Last part of 2022 vacation

On Thursday, we awoke to the most beautiful weather.  Knowing that Friday, our last day there, was supposed to be hot and humid, I decided Thursday would be beach day for me.  Andrew and I had taken a beach umbrella, but we also bought another one as well as two beach chairs.  I ended up staying at the beach much longer than I had originally intended.  Although I took things to read, honestly I mostly just say and watched my kids and enjoyed the view of the ocean.  It was truly an amazing afternoon, and one I know I'll always remember.  

That evening we ventured further inland for a dinner.  It wasn't anything fancy, but it had the best menu we'd seen all week.  By that time, even I was getting a little tired of seafood.  It had a teriyaki chicken that was awesome, and it was next to a used bookstore.  We enjoyed a bit of browsing before heading back to the house.  Unfortunately, about 10:00 that evening we had quite a storm go through.  We were all inside by then though, enjoying our TV episodes.

Friday, I decided the sinus problems I was having were just too much.  I felt pretty lousy.  We walked over to some near-by shops and did some shopping.  Andrew and Thomas spent the afternoon at the pool, and we had an early dinner at a near-by restaurant that is always a "must" on a trip to Garden City.  We took my mother-in-law to do some shopping after dinner, and then finished the evening with some ice-cream.  It was really a lovely ending to our week together.  We packed as much as we could that evening, and of course finished with some TV episodes, before the rain poured down again overnight.

Saturday we had gorgeous weather for the drive home, although we had a significant amount of standing water around the house before we left.  Traffic was pretty heavy on many parts of the drive home, but it still only took us 15 minutes longer than the drive down.  We ordered pizzas for dinner, and I was never so grateful to be sleeping in my own bed as I was that night.

It was really a lovely, lovely vacation.  Realistically, it was my mother-in-law's last major trip.  As it was, she only left the house for dinners and near-by shopping.  I also know, there are absolutely no guarantees that my kids can join us each year.  I filled my heart with as many memories as I possibly could.  The trip was truly a blessing.