Monday, July 4, 2011

Independant

After dropping Jasmine off at camp our driving was not over and our destination was not home-at least not right away.

Vada and I had reservations at a quaint little hotel in Port Washington Wisconsin, another five hours away and still that many hours from home. Justin had stayed back to take care of Cody, our dog and to hang out with Kiliegh for the last few hours before she went back to her bio's for his week of visitation.

I had told Justin how I wanted to take Vada to Lake Michigan. I wanted to bring her to the beach and show her the water. After figuring out our route to a nearby CVS and then to the camp Justin then began planning out our next route which would get Vada and I to just the spot that I had been asking for. Justin had to work on the Fourth so I decided to be somewhat independent and take that extra "alone" time with Vada doing something adventurous.

Vada and I arrived at our destination close to midnight on Sunday. As soon as I stepped out of the car I could smell the scent of fish and I could hear the waters waves hitting the shore. I knew once morning came it would be a beautiful sight to see. It was at that very moment that I missed the rest of my family deeply. I felt like we should all be stepping out of the car and smelling the same smells and hearing those same sounds together. Together, we should have been filling up with anticipation and the excitement that came with the knowledge of what the light of morning would bring. Up until that moment, I had my mind preoccupied with driving and the certain time frames for arrivals, that I hadn't actually had the moment to think whole heartidly about anything or anyone else. At that point reality had set in and I missed my family.

That night was a long one.


Vada had slept in the car off and on practically all day long and once she was out of her car seat she wasn't to keen on the idea of going to bed. I let her loose in the room and she let her curiosity push her in all of the right directions.


After playing for awhile, washing up and having a late night snack she was ready for sleep and so was I! She woke up three times during our six hours of sleep but luckily, each time, she went right back down after nursing.

We woke up at 8AM and I quickly began getting ready. We had a small window of opportunity to explore this little town and I wanted to see all that we could see before we had to leave (no later than 1PM-I wanted to get back home in time to see the fireworks with Justin.)

Our first stop was to the dock's. It was full of people, action and boats.




It was beautiful!




The town itself had some amazing buildings and the streets, (not all but some) were made of brick. The atmosphere was laid back and chill. Many people were riding bikes and in biking gear, others were ready to go out into the water. I really enjoyed myself and I wish that Vada and I had been able to spend more time looking around, especially when the stores were open (everything was closed for the Fourth of July). I am however, grateful that we were able to make this stop, I really did enjoy myself.



We were also able to see their town Independence Day Parade. It was cute. It was also the quickest parade that I have ever watched, ever! It lasted a total of thirteen minutes but they had all of the right stuff to make it a good parade; fire trucks, clowns, kids and candy!


After the parade we headed back to our car to drive only a mile or so to our next and final destination-the beach, which was the whole reason for this stop in the first place! Praise the Lord for blessing us with a day that had beautiful weather. Otherwise, this trip would have been a total bust!

Once we arrived at the beach we had to walk down the largest and steepest set of stairs that I have ever taken. I was "wearing" Vada, so I thought nothing of the possible difficulties that I may have had while going down or even back up them. I was too excited to think of much, other than getting to the water.


Once I got to the bottom my legs were like putty. I mean they were weak, shaking and I was having a really hard time remaining standing! I felt like a complete whimp but we had made it.






So, our Baby Girl seemed to enjoy her experience at the lake and I was pretty exciting as well.

1 comment:

Ilisa Ailts said...

amazing writing and photos