Day 85: so much to celebrate!

Kendall turned 5 today! Her face matched the shade of her bright pink shirt when her IHOP pancake breakfast was brought to the table by singing and clapping servers. And breakfast ended with her losing her first tooth!

The rest of her/our day was just as memorable. We returned to Cape Cod, wanting to soak up more of its views. We began by riding our bikes down to Coast Guard Beach, where we got thoroughly drenched playing in the surf and building sand castles. Then reuniting with the Israel family for a picnic lunch turned into an afternoon and evening of making great memories together, starting with a visit to two lighthouses. At the Cape Cod Light, we visited with a woman whose husband, a submariner, was based at the radar station adjacent to the light. In the early 60s, they were three weeks away from their wedding when he called her one evening to say he was being sent on a mission...he couldn't tell her where he'd be, or how long he'd be gone. The wedding was postponed until he returned weeks later. He'd been sent out to face off against the Russian subs parked off the coast of Cape Cod during the Cuban Missile Crisis! That coastline has other dramatic stories, too...it's where more than 3,000 ships sank against sand bars and reefs, and where a transatlantic cable connected the United States and France.

Our day with the Israels ended on the north end of the cape, at Race Point Beach, where cars and campers are allowed to drive onto the sand. We kept our vehicles in the paved lot and hoofed our way out to the wide beach, where we grilled and later had a bonfire, complete with marshmallows. The kids searched for starfish in the surf while Mark, Sondra, Stan and I swapped stories and tips about our combined weeks on the road.

Kendall felt very celebrated, even though she never got around to opening her cards...we were all too tired tonight when we finally pulled up to Teensie. Tomorrow, we'll have an official birthday dinner here at the camper; the Israels will join us for one more evening of shared fun. As for tonight, we truly hope the Tooth Fairy has more energy than we do, and that she's aware of our location here in Plymouth. She's had a bit of work keeping track of us these last few weeks; Kelsey has lost three teeth since we left Colorado!