Summer seems longer this year since there are no children to send off to school immediately after Labor Day. A very civilized mid September start at both boys' colleges allowed for a week at Gold Bluffs Beach, at least for Ben. The ending date of Peter's Seattle internship, a late Friday night intern party, and a commitment to participate in Orientation Week at Cal Poly made his participation sketchy. My worrisome work, Craig's grant proposal deadline, and news of expired plates on Peter's car ended any speculation that we could perhaps squeeze in the couple extra days that would have allowed Peter to join us.
Though sad to leave Peter behind, the trip was nevertheless a wonderful end-of-summer break. I made significant progress on the Drops baby blankie, which is a good thing because there are two babies coming early in 2014 and each will of course need their own blankie. And I cooked ... pancakes, bacon, pork chops, nachos ... all of Ben's favorites. And we watched the wildlife saunter through camp.
The hike up the creek in Fern Canyon is my most favorite part of the trip. After days of sand between the toes and unrelenting sunshine, the cold, clear water, smooth rocks and deep shadows are always a refreshing change.
We will soon be empty-nesters. End of one era, beginning of another. The adventure continues.
