Spring break and Source Code

Spring break for the girl could be encapsulated by this picture:

Little scheduling or pressure, lots of relaxing.

I did manage to arrange a few get-togethers with her friends that made a few dents in the craft supply, including this necklace the girl made for her friend:

I also took the girl and three of her friends to the beach. I decided on Beachwalker Park on Kiawah/Jones Island. It reminded me a lot of Montauk - very unspoiled, no attractions or snack bar, just restrooms and changing areas and beautiful beach:

Yes that's my hand interrupting an otherwise sweet landscape shot of the beach

The beach was very uncrowded and likely populated by residents. The waves were very mellow which was perfect for a parent trying to watch over four middle-schoolers. We had a great time, despite a steady wind of 10-13 mph, that blew the fine sand everywhere. I'd get up from reading and see a reverse stencil of my body in sand on the blanket. I definitely no longer kicked myself for not charging up the Kindle because it just would have gotten trashed on this beach trip. As it was, so much sand blew into the book I brought, there were times it wouldn't even shut closed.

The only downside? Sunburn. Despite buying 3 tubes and sprays of sunblock, I hadn't warned the kids enough about re-applying, and the only kids not burned were the ones that would allow me to spray it on them myself. I had one kid who claimed that he only got sunburned on his ears and slathered it generously on the sides of his head. SPOILER Alert: he ended up sunburned everywhere else the next day. The cruelest irony is that I was probably the most sunburnt. I didn't bother asking any of the kids to help me with the sunblock and an obvious pattern of where I missed bloomed, including outlines of my hand over each shoulder where I was able to apply sunblock as far as I could.

And to cap off spring break, we squeezed in a movie, Source Code:

Source Code is about soldier who relives the memory of a man in the last eight minutes before the train explodes in an effort to find out who the bomber is and prevent an even bigger attack. It ended up being a great discussion in the car ride back, which to me is a hallmark of a good film, even if the discussion is with three 12-year-olds. We all concurred it was a like "Groundshog Day with Doom". And though the science was very arguable, the personal story of man looking to change his story as well as humanity's in eight minutes was an engaging one. I've seen the director Duncan Jones' other feature film, "Moon" and find a common thread between the two films--a story of isolated man fighting to get back home and re-connect with those he loved, but both were quite different stories. I give "Source Code" a B+ and recommend it.

The girl goes back to school today--hopefully well rested.