Wed, June 19
A great day. Fresh sunny start, bright and early. A mid-ride stop to eat some Culver’s custard and fried cheese curds. A relaxing afternoon at Brad and Amy’s in Henderson, KY. And finally, Brad driving us to Indiana for some of Zesto’s famous desserts and burgers! We were excited to add another state to our list, and for the ice cream!
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Now, it’s time to introduce more of the family to you! We’ve already met Mom Leah, Crazy Aunt Caralyn, and Previously Absent Brother Evan in this blog post. There are many more siblings to get to know! We’ll start with the middle children today, or else they might be forgotten ;)
In this bizarre family we’ve imagined/discovered/created, we of course have ages! Evan, the eldest, is 18, fresh from a (HS) graduation. Next are Maile - 17, Edgardo - 16, and Devin - 14.
Maile has many facets. She is the eldest daughter of Leah, and often my favorite niece, because she's so nice and helpful!
From the beginning, she volunteered to be in charge of packing, (top left). She ended up being in charge of so many things that we had to forcibly take responsibility from her - for her own good of course. She likes climbing on rocks and swimming, and probably just all things in nature. She's often one of the first people awake, packed, and ready with her bike in the morning. At the same time, she can take a nap anywhere, and has been seen with her neck at impossible angles, snoozing away. Finally, she blows all of her competition out of the water with her cheery smile and sincere kindness in all weathers and times of day.
Please enjoy this very slow video of her spinning:
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Edgardo comes next in the family tree. He's 16, and as with many sixteen year-olds, is experiencing many firsts on this trip! It's his first time exploring the US outside of Boston, and it's so fun to see his reactions to seeing different parts of the country!
The first photo is Edgardo's first Cracker Barrel experience (we were all very excited for this one). I think it's many of our first times exercising for such a long time in such hot weather, and we grab any chance to rest in shade that we can. His first Caralyn Haircut, which he very bravely submitted to, with no hesitation. And his very first s'more - he's always eager to try new foods.
He's adventuresome, and open to new ideas, and is very full-of-thought. He's the philosopher of the group, and the humanitarian, and always has an interesting perspective on life or humanity. Best of all, Edgardo cares deeply about others.
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Ohh, Devin: the fourteen-year-old teenage boy of the family, beloved by his older and younger siblings alike. The first photo shows Devin in typical moody teenage pose, but this moment was something of a singularity - his default personality is enthusiastic, cheerful, and fun!
His fashion sense is flawless, from his signature Montana state flag runner's split shorts that he loves to don (and we love to make fun of), to the leather pants he found at a yard sale during a ride one day. As the leader of our (mostly) daily core workouts, Devin definitely relishes drawing out the last 15 seconds of a plank with an "aaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's time!" And no one is more excited about a mid-ride McDonald's 20 piece nugs than Devin. He walks to the beat of his own drum, and eats apples to the tune of his own trumpet, insisting that his base-to-stem method is the only right way.
Our 14-year-old brother, we will always enjoy your tree-climbing and piano-playing antics.
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I truly could not have engineered a better group of people to make this journey with - I love you all.
-Caralyn