Setup
We’re kicking off this trip with a Saturday morning drive. Normally, we skate out of work early on a Friday, then hike it up to get to the cottage before the day is out. Having traveled a lot lately, we decided to ease into this one. Start with a quiet Friday night, then devote a good portion of Saturday to getting there. Where’s “there?” D’s parents house, aka The Cottage.
The cast of characters here: The 5 of us plus the dog, who spent the entirety of the trip worrying we were bringing him to the sitter, or so it seemed.
Drive
The trip is uneventful, starting at 8:30 and ending at 4:00, entailing the following stops:
- A stop for gas about 100 miles in
- A rest stop maybe 100 miles after that
- A stop before the border for a gas top-off, McDonalds lunch, and a DnD espresso
- The end, 450 miles later
Arrival
After initial greetings we sat around the living room for a bit talking to Oma & Opa – more or less the usual. I took Bear for a walk around the field, while D stayed with her parents, and the boys alternated between the (too) hot tub & the pool. You could call this phase, “The Landing,” of the trip.
Doings
After a bit we walked down to the river beach, a 10 minute walk from the house. The heat was pretty up there today, and the black flies started to get relentless. But it was cool to hang outside for a bit. Bear got hammered by the flies.
A quick dip in the hot tub after the walk, then a shower rolled us into dinner time. Adri & Oli showed up while we were in the hot tub, which rounded us up to 9 people plus 3 dogs.
Dinner
As always the dinner is a significant part of the trip, and today was no different
- Salad to start
- Green beans
- Carrots
- Mexican-style rice
- Grilled pork medallions sautéd in a white sauce
- Strawberry shortcake for dessert
Clean-up was myself plus Zac & Julia, and it went pretty well. Cleaning the grill plate was a chore but all-in-all it was fairly easy. As usual, the evening wound down with more talking, and card games.
In Summary
First day in the books. Considering it was mostly an expected throwaway due to travel, we did more than I would have expected. Tomorrow is the first full day of the trip, though the weather may not play along. But we’re here all week, so it’ll work out 1 way or another. We’re often packed wall-to-wall with stuff to do when we’re here. Maybe walking the dog, going to the food store, going to the coffee shop, and sitting in the hot tub will be the long & short of how our day plays out.
Either way, we’ll see soon enough!
Traveling Normandy 