An Unplanned Adventure

Brien will be traveling next week (in NOLA, the lucky sot) so he decided to take his floating holiday to spend today with us.  :o)  We decided we would head east on 64 and just see where the road took us.

Because Ellie loathes her car seat with such passion, we decided to try a "big girl" seat.  We moved Lil's seat over and installed it rear-facing and then moved her Marathon from B's car for her to use.

Neither girl could have been happier. :o)  Lil liked being able to sit a little higher in the car (the True Fit is quite deep) and Ellie was (I swear I am not making this up) laughing(!!) as we drove down the road.  She could see some of what was going by outside her window, and she could see her big sister.  Nothing could be better for a nosy girlie.  (To that end, I have placed an order for another True Fit, this one for the Bean, so Lil can have her True Fit back in Daddy's car and El can have one in the van.  Her infant seat will be installed in the Mazda since she still has another eight pounds before she outgrows it.) 

The van seemed to guide itself to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and we soon found ourselves on the Eastern Shore.  As you all know, I adore taking the back roads and exploring small towns, so when I saw a sign suggesting I should visit "Historic Cape Charles" (I just love those brown signs!), I took off. 

What a fun little town.  Had B and I been traveling sans baby (bless her baby heart, we love her, but you can only do so much when they are sleeping and you DON'T want to awaken them), I would have been out exploring.  As it was, I drove all over the streets and before I knew it, I was seeing pastel houses!! 

They are most definitely NOT historic.  But, boy were they FUN!  (I must apologize for the crappy photo quality--the phone can only do so much...)

I believe they are called "Marina Village" or some such. 

They are built on the Bay, and I assume they are "vacation homes".  Man.  A three bedroom, three bathroom vacation home on the Bay in a gated community?  Must be nice. :oP

We continued tooling around the area and found ourselves back on Rt. 13.  I was determined to view as many towns along "13 Business" as possible (old downtowns are so intriguing!) and we eventually made our way to Chincoteague.  Lil and B wanted to see the Atlantic, Ellie was ready to eat, so we headed on to Assateague.  While the Bean nursed, Lil and B checked out the gulls and the waves. 

It was WINDY today!! The gulls were all hunkered down on the beach.  

I attempted to snap some pictures while Beanie ate.  She is one GRABBY girlie.  :shakes head:

Then, while B sat with the girls (who were playing in the back of the van with the seats folded down--a great way for Ellie to move around), I took these:

Because I piddled my way along on the way up, we caught the most gorgeous, golden, late afternoon autumn sunlight.  Brien was able to take loads of photos (he's promised to share!), but this one was the best I could do.  The colors were so intense and golden hued.  It made my heart sigh with happiness. :o)  Lil kept craning her eyes for ponies, but there were none to be seen.

I did, however, see oodles of waterfowl to include cormorants, egrets, gulls and more.  :o)

B and I seriously considered getting a hotel room for the evening and playing around there again tomorrow.  But, Lil had other ideas.  She is truly a homebody and was adamant about wanting to return home.  I'm not sure why, but she experiences much anxiety if she is out and about for too long. 

Hannah had her fear of the house burning down, Lil, I think is afraid it won't be there for her to return to.  The anxiety really does worry me.  She can be very intense in her fears of something bad happening.  For example, B was crossing a very non-busy street this evening.  A car was approaching about a quarter of a mile away, causing B no worry as he sedately crossed the street.  Lily was petrified B was going to be hit, almost panting in her worry. 

Does this fear of loss stem from losing Hannah?  I don't know.  I do know it breaks my heart a little to see such panic in my Bit.  I think we are going to start venturing out a bit more now so she can see we will always return home.

And, return home we did.  While B and Lil headed inside to get some grub, Ellie had hers in the van.  She and I are quite comfortable with the front seat at this point...;o)

Alas, she was FAR more interested in moving around than in nursing.  You know Toonces?  Well, here's Beanie:

Yes, they are very high quality images, I know. ;o)  But, you can get the idea at any rate. :oP

We made it home by around 9:30, put the girls to bed, and I sat down to record everything before I forgot.  What a WONDERFUL day! :o)

Today's Sparklies are sprinkled throughout the post.  :o)