video game that is super popular. We walked down to the street to play at the local park.

Swinging Party at the playground down the street.

The plan had been to leave pretty early to go to the beach. Stefan and Liz were planning on taking their kids to summer camp in New Jersey. However, the summer camp had been inundated with water after recent storms and was closed, so the kids were all hanging out. And that meant that Cassius and Maceo wanted to hang out with them. So we didn't leave until 12 or so!

Which left time for one more smashburger. Cassius had apples and bananas with peanut butter and watermelon and bread. 

Beginning of Summer Vacation!

Wednesday was the last day of school for the boys! Maceo has now completed 2nd grade and Cassius is out of kindergarten. I picked them up at 1 from school, and we left for a 3 1/2 hour drive to Douthat State Park in Virginia where I'd reserved a camping spot. After our trial run a few weeks ago, the boys and I were excited to go again. We drove through some heavy rains, but arrived at the Park as they finished at 5. We set up and then went to the main attraction--the lakefront beach! There, we had a picnic dinner and looked around before heading back to the campsite for smores, of course.

Maceo braves the gnats to eat and pose.

The remnants of both a smile and a smores are on his lips.

Cassius washes down his smores with a light white.

Once again, I believe that I fell asleep first in the tent, although Cassius claimed he did. We didn't have videos or books, so we took turns telling bedtime stories. To establish the order of the tellers, Cassius hid his hand behind his back and all three of us guessed how many fingers he was holding up. Would it surprise you that both times, Cassius did not guess the correct number?

The next morning, we cooked bacon and pancakes over an open fire and then went to the beach. The lifeguards weren't there yet, so we rented a canoe and paddled for almost an hour, exploring and having a nice time.

On the way out, Maceo was the bow man. Cassius took over for the return voyage.

Once we got back, there were some folks in the water, and the lifeguards were setting up and getting the swimming platform ready, so we jumped in the water.

Wasting time until we could go out to the diving board.

Cassius was a little nervous about swimming all the way out, but with me right next to him, he made it no problem. And then the jumping extravaganza began!

Nothing fancy here, just for you purists out there.

Perhaps this was a belly flop. I'll never tell.

There are also places to hike and mountain bike, and the boys said they would love to come back and stay in a cabin. While it's a little far away for a one day jaunt, I can totally see coming back for a two night stay in a cabin!

Busy, Busy, Busy

For me, it was the last week of school. And grading was all done. So, when I happened into a pair of tickets to the Nationals game (It was Pooches at the Park night), I invited Dad to come along! It was great, and we just happened to leave about 10 minutes before the rain arrived! The Nats lost, but what did we care? We had fish and chips and beer and free tickets. And we were about 15 rows back from the field.

On Saturday, Maceo had his last soccer game of the season. He played well, especially in goal. Even spectators were ooohing and ahhhing over his saves! Really!

Action shot!

Not as much action shot!

Cassius stayed busy with his friends and an iPad.

 Sports are now a regular thing at home, too. Both boys are interested in soccer and in football. So, we often play both at once. One boy passes me a soccer ball, I pass it back, and then the other boy throws me a football, and I pass it back.

Look at that spiral!

Also, on Saturday, Cassius was invited to his friend SadieRae's birthday party at the pool. Most of the time was spent digging in the muddy sand volleyball court, but he did return for pizza and cake,

Aunt Lucy was in town for a Fathers' Day visit, and Mamy and Maurice came over to cook us breakfast. Cassius knows a kindred spirit when he sees one, so he shared all his recipes with her that he has received in the mail.

"That was good. I had one bite."

 While dinner was being prepared, Aunt Lucy had the great idea to have the boys play "Race Around the House while Being Timed."

"On your marks! Get set! Go!!!!!"

Proud post-race runners.

All the Cool Kids

Apparently, there are two activities at the school that all the kids are doing: travelling bars and helicopter.
Cassius and his friend Teddy tell me that every kid in kindergarten has blisters from doing the travelling bars. Cassius has three per hand.
And the game helicopter, I found out, is uber popular. One kid spins with a jump rope in her hand, and everyone else jumps over it! Whoever is hit is the next spinner.

Cassius carefully explaining the game.

Action!

Woohoo!

Labyrinth!

I imagine Maceo could get closer to the screen, but I'm not sure.

Last night, the parents of one of Cassius's friends invited us to a place called Tastemakers to watch a movie and have dinner. The kid is named Teddy, and Cassius is of recent times enamored of her. They have had one playdate that went smashingly, and Cassius is anxious for another. Knowing the boy, though, I packed his dinner. Tastemakers is a hive for cooks who can't afford their own professional kitchen, so it feels kind of like there are different food trucks there, without the trucks. Maceo and I got yummy burgers from Stupid Burgers, whose name created quite a fuss among the children. Then, the movie was on. Cassius was nervous and scared at first, and so he crawled into my lap. But by the end, he was over with the other kids, eating a cookie for dessert. And both Maceo and Cassius said the movie was good. "But," interjected Cassius as we drove home. "I wanted to have a REAL playdate!"