August 2
It was overcast and drizzly and somewhat cooler today, and so we spent a good deal of time outside! In fact, Thorin convinced me to let him give me a swimming lesson; and I guess Fíli and Kíli sensed that it was a thing best left for us to do alone, and so they took the younger kids for a walk instead of joining us.
In truth, I think it would have been embarrassing for them to see me as I flailed about in the surf, panicked at every swell, and constantly screamed that I was going to go under (disregarding the fact that the water barely got higher than the middle of my chest). I managed, at least, to learn how to float on my back. Though then a bit of a wave came up, and I got a nose full of seawater and I came up sputtering – and so ended the lesson!
But still, we did not leave the water right away, and instead moved to the shallows and sat there on the sand, holding to one another and just enjoying being close without the worry of getting too hot! Of course, it wasn't all comfortable cuddling – the salt water was sticky, and there was sand everywhere, and seaweed kept drifting towards us... but still it was lovely!
Before long, though, the boys came back from their walk, and it turned out that Gimli had tried to stomp on a sand flea, and ended up cutting his foot on an oyster shell. And so we went back to the trailer, took our refreshingly cold showers, and I treated Gimli's foot (the cut wasn't very deep). Then we all relaxed for the rest of the night, and it was just an all around wonderful day – except, of course, for the cut on Gimli's foot!
And soon we'll be moving on again. We're leaving tomorrow, in fact... for Florida. I confided in Thorin that, though I've never been to Florida, the thought of it rather frightens me! I've heard, after all, that they have giant mosquitoes, snapper turtles, biting flies, fire ants, massive flying cockroaches, alligators, sharks, and far too many other things that want to eat you!
Thorin tried to convince me I needn't be so concerned, because we'll not be near the swamp or any such thing; and I told him that while I do trust him, still I worry! And to that, he smiled and chuckled, and assured me that the worst that is likely to happen to me or the kids is that we'll get a mosquito bite on a sunburn, and regardless as to how irritating that would be, we'll certainly survive it!