We started off this morning bright and chipper, because who isn’t bright and chipper when you just got news that Connor and Kayla got engaged! That’s right, late last night, with miles of romantic beachfront for Connor to propose on, he asked the big question, by the pool! By the fricken pool!
Breakfast was the usual except for the fact that Kayla got some birthday croissants, and I made a Tosta Mista (a toasted ham and cheese sandwich).
Because it was Kayla’s birthday we decided to not abandon her to go on the “7 hanging valleys” hike that was just a cliff hike, so Connor, Kayla, and I brainstormed and researched different places to hike. I found several possible places that looked cool and weren’t too cliffy, but they all got vetoed and it was decided that we would go on a hike that Connor found.
As Connor, Kayla, Griffin, and I ate breakfast, Mom and Dad went to get the rental car. The car ended up being a five seat Toyota Corolla. So on the way to this hike, Dad and Connor had all of the leg room sitting up front, while Kayla, Mom, Griffin, and I, all squeezed into the back seat.
For almost the entire 40 minute car ride, I was curled up in a ball sitting on the floor. And once we arrived, the four of us could barely get out of the car.
The start of the hike was just fine, and Kayla was doing just fine, but then, we arrived at a cliff. So long story short Connor and Kayla went off to do their own thing, while the rest of us did the hike. We got lost and then found the trail again, multiple times, went in the wrong direction to go the right direction, and ended up making the hike that was supposed to be 9 or so miles, 14 miles!
For the final few miles, Griffin said he felt like running the rest of the way. I went with him after he told me I had to enough times. We made it safely to the car (although I was dead and Griffin seemed like he could do it 20 more times) and waited down by the water skipping rocks. When Mom and Dad got to the car, they didn’t see Griffin and I skipping rocks, so they thought we made a wrong turn and took the car and went looking for us. (Parent note: the kids took off running at about 4:45, after Matt gave them quick directions from his phone. Gage did not have his phone with him, and Griff doesn't have international roaming - but could pay $20 a day if needed, which we had not yet tried - so as they disappeared into the distance I yelled at Griff to turn on the roaming if we hadn't connected by 6 pm. Then Matt and I followed the map on his phone for the about 3 miles of very windy roads back to the car. The directions he had, and which he gave the boys, took us up a street that ended up deadending into someone's driveway and then yard and then down a hill through a field and down another driveway and then back on the road. Since that was a little weird, we weren't sure how the boys had handled it. And after hikin lg 14 miles we don't think Gage would be able to run the rest of the way. So we started to get concerned that they had taken a wrong turn and then stopped and were waiting for us. So when we got to the car at about 5:40, we were quite concerned that the boys weren't there. We jumped into the car and raced back along the route to where we had left the boys, expecting to see them hanging out at the side of the road somewhere along the way. And BTW, "raced" is a bit of a misnomer, as it was a two way road just one lane wide, and covered with hairpin turns, so a little hair-raising in itself - even without two potentially lost boys! When we got back to where the boys had left us with no sign of them, we got a little more worried and turned around to search side streets. Parents in our audience, you can imagine!!!). We went back up to where the car was like two minutes later, and saw that the car was gone. We then asked a very kind stranger to use their phone to call dad, which they allowed us to do. We got that all sorted out and went to pick up Connor and Kayla. (Parent note - there may have been some harsh moments in the car when we finally reunited, but thankfully no mints were distributed. Which was likely due in large part to Matt being in charge of distribution, and therefor unlikely to give one to himself!)
Connor and Kayla had spent the day in the town nearby Silves, Portugal. The town was absolutely gorgeous with a very well preserved castle, which dates back all the way to the 10th century! They were able to walk the castle walls and explore excavated ruins that were dug up within the castle walls. Connor also took Kayla out for a birthday drink at a café that overlooked the river valley below. Eventually they were picked up by the rest of us and we started the drive back to our Airbnb. (Parent note: there also may have been some negative thoughts towards Connor for sending us on the never-ending forced march while he went off with his fiancé and had a lovely time drinking in a castle!)
We drove home again with the same four in the back. Once we got home, Connor and Kayla made burgers and potatoes and onions for dinner. Connor and Kayla then stayed up trying to call all of their relatives and friends to tell them about their engagement.
- Gage
(Parent note: you all may have to wait until Connor's turn to blog to get the details on the engagement. Fortunately his day is tomorrow. Needless to say, we are absolutely thrilled with the engagement and very happy to have Kayla as part of the family. Which she already is, so not much transition needed there!😀😀❤️)
Comments