Chincoteague For the Win [#6]

Detour #2 of our Boat Dream transition landed us in Delaware where we spent eight nights at a perfectly wonderful and — praise the gods — appliance-laden condo. We walked to the community clubhouse for happy hours and workouts and pool time; explored different beaches and boardwalks; ate swirl cones; barbecued; sat on the porch; met lovely neighbors…

But our week disappeared faster than Saturday samples at Costco

and we marveled at how a week of sort-of-normal could seem like a vacation. But it did. (We decided not to interpret this as a sign of our imminent failure.)

Of course, it wasn’t all boardwalks and beaches and winning-at-parenting.

We also spent a solid two days glued to the condo working. Or rather, John and I worked and the boys vegged out on the Xbox. While incredibly productive for the over-40 crowd, the minors were losing braincells at a rate that makes me uncomfortable to think about.

On Delaware Day 7, inspired to get back on the be-reasonably-decent-parents wagon, we loaded up for a day trip to Chincoteague, Virginia, much to the delight whiny moans of the boys.

Their harsh complaints were eventually softened by this charming coastal horse town,

complete with fishing-boat-filled warn out marinas, dog-friendly nature trails, and a killer roadside barbecue joint. We even stumbled across a NASA Flight Facility which turned out to be almost as cool as it sounded.

The boys got a little preview of what happenstance worldschool field trips might resemble in their near futures at the free mini-museum in the Visitors’ Center. Hard to say for certain, but my assumption is that things went south for them the minute they realized they were required to actually read the display boards and that astronaut ice cream from the gift shop was off limits.

While the NASA stop was not quite a space camp experience, it still earned relatively high marks due largely to the handful of random turtles roaming the grounds. Turtles on the lawn. Turtles on the sidewalks. Even turtles attempting to nest in the dirt beneath trees. Bear and Hudson were particular amused.

Somewhere between a wicked pulled pork sandwich and wild turtles, Chincoteague picked up a W.

Ending on a high note, we rolled out of Bethany Beach and headed to Baltimore. Although we’ve loved (at least 14 of) our 21 transition days, our fingers are crossed that this long weekend in Baltimore is our last big detour before moving aboard the Ruby Vi.

As luck would have it, so far Baltimore is knocking it out of the park.