Escape

And first of the occasion and indusments ther unto; the which that I may truly unfould, I must begine at the very roote & rise of the same.  The which I shall endevor to manefest in a plaine stile, with singuler regard unto the simple trueth in all things, at least as near as my slender judgmente can attaine the same. 
-- William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation

I've long had a fondness for that quote. How better to start a book, or even a day? "I must begine at the very roote & rise..." Humility and determination are a powerful combination.

We -- the family -- are lighting out on a family adventure, a quick trip down to Daytona Beach, FL for a couple days on the beach, maybe even some sun. DB being in the northern part of Florida, it's not overly warm there this time of year; 65-70 is the forecast. Which will put the thermometer about 40-50 degrees warmer than it is here!  I'm for it.

The little gals wanted to take along friends. I said no. It's not unusual for us to take their friends along -- last summer we took one of Laura's friends and two of Reyna's friends with us for our annual week-long camping trip in the Adirondacks. We take them with us to museums and other assorted short trips (Great Wolf Lodge last year for 3 days of Spring break). But, I just want a family trip, this time. Just the four of us, with all the potential for getting on one another's last nerve entailed by an 18-hour drive and a few days at the Courtyard Marriott. Alas, my observation has been that there's more misbehavior by the girls when their friends are along, rather than less. Mama's theory is that the girls will have "more to do" with their friends
along, but it doesn't seem to work out that way. Instead, we often find ourselves contending with a "let me show my friends how saucy I can be" display.  (Of course, the corollary is that without their friends, we get the "this is so boring" pouting sessions.  Game on!)

First day, we will spend in St Augustine, which identifies itself as the "oldest city in America." We'll take the kids to the Old Town and through the fort. Then, we'll go down to DB and hang out. I'm looking forward to going down to the boardwalk (anything going on there, this time of year?) and the beach.   According to the information I googled up about fishing in DB, we'll be able to fish off the pier and catch some sheep's heads. These are a kind of fierce-looking fish but common as dirt. And they can grow quite large.  The detail is that they are quite adept at stealing bait, so you have to fish them with a small hook; therefore, once you've hooked them, you have the additional challenge of reeling them all that way up to the pier.

The Main Street Pier is described as "the longest pier on the east coast," extending 1000 feet out into the ocean.  Like pretty much everything else in FL, it's a commercial enterprise; you have to pay money just to walk out to the end.  We will.

Reyna is supposed to hook up with her school friend Ebony, whose family moved to the DB area last year.  I believe the plan is to give her over to Ebony's family for a day, and they'll take her along with them for a visit to Jacksonville.

If all goes according to plan, we will arrive back in CT on Sunday afternoon, tired but refreshed and ready to "bring it" to the New Year.