July 26, 2025
Today was the day we said goodbye to our friends as they go home this afternoon. Len gave each of the kids one of his Danish Kroner as a farewell gift. The coins all have holes in the middle which he found novel and exciting. Roy unfortunately dropped his while we were taking the group photo but we promised to get him some cool money in Asia to make up for it.
Ollie and Connor snuck in another FIFA game on the PS5. Connor’s love of the video game has Chris planning to get a similar console for Christmas. I haven’t heard similar plans from Kyle and am secretly hoping that the Nintendo Switch we already have will continue to do the job.
Kyle stayed back with Lenny and the boys playing video games while the rest of us walked down to the nearby beach for one last critter hunt and maybe a dip. Lindsey spotted a small crab that I was able to scoop and Jamie rescued snails from a rock that had risen out of the water due to low tide (What would David Attenborough do?). After a few final rock skips, our friends said goodbye to the Norwegian Sea (North Sea?) and we made our way back to the house.
We said farewell to our friends on the front steps and Len’s face captures how we all felt during the goodbye. Chris’s guest blog post from the other day reminded us just how long it will be until we get to see each other again. Though, given how quickly the first four months of the trip have gone, we’re certain it’ll feel like a blink when we are reunited again.
After a slow afternoon, we headed back to the marina for one final boatride. The weather was overcast and in the 60s, but we hoped for one final dip in the fjord and the boys were clamoring to get back out on the tube. We first drove past Oksabåsen island to head to a small market and fuel station to get supplies for one final dinner and to refuel the boat. We also caught and evolved a few Pokemon en route much to the boys’ delight. The grocery trip was a success but the fuel station refused to accept our credit card so that will be a problem we need to solve tomorrow.
The boys took turns driving the boat on our return trip with Ollie doing his best to learn about the lag in steering and Len abandoning his post at the wheel when he thought we were catching Pokemon without him. Kyle and I were both keen to dive into the water once more and Ollie joined us with a bit of coaxing. Len had no interest in jumping in the water but made it clear he was seeking a thrill on the tube. We convinced the boys to go on the tube together to expedite the ride as dinner time was approaching and we were a bit chilly after our swim. While tubing, Len repeatedly asked us to drive faster and Kyle managed to balance giving them an exciting ride but not throwing them from the tube.
Ollie requested breakfast for dinner so I made a Dutch baby with whipped cream and strawberries for the boys and breakfast burritos for Kyle and I. Ollie repeatedly said, “This is my favorite dinner!!” but Len begrudgingly ate his pancake so he would be included in dessert later on. We watched Happy Gilmore 2 as a family and had to teach the kids about the concept of alcohol addiction as it was a main theme throughout the movie.
When putting the boys to bed tonight, they both lamented that their roommates were no longer there. Len still chose the Octonauts theme song even though he had no one to troll and Ollie again picked Going Back to Cali (a new favorite that Chris introduced him to on the boat). They begged me to keep the door ajar as they said they were scared without Connor and Liana also in the room with them. Since they’ve always slept just the two of them in a room, this new found fear really seemed like misplaced sadness that their friends had gone home. Len eventually found sleep but Ollie made his way downstairs to tell Kyle and I how he was sad and scared and unable to fall asleep. He eventually laid on the couch while Kyle worked on a blog post and fell asleep next to him.
