First, some actual excitement! Last night a bunch of Moominbeach G4 20-somethings dug a huge firepit and built a beach fire. Siblings, 1st and 2nd cousins and a couple of significant others who are keepers in my opinion and that is all I will say about that because that kind of stuff is off blahgging limits, don’tcha know. The fire itself was a rare occurrence because of forest fire danger, not to mention sheer, utter laziness. Anyway, Uber Kayak Woman and I and some other G3ers sloshed down there with our wine glasses and, as darkness fell, we saw the light from a smallish powerboat over by the “point” at the Cedar Point end of the beach. It was moving s-l-o-w-l-y along the rocks down there and the light flashed on and off in an SOS pattern and we discussed the Morse code but dismissed the idea that it was an actual SOS. Which wasn’t very smart because pretty soon the boat was coming along the *beach* and then a couple of strangers appeared and it turned out that the boat had launched from the State Park a few miles down and RAN OUT OF GAS in the SHIPPING CHANNEL! and the boaters managed to paddle it over toward the point and then WALK IT ALONG THE ROCKS! In the DARK! The situation could’ve been a *lot* worse. The water was flat calm last night and the people in the boat had (hello) cell phones! What did we do without those back in the day? They had already called the DNR and a friend and sure enough, pretty soon we heard a big diesel pickup truck going along the back road. To make a long story short, the GG gave them some gasoline and we stood on shore and helped them navigate safely past the second sandbar before hitting the gas.

Today my 20-somethings left for Troll-land and beyond with two of them eventually returning to the Golden State. Work and what not. Do I miss them? Of course I do. I don’t know what the heck I ever did right as a parent. There was the good, the bad, and occasionally the ugly. Mostly I was just kind of bumbling along. Somehow, despite whatever I tried to beat into their brains, I have ended up with talented, highly capable kids. They know how to cook and they are willing to help with chores and errands and things even without being asked. So, this morning, we made a little farewell breakfast with eggs and hash browns and percolated coffee and fancy sausages from the Colony Market in Grand Blanc. It was warmer outside than in, so we ate out on the deck. The GG and the Commander spent the afternoon on the deck watching the hummingbirds and I spent the afternoon on the beach and yes! I am sunburned! Thanks for asking!

Getting on toward cocktail hour. One more day, hiking in the morning and then a Big Sweep. Back to the Planet Ann Arbor on Saturday with Sunday to gear up for work!

Aloha,
KW

P.S. Speaking of cell phones, I also used mine as a flashlight last night!

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