Scene: The back seat of Harriet's car, somewhere in the state of Indiana. "Schoolhouse Rock" is playing on the video player strapped to the back of the driver's seat.

AJ: (singing along) Galileo Galilei! (He stops singing) But that's wrong. Galileo didn't discover gravity. That was Newton. Galileo discovered Neptune.

Harriet: (entirely unsure of herself). Yes, but Galileo did gravity stuff too. Wasn't he the one who figured out that heavy and light objects fall at the same speed?

AJ: Oh, that's right. Look! It's the tower of Pisa!

* * * *

We are back and we may never drive again. Every time we go, it seems longer. But AJ was a saint, especially considering his legs don't touch the floor of the car. And as you can see from the above scene, which took place toward the end of our trip home, he made a fairly profitable use of his time. However, in the interest of full disclosure, I will state that we bribed him with Spongebob and Animaniacs videos.

I didn't get much reading done while on vacation, but I got a good start on Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamity Physics (its website, while entertaining, seems largely cribbed from that of J.K. Rowling) on the drive home while AJ was watching Spongebob. I am enjoying it even though it is annoying me and reminding me of a lighter weight, more frivolously footnoted The Secret History.

I am sad not to be there anymore -- it is beautiful and I miss the ocean terribly. But we came home to find the lawn a vibrant green and the daffodils, crocuses (croci?) and forsythia in full bloom. The bloodroot and the hellebores are just starting to open and the vinca is about half flowered. It is a different place from the soggy icy place we left a week ago.

AJ popped out of the car and immediately ran in search of The Girl Next Door. They played all afternoon and into the evening, until dinner could no longer be postponed. We will see them again tomorrow at our village's Easter Egg Hunt and party, which will take place at the barn behind our house.

There is much more to say, but I am tired and in need of a bath, so I will leave it for another time.

2 people said it like they meant it