Travelling for a Sad Occasion

Shane and I were in the car again Sunday afternoon. Carrie, Shane, and I went to the same small church we'd gone to last summer (or was it two years ago?) and got lunch before we headed out.

Traffic, detours around traffic*, and pit stops added over an hour to the drive. The AC worked for most of the way. However, Shane really enjoyed the waterfall at the rest stop (and then I said, "Come on, kid! In the car!").

We arrived around 7 PM. I saw Stu walking with a crew, so Shane and I parked to walk up with them.

Tomfoolery ensued.

Shane started a game where everyone was throwing around his stuffed tiger, Stripe.

Cole and B weren't happy with how often Shane ended up with the Tiger.

B forgot his worries the moment the stuffed animal hit his hands. Cole's memory was longer.

The game continued unabated until the kids were throwing Stripe over the net and Cole rejoined the fray.

I think I warned Shane a couple of times about the pool and to "watch out Stripe doesn't get stuck anywhere."

And he did.

The game transformed into a learning experience. One of my cousins was going to go over, but I said something like, "Let's see what they do. The longer they take to solve it the longer they stay busy."

And they did get it down! I suggested they use a magnolia seed pod to throw, but the victory was theirs.

I checked in while the kids played and we had a fantastic room location. It was right next to the court where everyone played! Thank you, Nana and Pop!

I rejoined the group as some wrestling was underway. Everyone was having a great time!.....except Cole. He felt a little ganged up on. He tried to hit Shane after he was let up, but was ineffective. Shane laughed and he and B were probably oblivious that Cole was beyond 'play angry.'

The boys were all buddies again and running around within minutes. They ran around the corner and I found them knocking on a random door. Cole thought it was his family's room, but it turned out to be Nana and Pop's....not that any of us knew that at the time!

Through it all, the older generation of cousins got to chat. I hadn't seen my cousin Chris in years. Claire, Kerry, and Dr Matt were all there. Caitlin and Alex showed up later.

Stu took all of the kids to the correct room later to collect his clan for bed.

Naturally, Shane and B followed.

Everyone was still out talking when B, Shane, and I were kicked out. Kevin and Cindy had come out and shot some hoops. 

The rest of the 'predecessors' were inside talking. The hotel had given them the dining room.

There was pizza out for grabs. Sean and Jim brought ice cream and homemade brownies.

It was a bittersweet occasion. Everyone wanted to be there for Dennis and Kyle. I didn't get a chance to talk to everybody. It's hard to focus with that much going on, so I like to pick a spot to hang-out in and soak in what I can. Plus, I have that whole parenting thing as a priority.

The kids were in their own world while all of the adults caught up and reminisced. I'd talked to Shane before both funerals about our reasons for going. He nodded and maybe it stuck, but in the moment he was excited to be up late and playing with B...

....and Pop!

I excused us a little after 9:30 PM. Kyle was out with his friends and it didn't sound like he'd be in soon. I like to keep us somewhat to a sleep schedule. I wasn't going to leave Shane alone in the room if there was a late night gathering of cousins, so I can't say if one happened or not. 

We brushed teeth and called it a night. Shane took the downstairs room and I took the balcony. It felt overly luxurious to have a whole suite to the two of us when all I had wanted was to share a couch.

The funeral wasn't until 11 AM, so there was no need to wake up early, but I knew Shane would be bouncing and ready to see cousins by 7 AM at the latest.

*Random thought: Does Google Maps calculate the optimal route the same way for everybody? Or does it do some 'social/traffic engineering?' Does it send a few cars to one detour and then others elsewhere to prevent overcrowding one route? Or is it overly presumptuous that enough people use Google Maps that they could orchestrate detours like that? I had a car in front of me and behind me cutting through a minor-league baseball stadium for the Annihilators that I know had to be following the same instructions I was! I was already wondering about this when there was a group of people at a stop sign probably trying to avoid the same wreck as we were. Google told me to it'd be faster for me to turn while others went straight and I had the luxury of being stopped so I could scan the map and agree.