Thanks to an incredibly fortunate set of circumstances, we were able to have our children come and visit us in Lagos, Portugal for 10 days. Emma and Ryan were here after their month long Morocco journey and Riley joined on his semester break from Austin. It is easier to get your children to visit you when you have a cool place with beaches and surf and biking.
The surfing scene here is centered around Sagres, a windy town on the tip of Portugal. The surf locations change with the wind each day so we rented a car and moved the whole crew from Lagos to Sagres. Emma and Ryan rode their bikes and we crammed the other bikes and three of us into a tiny rental car. Then it was off to the surf shop and with 2 boards on the roof and 3 boogie boards we headed for the beach.
Riley learned to surf in the Marines so he actually knows what he is doing and Ryan has mad skills. The rest of us not so much. My first try with the boogie board ended with me flailing about in a few inches of water while attempting to put on fins. After succeeding in not-drowning and giving up on the fins, we found some easier surf and had a great time. I only bruised one or two ribs in the process.
We are in awe of our children's mad skills. Emma and Ryan do wheelies with a loaded bikes and Ryan is a master at finding off road routes Riley can stand up on a surfboard and rides my cross bike like a downhiller.
We did some really fun stuff and even went to museums and churches. But what we’ll remember are the evening card games and dinners/exotic drinks at the Green Room and lots of laughs. My mom has always said that one of the greatest pleasures in life is spending time with your children as adults. That is certainly true for us and already we are thinking about how to make it happen again.