The Gazaleh Gazette

The vacation was a lot of fun, but with so many kids in the house it was hard to enforce all of our rules. Katharine and Mary were the first ones to bed every night. The next earliest bed time was around 10:30. That includes 2, 3, 6 and 7 year olds. I was astonished for two reasons. First, the kids were exhausted. Second, and more importantly, Amy and I can really relax after the girls are asleep. The other parents weren’t catching on. On Wednesday we went for a ride and found a small stand that offered hair braiding and tattoos. Mary wanted to be be like me so she decided on a tattoo. (and her hair wasn’t long enough for a braid). Katharine wanted some braids in her hair and I think she made the right choice. So now I have a mini Bo Derek and a Hells Angel for daughters.

On Tuesday, we decided to visit the Corolla Lighthouse. It was built in 1873 and Amy and I were excited to look at the view from the top. The girls were a little less excited. The half hour wait didn’t help. Matters only got worse when we told them they had to walk up. Katharine figured there was an elevator.

Let me see elevator! Survey Says. X.

Mary was counting on an escalator. Escalator! Survey Says. XX

The time spent in line was a bit long but there was some entertainment. A docent from the park service was offering interesting facts about the lighthouse through audience participation. The facts were so interesting in fact, that between Amy and I, neither one of us can remember even one tidbit.

We finally get to the front of the line and the kids are itching to walk in. Unfortunately the system is very structured and they only let in about 15 people in the lighthouse at a time. We finally get called and Katharine starts to climb. And climb. And climb. She didn’t stop until the top. Mary was quite a trooper too. She used those little legs and climbed up every one of the 217 steps with only a few short breaks.

The wind was blowing but the girls didn’t care. The view was nice despite it being overcast.