A Relaxing Vacation

My cousin moved down the Jersey shore last year and this was our first summer visiting her home.  An actual vacation complete with hotel and expenses was out of the question this year.  My cousins were gracious to offer us a room.  The vacation was better than any we could ever have at a hotel, plus the coffee was better.  (I stayed with decaf, for those of you aware of my doctor's orders.)

On the ride down, I got a call from my academic advisor with the results from my transcript analysis.  She said I have good news and bad news.  The good news:  I was able to transfer 24 credits from West Chester University to apply to my associates.  I can't remember how many I had altogether, 30 or 40.  She said this was almost unheard of.  The average person carries over about 12.  With that I can graduate late next year!  The bad news?  I have to stop taking the classes I have now or pay for them out of pocket.  Since it took so long for the transcript to go through, I guess it was hard for my academic advisor to know which classes I had to take.  I guess I qualified out of the ones I was taking.  That was good considering that annoying professor in the one.  The other class I'm actually upset I'm not taking anymore.  It was called Critical Thinking.  I might have qualified out of it, but I've never taken a class like it in my life.  What I was most impressed with was the text book. I think it should be required reading for Americans.  It really helps divide rhetoric from truth.  It completely broke down why America invaded Iraq, and how the U.S. didn't check the credibility of its sources before they invaded.  It had a sassy fun writing style that made hard vocabulary fun to learn.  What I was most impressed with was how it called patriotism and nationalism a fallacy in thinking.  That's kind of gutsy to say in America, but it is true.  So I had the week off of school which I haven't had since I began in March.  It was so nice not to have to worry about homework on vacation.

I love feeling completely immersed in my surroundings on vacation, so it's like I got to pretend I lived down the shore.  I love it.  I love the town my cousin lives in, and I love the closeness of the bay.  I love how a free zoo is only 20 minutes away.  The excitement I feel when I'm on the boardwalk, she gets to experience year round.  We went to a used book sale at the Ocean City library the night we got down there (big shock!).  I got the complete Alfred Lord Tennyson poems for a quarter, in light of just watching Anne of Green Gables as a family last week.  I wish I could walk through the woods reciting "The Lady of Shallot" with my new book, but then my kids would really think I was off my rocker.

The next day we went to the Cape May zoo.  This was our first time and we loved it.  It's better than the little zoo in Norristown near us that's getting to cost as much as the Philly zoo.  We hung around a local bookstore and went home.  Sunday was our exciting day going to the beach and taking their boat around the bay.  This was definitely the kids' favorite day.  The boat couldn't go fast enough or go over waves enough for them.  It was better than a ride at an amusement park.  The idea of a boat for transportation is so romantic to me.  I think of how there were parts of Prince Edward Island only accesible by boat a hundred years ago (besides of course access to the mainland).  How wonderful it would be to travel to your destination by boat.  (Yes, I'm still reading my LMM journal, so her life is very much on my mind.) Even Julio got to take command and learned the ropes.  Being on a boat became a very addictive activity for both of us.  That night we waited in line for Mack's boardwalk pizza, it's always worth the wait.

We were on vacation in a packed house and I loved every minute of it.  My cousin and her husband have four girls (big sister + triplets), then my aunt and uncle, and us.  I reconnected with my aunt who I hadn't seen in forever.  It's safe to say I am more like her than any other relative I have, including my sisters.  We are the same height, same blue eyes, and the same love of everything theatrical.  I pressed her for family genealogy since I really don't know enough about that side of the family.  It's comforting to know you are who you are because of a shared genetical background with someone. 

The kids had fun connecting with their cousins, and we grew closer to our family.  My cousin's husband Tim is a pilot was on call the week we went down.  He was asked to fly none other than Yoko Ono!  I would've been more excited about her if I hadn't read Cynthia Lennon's book "John."  Now I know the truth...

Back to reality here, a new class starts Monday.