Journeys

Lea and I spent a lovely and relaxing week in Exton, where I got a massage, did some shopping, and got to see most of the Hallman clan at an early Happy-Birthday-Granddad gathering.



Friday, we headed to OCNJ, where Brian met us mid-afternoon, and Eric joined us late that night after flying into BWI, where my Dad picked him up. Jenny came down Saturday AM, Mom and Dad drove to CT, and we spent some decent beach time, although it was a grayish day. That didn't stop babies from smiling...


... or grownups from shamelessly entertaining themselves.





We tried very hard to keep her protected from the sun, but Lea was having none of the hat.



Sunday was Lea's first Citizens' Bank Park adventure (Philllies 5, Mets 3), but I neglected to take any pictures. Ah well. We were able to keep her entertained in her seat for about 4 innings, and strolled around the park for the fifth and sixth, nursed in the First Aid station (a popular activity, as it turns out) for the seventh, before returning briefly to our seats and leaving sometime during the eighth. All in all, it was a successful outing, and I look forward to many more.

Monday was another beach day, and then Tuesday we headed to the Cape May County zoo (free!). I'm so conflicted about zoos, precisely because I love animals so damn much. I want to see them, and watch them interact, and learn about them, and I want Lea to do the same. But I don't want them to be sad, and some species (apes and elephants, to name the major ones) always seem sad in zoos. It's a hard call. Luckily, this zoo didn't have many animals that fit that category, at least in my perspective. It's a nice place to stroll around, well shaded and decently laid-out. I think Lea was mostly excited about watching other kids, of which there were approximately one million.



She also enjoyed the little swimming turtles:




And the big lumbering turtles.


Flamingos:


And prairie dogs (this is her watching prairie dogs, I swear):




That night we took her back down to the beach, where she seemed a little bit freaked out by the water (it was a love-hate relationship. The first night, she screamed her face off the second her toes touched. Then she seemed better, in general, but every once in a while she would still get this look of terror. We think it had to do with looking out at the surface of the ocean and not understanding why it was moving). Anyway, by the end, we could splash a little bit with no looks of panic.



She had a similar progression with the sand. That first day, we set up the gate, but it turned out not to matter because she wouldn't even go to the edge of the sand. Well, that fear was conquered by about Beach Day Three, when she decided that the expanse of sand was too exciting to pass up, and proceeded to crawl farther and faster than she ever has, in all directions, back and forth, in circles, with a huge grin on her face. It was hilarious.








Wednesday, the Fourth, was kind of a miserable one for me because I had a nasty stomach bug. But everyone else got to enjoy the annual five-blocks-worth-of-Central-Avenue fourth of July parade (crowd favorites: the 44th street kazoo band, old ladies in bikinis, kids dressed up in patriotic garb, and the year's Miss Night in Venice candidates). Apparently Lea did not care for the police sirens, but once again loved kid-watching.




We left town early Thursday, taking the Cape May-Lewes ferry across into Delaware (state number 10!) and driving down the peninsula to Virginia Beach. Brian's grandmother Mary Hutcheson had passed away Sunday evening after a tough few years facing Alzheimer's and at one point, a stroke. We know she's finally at peace now, but it has been very sad to say good-bye. Her funeral service was held Thursday afternoon, and then we all had dinner with the rest of the family, which was really nice. Lea was on her best behavior and I know everyone really enjoyed seeing her during such a rough time.

We finished our gigantic triangle Friday night, getting home late and crashing. Then on Saturday we headed to a local park where we introduced Lea to playground equipment.
Um, she's really cute.