the call of the ocean

i was born on an island and the sea is my life blood. even so, we rarely manage to make the trek. virginia beach is a 3-4 hour drive from here, not far really, but too far for day trips. my mother is visiting and while dan was on his great journey to the other side of the planet, we made our way for a few days on the coast. this was tristan's first visit to the ocean!

we started out with an overnight at virginia beach.

there were dolphins the next morning. they weren't putting on a show, 

but we saw a line of fins pass by. that alone brought great satisfaction!

and then we headed to chincoteague island! we checked in to our hotel and 

headed straight for the beach on assateague island. it was lovely.

on our way back to the hotel we stopped to see the assateague ponies. they were penned up for the pony swim. the more i learned about the swim, the more disgusted i became. 
i knew that if we watched it i would find myself deeply sad, so we settled on observing 
the sweet animals in their pen. aside from a few feisty foals and over-protective mares, 
 there was so much love and affection on display in that community of wild horses.

 

our second day on chincoteague and assateague was spent fully on the beach. 

it was a beautiful, breezy, sunny day.

we had a tasty fresh seafood dinner that evening, prepared for us at a local fish market. 

and then we observed the fullish moon hanging over the town.

the next morning we departed and sped home to greet dan who had already 

returned from his journey to tibet. the stories and photos from his amazing trip are 

still unfolding as he adjusts to the huge time difference.

summer summary

 

i don't have many words at this time, and not even very many photos. these are all pics i pulled off of the cell phone, so please pardon the quality. it seems the monsoon has passed, and the summer heat we are all so familiar with has landed! july has been a busy month of work, play, the yard, the home, tashi returning, dan leaving, my mother arriving, swimming, feasting, ice cream, a few green veggies, and a little bit of music. and it's not over. on sunday we will head for the great atlantic and spend a few days on the coast. more pics to come!

fourth

interdependence day

we had lunch

watched a small community parade

had dinner outside

and checked out the fireworks

and today we scooped our daughter up after she spent three weeks in wisconsin. 

all is now right in our world!

i hope your holiday was just what you wanted it to be, 

whether out in the world, at home, in nature, with family, or alone.