Connection is the Whole Point

Connection is he whole point, said Berit, which I agree with. Which sentiment she may have even gotten from me at some point in time, though I can't claim to be the only person in her life who holds that view.  But we spent our week connecting with others.

On Monday night, Gwen  showed up with Rowan (2) and Jade, ages six and two. Griffin and I took a night walk on the beach with them. Upon entering the beach, we found a crowd lining a path from a sea turtle nest to the ocean. We might have stayed and watched the event, but when the sea turtles would hatch was unclear, and we're just not what you'd call patient people. So we walked the beach, following a couple with a high intensity flashlight spotting 3-inch wide hermit crabs. I flicked one and it bolted for Griffin's feet, making him scream like a 15-year-old boy.

We played in the surf and sand on Tuesday. Crazy wind and waves and we we found ourselves in a rip current being pulled outward. We dug for coquinas, pulled them out of the sand and dropped hem back on it to watch them dig their way out of sight.  I napped for a couple of hours in the afternoon, and in the evening Gwen put the girls to bed early. We got make your own pizzas at Lowes.

Wednesday morning we hung with Gwen and the girls as they got ready to head out on the road o Connecticut. Rowan continued to help Griffin with the 550 piece jigsaw puzzle. After they took off, we spent a little time at the beach before heading down to Calabash to eat fried shrimp at The Seafood Hut. As John F-D told me, "Failure to eat fried shrimp in Calabash borders on criminal activity."

Thursday was our big day. In the two weeks prior to this vacation, Griffin was in a theater camp. The show was Legally Blonde, and G and his opposite, Risa, ended up dating. Well, the show ended on a Friday night, and on Saturday, Risa and Griffin were each bound for family vacations.... Both on the North Carolina coast.

So yesterday, we drove to Southport to catch the ferry over to Bald Head Island where Risa's family is spending he week. This is the part where we decide that connection is the mos important thing and, rather than burrow ourselves more deeply in the sand, we take the opportunity to spend a day with a family we've never met.