Jessi’s family had spent the night at Kris’s, and the boys were thrilled to come out in their pajamas and find cousins to play bedding games with: pillow fights, blanket forts, jumping on the bed, and human burritos, to name a few. Meanwhile, Kris was in the kitchen building a stack of homemade waffles without measuring the mix, so that each batch came out a different shape and color; a true preparation for a waffle frolic.
Jordan, Lyra, Tristan
Caleb and Jessi leave for REI, Kris and Vicki are getting her windshield fixed, and their dog’s teeth cleaned. I play toss with the boys, then play with cars with Jordan, while Tristan spends some time with Jake. He’ll play in his room later while Jordan and I nap. The kids gather on the couch and the stairs to scheme when they’re not running around outside or sharing their snacks with Nicki, the husky. Caleb and Kris play Lemmings, a game of leading little blobs to a safe exit through a number of obstacles.
Between last night and this morning, Robert will have been delivered to the airport for his return flight to Montana. We brought him with us to Colonial Williamsburg, as he’s a fan of those good ol’ days, but he wasn’t up for a return trip to the area, this time to visit Busch Gardens. This amusement park covers over 400 acres and requires a one-hour drive each way. Caleb and Kris, the active-duty sailors, receive complimentary admission, along with three dependents (spouse and children).
Jake and Tristan Sammi and Lyra Jordan
The parents came prepared to deal with their 11 and 9-year-olds, Sammi and Lyra, and 6 and 3-year-olds, Tristan and Jordan, as snacks were readily available after Prince Elmo’s Spire. We take turns between kid-friendly and adult thrill rides. It’s a warm 90°F day, and we are staying hydrated, getting sweaty, refueling with ice cream, and cooling off in front of the park’s large misting fans. Lunch is had at the Brauhaus, located inside the Das Festhaus, where a decision is made, and Kris will wait for us in his car.
Lyra and Sammi
Jake runs around the Land of the Dragons with the kids, keeping an eye on the youngest, who is ready for a stroller ride and another snack. As the other children tire, too, we board the steam-powered train for a 20-minute ride through a few villages. Vicki, Jake, and I ride the Griffon, the first steel roller coaster with a 90-degree drop. We take the Aeronaut Skyride from France to England to experience the view of the “World’s Most Beautiful Theme Park” from 80 feet in the air, and as a shortcut to our last ride.
Jessica, Vicki, Jake — in the middle
No theme park visit is complete without a mind-swirling spin on the teacups, named Turkish Delight here. Caleb takes over the wheel and brings pure joy to Jessi and her kids as we lean, laugh, and watch the world blur by. We stop by the Highland cows on the way out, and I watch the sky change colors as we drive back to Kris’s house for grilled cheese sandwiches. We stay long after pajamas are on, but it’s not every day you can get siblings from three states in the same house, so the kids stay up a bit later.
Caleb wakes me up. Then he’s off to a late muster at 8:30 for training. We forget how laid-back shore duty is. It’s no wonder some people fight the system to avoid a ship’s long hours and their inevitable deployments. I’m in no rush, as the family has a delayed start to the day as well, and Caleb has the car.
We find parking at Ocean Breeze Waterpark at 11:15. We ride the 1,000-ft-long lazy river twice, giving us about 20 minutes of relaxed tubing with a steady current. I ride the longest water slide two times, then nap in our rented cabana to pass the afternoon, while Caleb and Robert chat quietly.
Jake and Nicki Jessi, Caleb, and Kris, prepping the cake
We leave as the storm arrives and drive through flooded streets. Back at Kris’s house, Caleb carries a chocolate cake with 60 candles for Robert’s birthday (even though it’s not until December). There is also a carrot cake and pineapple ice cream that will count as dinner. Jessi takes the kids to Chuck E Cheese.
Caleb wakes me up so I can shower, and we can unpack the Tribute. Caleb makes biscuits for breakfast while Kris preps ribs and bread for dinner. I have a biscuit with gravy and another with my new jelly (of which no note or photo exists of its flavor or attainment location). Jessi shows up hours later with Jake to join Vicki in taking the four kids to the zoo and aquarium.
I chose to stay behind and watch the brothers work on the Tribute (not sure what was needed besides a possible oil change). Caleb and I went to Mt. Trashmore to walk around and reminisce about throwing the ball down the 60-foot hill with a 25% degree slope multiple times for a young Sparky, before any of us had met Piggy. We go back to the room for a nap.
Back at Kris’s, I mow part of his yard, as I find gardening soothing labor. Invader Zim was on when the kiddos returned. I eat the salad, asparagus, and beans. Tristan and Sammy have hot dogs while everyone else has ribs. We watch an episode of Lucifer, which first aired in 2016 and lasted six seasons, while the children decompress before their bedtime at 8:45.
We pick up Kris at his house since his family won’t be joining us today. I forgot my water bottle and sunglasses, so we went back to get them before going to the hotel, where Jessi’s family and Robert are staying. I had oatmeal with scrambled eggs and helped Caleb with his cinnamon waffle. We get to Historic Jamestowne, and Caleb and I get stamps for the passport book. Jessi rented a car big enough for us to drive the loop tour together. We had the kids and adults take turns reading the informational signs. I enjoyed Jake’s voice impressions of the historical writings.
Twenty minutes away is Colonial Williamsburg, where we were given the military special, which got the family in for cheaper. There’s a free deal reserved for Memorial Day and Veterans Day, and everyone can get free admission on July Fourth. This saved us over $30. We explore the visitor center a bit before “leaving” the 21st Century. It’s less than half a mile to the historic area. I get to see an Eastern tiger swallowtail, the official butterfly of North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia. On the bricks is a brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive agricultural pest introduced to the region in the 90s.
This critter, in the order Hemiptera, is commonly called a true bug that shares its piercing-sucking mouthparts with cicadas, leafhoppers, bed bugs, etc. I leave his fate to the waiting spiders, assassin bugs, and passing birds. No flower is left to bloom alone. We are greeted with anise hyssop (purple liquorice) and Joe Pye weed (pink clusters), a garden of orange marigolds and white globe amaranth, and lush greenery, with yellow and white daisies beside shades of purple globe amaranth.
We spend the day learning about the kitchen, larder, wine cellar, woodworking, bookbindery, mercantile, and apothecary of the 18th-century. We walk through a house, and a toy store, and we find modern ice cream, too. We stop for lunch at Chowning’s Tavern, tour the courthouse, watch the blacksmith, and hang out in the grass while getting to see the Fifes and Drums Marching into Evening. We get back to Kris’s house twelve hours later. The big kids pillow fight while Jordan cuddles with Uncle Caleb. I show him my photos from the road trip here while we wait on laundry to finish.
TheJessicaness 