Time to pack again!! How refreshing. After 3 days on the island, we realized how much we missed being on the road. We left Coronado this morning with Newport Beach in our sights. It was going to be a 1 ½ hour drive – a short jaunt in our skewed world of traveling. We were going to spend the night at my cousin Monica’s house. Monica is one of 7 cousins in the Smith family, and I was looking forward to seeing as many of my cousins as possible. It was an exciting greeting, with Monica and Mary Kay (another cousin) running out of the house with extended arms when we arrived. It was the first time my girls had met any of my first cousins. It didn’t take long before we were sitting around and chatting it up like a bunch of school age girls.
We spent the afternoon at Balboa Island, a tourist hot spot, where Monica and Norm rented an electric boat called a Duffy. Captain Norm (Monica’s husband) navigated our boat through treacherous one foot swells as we took in the sights of the magnificent boats and homes in the harbor. Any of you with an extra $3 million under your mattress can pick up a small cottage just off the beach. Ain’t no recession here in Orange County!! Captain Norm was kind enough to let each of the girls steer the boat. There were laughs to be had by all and even an occasional seal sighting.
Afterwards, we returned to Monica’s house where we enjoyed a relaxing BBQ with her three grown children. It was great for the girls to see that they had 2nd cousins on the west coast. The Walsh girls settled into bed and I waited excitedly for the arrival of another cousin (Theresa), who finally arrived at 11:30 pm. Round 2 of the chat session was just beginning. It proved to be a really invigorating night. It had been 30 years since I saw Theresa (whom many in the family refer to as my “twin”) and I was going to make up for all that lost time. Who needs sleep anyways!
Keep on traveling…and good night!
Debbi
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