Away from the nest...

When Rachel was a baby we lived in Memphis. Chris' sister Brenda and her husband Nevada lived about 6 hours away from us, in Long Beach, Mississipi, a stone's throw from the Gulf of Mexico. They kindly allowed us to visit them whenever we wanted, and we did, often. Their big, welcoming, home was a great place for overworked, underpaid, new parents to go for a little R and R.  They would pamper us with amazing home-cooked meals, and we would spend happy times with little Rachel exploring the beach. The water there is tea-colored, warm, and most often quite calm because it is protected by barrier islands. Perfect for an infant or toddler to splash about in.  Buckets of happy memories were made there. I love to go back.

 Fast forward, we moved to Maine, and visits have become rare. But last weekend we flew there for an overdue reunion.  Sweet Nevada has moved on to his reward, but Brenda and now sister Meg welcomed us to their wonderful home. They drove us about on sightseeing rides, showed us the best places to get seafood while overlooking the gulf, and filled us in on family happenings. 

Here are Meg and Chris. They are 18 months apart in age and truly enjoy sharing time together. 

Chris clearly got all the "tall" genes in the family. Missing is his sister, Linda, identical twin to Brenda, so cross your eyes and see double and the whole gang will be there!  We were sad Linda couldn't join us and hope we can get the entire clan together next time. 

Our trip was brief but we packed a lot of activities in. We toured the aquarium where I patted a manta ray and a shark, explored Ocean Springs a bit, and Pass Christian as well. We saw lots of Pelicans and Palm trees, good signs that we were not in Maine anymore! There were multiple shared belly laughs and we all vowed that we need to do this again, soon. 

It was fun to get away after being Covid-bound. Our travel all went smoothly, too, a nice bonus. 

Rachel and Evans kindly stayed here and kept the home fires burning, and we were happy to arrive home, tired but glowing from having such a fine time. The dogs were overjoyed to see us, the poultry, donkeys, and goats all in fine fettle. 

My parents used to quip, "It's good to go away but good to come home, too." And it was. Today, while checking on the animals I held my camera up over the Phoebe nest in the donkey dorm, (too high for me to peek into) and snapped a quick photo while the parents were out bug hunting. This is the one shot I managed, isn't it a treat? This little one is clearly happy in its own cozy nest. I am, too, but I loved spending time visiting.