Day 1411. Today Emmy was the first one up again around 7 am. Our friend brought us some breakfast, then we put their bathing suits on and went to the pool. I already started teaching at 9 am today and was doing two hours. The kids were in the pool the whole time I was teaching, sitting there right by the pool. Once I finished at 11 am, I was finally able to join them in the water and had lots of fun with them. Tammy had red eyes again from jumping and diving so much. Sammy wanted to be with me the whole time again, and Emmy wanted me to dive to them, which made him giggle, as he was trying to get away.
After we got out, we went back to the trailer, and as they were all so hungry, we finished the spaghetti leftovers from last night. Then they had a little play time before I put them to bed at 1 pm. At 2:15 pm my friend called me, as we had afternoon plans. All five of us were still sleeping at that point, but it was time for us to get up. Tammy sleeps really well, and she had one of her fits after I woke her up. It's always over something little. She wouldn't quit, even as we put her into her car seat. She then took her tablet and calmed down. As we had a nearly 1-hour ride ahead of us, they were all on their devices to make the time pass.
It had taken time to get them ready, and it always takes time to strap them into their seats, and so it was 2:50 before we drove off to go to Panama City, which is right on the coast. We reached the state park at 4 pm, paid to get in, and parked the car by the beach, right next to our friends' car. We then walked to the beach right there. The sand was white, and the ocean was rough. The yellow flag was out. The kids were pretty excited. Emmy had been saying for a while that he was going to build a sand castle. The first and only time they had been at the ocean was during our brief visit to Mexico 13 months ago. At that time Tammy loved the sand and beach, but Emmy did not like it at all. It sure was different this time; he loved it all.
We stayed near the pier because of the shade there, as I was already sun-burned and to protect the kids. I went straight into the water with Sammy and was amazed at how strong the currents were. We always stayed in the very shallow water, where I sat down with him and let the waves hit us. He really enjoyed it for some time. But then he was getting a little cold because of the wind in the shade, even though the water was extremely warm.
Tammy and Emmy were running around, playing in the sand, and also enjoying the water. We were constantly watching them like hawks because the water seemed so dangerous. Randy then got them one at the time and let them jump over waves, which they really enjoyed. Both of them also found shells and corrals that they were really excited about and that they showed me.
Over an hour had passed, when we packed up our stuff and walked up to the pier and to the end of it. You had a good view of the beach there, and we could also see fish in the water. Our friend said that you could also see dolphins and turtles at times, but that was not the case today. A few people had fishing lines in the water from up there. There was a faucet, and so we all rinsed our feet off. Tammy thought it was funny to see her footprints on the wood because her feet were wet, and was disappointed, when her shoes didn't leave any prints.
We then headed back to the car and out again to make a stop by gator lake, where you can often see some alligators that live there in freedom. However, there weren't any to see, which was disappointing. And so we got back into the car and left the park to drive to Golden Corral for dinner. We got there just after 6 pm. It was the first time we got the wheelchair out for Sammy. It was a blessing to be invited to such a nice place by our friends. It was the triplets' first buffet, and made me think of when I took Paul to a buffet for the first time. Sammy had some fans, when we were waiting in line, as some people were interacting with him, including the waitress later. We got our drinks, found a table, and then I took the kids to the bathroom before we got plates and went to look at the food that was available. Tammy was first, walking with me and telling me what she would like, then I did the same with Emmy. Next I got a plate for Sammy before getting myself a plate. I couldn't believe how busy the place was. It was full! I greatly enjoyed the steak I finally got, over a week after arriving in the States. The kids ate rather little, but Sammy was really hungry. And they all had desserts.
It was 8 pm, when we finally left there, so rather late, and Randy had some trouble with the kids' seatbelts again. It was much easier, when one kid was in the front, as three car seats next to each other is pretty tight. After we finally drove off, we made a stop at the gas station, then turned in the direction of our friends' house, where we arrived at 8:40 pm.
Because of the sand on us all, our friend had invited us to shower off in her bathroom. We happily accepted that offer. Tammy had another one of her fits, when a whole lot of sand ended up on the bottom of the bathtub, but thankfully it didn't last that long. And Emmy is really scared of dogs and only went inside house after they had locked them into a room. I was surprised to see him next to the little dog after coming out of the bathroom. Then we said good-night, walked back to the trailer, and finished getting them ready for bed. It was pretty late today, a good bit after 9 pm. I stayed with them and sang to them, then walked away before they were all asleep, but they were all okay with that.
It was time for me to download all the pictures, choose the best and start editing them. I hadn't gotten very far, when Randy already went to bed. Now it's midnight, and I have a long way to go to finish the pictures. In the morning we start our long drive to Augusta, GA, which is nearly as long as the drive we had to get here.
