Vacation Weeding & Housework
[Photos taken 21 – 31 July 2021, posted online 31 October 2021. Happy Halloween!]
Bjarki’s summer job ended on 21 July, but Anna’s would go on through the end of July. We therefore signed Emma up for some more horse camp, and just … didn’t do much at all.
Finnur skipped between town and house #2 to oil/stain wood, I weeded as much as my sanity allowed, and managed a few little projects on the side like hemming curtains (sooo exciting!) and planning to upgrade Bjarki’s room. I got wasps killed, and went in for a covid-19 test, just to be sure. (75-ish images total)
Wednesday 21 July 2021
Parental Vacation: Víðgelmir, Húsafell & Krauma
[Photos taken 19 – 20 July 2021, posted online 30 October 2021. Pumpkins appear to be sold out in Iceland, might have to carve out watermelons this year!]
Our good friends, Adda and Halli, had a treasure trove of gift cards that were either expired or about to expire (but all still magically valid because of Covid-19) that all centered around the area of Húsafell. They asked if we’d be their (adults only) travel partners, and, after securing a sleepover for Emma, we said yes!
That Monday I hitched a ride with them to Húsafell, where we met Finnur, who’d packed up house #2. We drove over to the cave site of Víðgelmir, went on a cave walk, drove back to Húsafell, checked into the hotel proper, enjoyed the ridiculously good weather playing Rummikub on the patio, before eating dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Afterwards, I was so stuffed I desperately needed to move, so I went on an evening walk around the area in the gorgeous evening sun, while the others chatted and chilled.
The next day we drove towards the hot tub spa of Krauma, stopping on the way by the pretty lava-side waterfalls (Hraunfossar/Barnafossar). At Krauma we hung out in the hot tubs, and then ate a late lunch before driving back to civilization and parental responsibilities. (70-ish images total)
Monday 19 July 2021
Summer Vacation Begins: Kayaking & Horses
[Photos taken 16 – 18 July 2021, posted online 20 October 2021. Covid-19 restrictions were lowered last night, masks are no longer compulsory, except in the health system (I think).]
At long last, us adults went on summer vacation. The older kiddos would have to wait a bit for theirs to begin for realz though.
Much like last year, the summer vacation was almost entirely unplanned as it began. We knew that Anna would be working full time all through July, so we certainly wouldn’t be traveling as a family until then, and we also had a lot of wood to oil/stain at both our houses – which requires dry weather.
As it happened, this was the we-barely-did-anything-really vacation, but I guess that’s also a kind of vacation. (40-ish images total)
Friday 16 July 2021
Laugarvatn, Soccer & Vacation Countdown
[Photos taken 02 – 11 July 2021, posted online 09 October 2021. We went to see the new Bond movie last night in a packed theater, almost felt normal.]
Our summer vacation window was a weird one this summer. First off, Bjarki’s summer job-school (i.e. weeding public spaces) went until 21 July, secondly Anna’s summer job (also of the gardening variety) stretched to the end of July, and thirdly, the schools started up on 19 and 25 August.
As a result, we ended up starting our vacation mid-July-ish, which meant the customary mental knuckling-through-July until the vacation began.
We did manage to do a few things. We visited Finnur’s parents’ summer house on a wonderfully warm day, I set some sort of personal record in most restaurants visited in one not-on-vacation-week, and Emma participate in the annual huge girls soccer meet in our town, and came away victorious! (70-ish images total)
Friday 02 July 2021
