A New Chapter

I ended the last school year with a post on Turning Pages, primarily about Grace's end of middle school, end of competitive gymnastics, and looking forward to high school.

Well, high school is upon us soon and things are already ramping up. We had to make sure to end our week in Avalon on the Friday of the week, because freshman orientation day for pre-band camp was on Saturday August 11. Grace had been warned by neighborhood friends that she would hate the first few days of band camp but after that she would start to like it. So she went for freshman day. She came home. We asked "how was it?' Shockingly enough, the answer was "It was great!!" Go figure.

Freshman clarinet at band camp

The rest of band camp week went fine. We went to see the parents' view of the show on Friday at the end of the week. It was...rough around the edges...but had promise. Most importantly, Grace was having fun.

Section day, orange clarinets (at least some of them)

There would be two football games with performances before the school year even starts (8/24 and 8/31 - of which we won both). The performances would start with the first parts, and would add on more and more as the season went on.

Happy clarinet

Grace was apprehensive about high school, but had a bunch of advantages going in. She had new friends from band camp, and some 10th and 11th graders that knew her from middle school. Gina and Savannah from the neighborhood (class of 2017 with Julia) had also been clarinets, so Grace had an indirect connection to some of the juniors and seniors in the clarinet section who were still around, and who knew Grace's older friends. She also knew a lot of upper classmen that were involved in the drama club and the musicals (because of Julia's and Mom's involvement over the years, and herself having spent a lot of hours at the high school after her middle school day while Julia and Mom did their thing). Having a lot of friendly faces in the school, even if only casual acquaintances, would prove to be very helpful.

She would also sign up for the drama club and participate in the fall musical, which was High School Musical. She would be an ensemble member (a cheerleader), and because of her gymnastics background, would be the one to do some tumbling routines on stage. Hopefully she will like it. If she does she does. If she doesn't, well, so be it. If nothing else, she would get to spend some after school time with Mom, who has accepted the responsibility of a 2-year (minimum) stint as a sub-contracted school district employee in charge of costumes for the plays.

So that's where we will end August. On the threshold of lots of new things. Exciting. A little scary. New. Fun.

Avalon 2018

We got back yesterday from our now-annual tradition of a Monday-Friday week at the Windrift in Avalon (on the Jersey shore). This was year 5, and it is a comfortable and easy little vacation trip to do.

I never really went to the Jersey shore as a kid (we went to Ocean City, Maryland), so it tool a few years to get more used to where things were, what there was to do, things we should be aware of, etc... We are past that learning curve now (mostly), and we have settled into a routine.

The pool at the Windrift (3 girls under the umbrella)

Usually we go with Amp's sister and her family, but a medical thing prevented them from going this year. So that was different. We all missed them, and it seemed odd to be there without them, but it was relaxing in the sense that we only had to worry about our own schedule. Planning for 4 is easier than planning for 8.

Monday involved dropping Ryder at the dog sitter and then driving down. We couldn't get into the hotel early, so we drove the 20 minutes or so to Cape May to meet up with a friend of Grace's (another Grace) and spend a few hours shopping and wandering Cape May's quaint (if touristy) downtown. We then headed to the Windrift, checked in, and spent some time at the beach. We had dinner at the bar/restaurant in the hotel, and then finished out the day with a brief trip to the boardwalk in Wildwood. Grace is getting bolder with the rides she wants to do.

Tuesday was a lot of alternating pool and beach time, with the mandatory brunch at Uncle Bill's Pancake House in Stone Harbor (overpriced and overrated), but still worth doing. I guess. We had dinner at Water Lily, a Japanese place in Stone Harbor that was pretty good. We then went to the upper end of Avalon and played the traditional round of pirate mini golf, followed by ridiculously large single scoops of ice cream at the Buccaneer.

Wednesday was more pool and beach, and a dinner return to Water Lily, at the request of the kids. Which was fine with us. We then drove up to the boardwalk in Ocean City to meet another school friend of Grace's and spend some time in an amusement park there (Castaway Cove). This was my first time to that boardwalk, and while they all seem pretty much the same, Ocean City seemed a little nicer than Wildwood. Not that it matters. Rides. Ice cream. Whatever.

Thursday was more beach and pool, with breakfast at the hotel, lunch/snacks by the pool and dinner at Tortilla Flats in Avalon. Then we headed back to Wildwood for one last night on the boardwalk, killing time, eating polish water ice and riding some rides.

Rip Tide - Morey's Piers - Wildwood

Friday was little more than sleeping in a bit, getting packed and ready to leave, and heading home. We had lunch at Stone Harbor Pizza and briefly strolled the shops on the main drag one last time, then got on the road. We made good time, with a brief stop at the Hobby Lobby in Vineland off route 55, and were at the dog sitter's to pick up Ryder by 3. We were all happy to see the dog. I think he enjoys being part of a pack at the dog sitter's, and gets some refresher training while there, but he also seems very happy to come home again.

Fetching Ryder from the Sitter

We had good weather, with mid-80s temperatures and fairly high humidity. Lower humidity would have been nice, but we only had a quick passing shower or two, mostly overnight. With as much rain as we have had this summer, we could have had a total washout. So we got lucky in that regard.

I think the kids are already looking forward to next year.

August Random Tidbits

Our lot was one of the ones on the outer edge of the development, facing the woods and stream valley, which didn't have a lot premium. This was because we have a drainage basin behind us. Which is just a depression with a bunch of grass that deer and groundhogs and rabbits and foxes play in. I don't think I would trade our lot for any other in the development...

Summer blues and whites and greens

I've been lucky enough to be able to work out of my home office a decent bit this summer. Not having nearly two hours of commute in a day is nice. Cutting down on the dry cleaning bills is nice. And last but certainly not least, it's nice to have Ryder come into my office, plunk down on the wing chair across from my desk, and keep me company off and on throughout the day.

Ryder keeping me company while I work

The new house at the River is done, which is a whole other post, but we went down for part of a Saturday to see it, and Grace was anxious to get some fishing in. She caught a good sized catfish and a handful of small white perch. I caught a pretty good catfish, a sunfish and a perch. Julia fished with us for maybe ten minutes and caught a perch and a large sunfish. Not bad for an hour or so.

My fisher girl

It makes me happy that the girls like to fish with me.