The boys and I went to Sandbanks for a few days at their request - they had a ball there last year, and I am a total beach-head, so there was no arm-twisting required. Sandbanks is the largest freshwater sand dune in the world, I believe, and it's just magnificent
.The weather was cloudy and cool, as it has been any time I've been near a swimmable lake, but we were undaunted. We hiked the park and parked ourselves at the foot of the highest dune:
. Those tiny dots are the boys, and I am guessing that the peak was between 40 - 50 feet high. I sat at the bottom, happily knitting and enjoying their antics, some which didn't quite work out
, and some which did
. They climbed to the top over and over again, rolled all the way to the bottom, complained of feeling sick, and then did it again! Finally, I was persuaded to climb to the top, and let me tell you, my calves are still pissed at me. A sheer climb, in sand, carrying a small cooler and beach towels, wasn't really what I had planned on, but the view at the top was spectacular
. I'm not sure if Ben will be pleased that I used this shot, but it's really for the view. Nice, huh?I rechristened my Twisted socks as Sandbanks socks, because the colours of the socks were all around us
, but unfortunately had to frog the second one because of a less than successful toe.
The boys learned important things, like walking on water - really, how handy will that be down the road?! Much more useful than calculus, I think...
We made our mandatory stop at the Big Apple in Coburg, and took our mandatory touristy pictures
Look closely that the stem of the apple in the second picture - notice the arms flailing about?
Got home on Thursday, at which point I had to start packing the kids up for Magic Camp. Way cool, don't you think? It's their first time being away and incommunicado for several days, but it's a MAGIC CAMP. It's held at Camp White Pines in Haliburton, Ontario, and run by Sorcerers' Safari, and I am altogether envious. Mornings will be spent doing campy things - canoeing, swimming, hiking, followed by afternoon magic seminars and nightly magic shows. As we pulled into the parking area, the guy directing traffic stuck his head in the window to apologize for the drizzle: "Geeze, I can saw a woman in half, but I can't do anything about the weather!!" Can you imagine spending a week with people like this? It's like being at a camp full of entertainers. Vegas goes North.
And it's the same camp where the movie Meatballs, with Bill Murray, was filmed. So-o-o-o cool. As we drove up the entry road, we told ourselves that this was the road Bill Murray jogged on; this was the basketball court where they filmed their game; this was the dock they hung out on...
I miss them, as always, particularly because I can't speak to them and we always touch base daily, even when we're not together. Last night was rough for me, but I expect they are having a blast. As Tanner said, "It's a whole camp of nerds, just like us" - I can equate it to being away at a knitting retreat, and being completely immersed in your passion with so many like-minded souls. My guess is that they will want to make this an annual thing. Which will be okay, once we know we can all get through a week without each other. Man, am I sucky!
I did learn that this is how much knitting I was able to do on the ride home
.I have more than enough to keep me occupied, of course - work knitting, play knitting, coursework, oh, and maybe some housework? My mom is itching to get into my wannabe-studio to help me organize it, make it actually usable, so that will likely be my big task for the week.
Oh, and getting ready to go back to the 's'-word... sigh... where did it go?????
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