We Have Arrived!

Our arrival on Sunday evening before dark was foiled by circumstances beyond our control:  the 4:30 ferry unavailable; a trip by the airport for the rental car; a wrong turn; a dinner stop; and to make it even harder for the last 20 minutes of driving (which felt like an hour), the baby cried and screamed.  I think by this point, she had had it.  She was very tired and she wanted to nurse which is usually not a problem in the car while traveling.  I've had lots of practice over the last 14 years, but I was driving, so no nursing.  So she screamed.  Sarah Kelly sang and talked softly to her and got very close in and it helped for a few minutes and then she would start up again.  This was very hard as not only were we all tired and wanting to arrive, but I'm not used to a crying baby in the car.  All of mine LOVE riding in the car and usually sleep a lot as babies.  It must be hereditary; I sleep well in the car too, as a passenger that is!So when we finally arrived,  I scooped that baby up and held her for, well, at least an hour before she'd let me put her down.  We identified rooms for everyone, unloaded, got the little ones all to bed and the rest of us stayed up and got food, shoes, towels, and just about everything you can think of settled.  On Monday we'll unpack clothes and finish laundry.  We got 2 loads completed so we won't have as much (only 4 loads or so) tomorrow. We stayed up late enough to see the moon rise over the ocean which we knew was out there somewhere but in the black night we just couldn't identify it and then that golden waning gibbous moon rose over the water which is viewable from 3 bedrooms upstairs and the sun room, family room, kitchen, and breakfast room downstairs.  It was absolutely breath-taking. 
Then on Monday morning we got our first glimpse of the area and grounds around us.  It looks much different in the bright day than in the darkest night with no street lights!  Since the sun rises in the same place as the moon, bright light fills the rooms upstairs overlooking the water and all the downstairs rooms (except the laundry and dining room) around 5 am.  We have decided that if you want to see both the moon and the sun rise, you can only get about 4 and a half hours of sleep in!

View from one of the upstairs bedrooms.  Oak Island is in the distance across the Mahone Bay.

View from our dock. 

A new day is dawning and we are exploring our own little paradise tucked away in the foilage and trees between the waters.