We had our typical lazy morning: first coffee in bed while reading (all three of us in bed), second coffee while making breakfast, Millie drew for over an hour, we read some more, took turns showering, booked some places for upcoming stops, etc.

It was cloudy today and I woke up with a headache. Not sure if it was the Prosecco or if I’m the last victim of the 24-hour minor bug.

At Noon we reviewed our options for the day. We considered going for a scenic drive with some hikes, but couldn’t face more time in the car. We considered riding bikes along a path to various wineries, but didn’t want any wine. We considered going back to the great playground, but it didn’t feel like enough of a draw on a cold, cloudy day. Finally, we considered: what if we just stay here?

One thing that Nick and I have talked about recently is how weird it is not to have the rhythm of weekends. This was actually one of my goals of this trip (I even wrote about it here) but now that it’s reality, we’re realizing the downsides. Without weekends we have to consciously choose not to do something else in order to rest. But then if any day can be a rest day, it makes the rest days feel less special. A good problem to have, of course, but definitely an unexpected experience of the trip.

All this to say: we stayed in for the day. Millie listened to new audiobooks. She is still into this “Girls Survive” series that her beloved Plague book was a part of. Today she listed to the ones about 9/11 and the Underground Railroad. Probably not age appropriate but I’m pretending it’s homeschool. She started the Tulsa Race Massacre one and it seemed like too much to explain to her, so we pivoted. Maybe next year.

We went out briefly to return our car seat and cooler to Kmart, since we’re flying to the North Island in the morning. I don’t feel too guilty about this since Kmart is a huge corporation and we keep things in good condition. It feels like a victimless crime to me.

But the customer service lady wouldn’t take them! She clocked us right away since we bought them in a different city. She told us she thought we had used them and we walked back out with our metaphorical tails between our legs.

On our way out Millie saw a bounce house set up. She jumped for a while and played while we froze our butts off. I walked to the grocery store to get some ingredients for a simple dinner. We ate at home, and continued the cozy rest day.