We did it. We all got up and out before the sun came up. We knew that we were missing low tide, which is when the best shelling can happen, but we didn't realize until we passed the sign by the boardwalk that we were actually hitting it right at high tide. Oh, well. What we did see was the moon being up simultaneously with the sun.
We also met a man with two Corgis -- something that thrilled The Girl, as that's one of her favorite breeds. We met the dogs first, and had time to discuss whether or not Corgis usually have tails or not before the owner caught up with his dogs. The man was friendly and offered us a lesson in husbandry: apparently the Cardigan Corgi has a tail, and the Pembroke Corgi does not. The theory is that Cardigans come from one side of the mountains in Wales and the Pembrokes from the other... so the two don't even share closely connected lineage. Fun: because of the saddle-like marking on some Pembroke's they are called "the horses of the fairies."
Whether any of that is accurate or not, I have no idea (except the fairy part -- that's clearly legit), but I do so appreciate these friendly interactions with people. Continuing our walk after our amiable lesson, I whispered to my mother-in-law: "That guy is so making the blog."
I didn't think to snap a picture of the dogs, but these are the paw tracks that The Girl happily followed down the beach.
Aside from finishing up our first Life of Fred math book, we also did some art in the activities room.
It was around 70 degrees today, so we spent a lot of time outside. We dug for shark teeth (didn't find any, but did meet a nice man with a metal detector who wished us luck -- and we returned the sentiments), and the kids were in the pool for forever. The Boy and The Sister have even choreographed a "mermaid circle" (Weeki Wachee Springs brought unknown talents to the surface).
The Girl and I located the hammocks.
Tonight we watched You Can't Take It With You. It's basically a non-Christmas, more comedic version of It's a Wonderful Life. The theme is enjoying life rather than working yourself to death, for enjoying life will usually bring you happiness and friends, while an obsession with money and control will usually leave you empty and alone.
Obviously, the ideal is finding the sweet spot -- doing something that is fun and meaningful while being able to provide for your family. For kids it's learning what you need to while still being a happy kid. It's having the moon and the sun at the same time.
