After a week at the beach in Mergomish we have returned home.
This week was a lesson in being happy with what we know. Last summer, we spent a week in a small cabin right on the Northumberland Straight. It had the potential to be the world's best vacation and in many ways, it was.
Except for the fact that for our first family vacation ever, we invited my dad, Stephen's parents and his Aunt Irene. The ad for the cabin said that it could comfortably sleep 8 people, and we took that to mean we could invite 8 people.
There were some tense moments during that week, but we got by because the Atlantic Ocean was literally right at our front door.
So this summer, after much searching on Stephen's part, we went to an "ecclectic farmhouse" in Mergomish. Farmhouse was good, right, because we would be more comfortable in a larger space. And it, too, was right on the Atlantic Ocean.
Stephen and I, Emily, and my father were the only people going, so it would be very comfortable, lots of room, the dogs wouldn't be under eveyone's feet.
It was roomy. And that was about all that was accurate.
As we were driving on the Shore Road, I knew there were problems. Number one, there was no shore.
Number two: ecclectic farmhouse is a loose translation for a farmhouse that reeked of must, had paint peeling from the ceilings, a bed as hard as rocks, with no ocean to be seen.
Number three: the ocean, the ocean I had waited all winter for, was a 15 minute drive, one way.
Number four: just because the tides go out in Northport as far as the eye can see, doesn't mean that the tides in Mergomish work the same way. Not once did we see the beach at low tide.
Not. Once.
I burst into tears five minutes after we walked inside, and once I was done, it was either go home or make the best of it.
And so we drove to the beach twice a day, there and back, for the entire week. Frankie had a ball. We think he is part otter so being in the water for him makes him happier than anything else. Tikka is not a big water fan, but she'll go out up to her belly and then bark at us, incessently, until we come back to shore. Or close enough to make her happy anyway.
Em was miserable, but made do. Each night we played board games, and by far the most fun was playing Trivial Pursuit, the original game. Lots of hints were needed, but a good time was definitely had by all.
We found a used bookstore in Antigonish, so I was very happy. I picked up a book called A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton and so far it is an intriguing book. I was reading at the kitchen table the other morning, after we returned, and Keith looked at me and asked, "Why are you reading a book from 1994?"
Youth. Go figure.
Thankfully for Em there was an Empire Theater in New Glasgow. We saw The Other Guys one afternoon, and Wednesday evening, at my Dad's request, we saw The Expendables.
Not much to say except the movie may have 45 minutes of less than mediocre dialogue.
In other words, we tried to make the best of the situation, and I think for the most part we did.
But we were glad to get home.
Title Song: Vacation by The Go Gos
