Packing knitting for our annual 2-week Beach trip is never
as much of a challenge as one might think. 
I just say to myself:  hey, 2
weeks of knitting!  And then I pack up
everything I have on needles (including winter projects that were abandoned
when the swallows returned – figuring that beach weather can be winter-ish and,
after all, autumn is just around the corner), as well as a couple of planned
projects that have not even been swatched (in case I finish all my other projects).  Then I grab a handful of needles in a variety
of sizes (for swatching the new projects and just in case I happen across a
yarn shop and get inspired).

I line up my 4 large bags on knitting by the front door –
one bag carefully stocked with car knitting (2-3 projects – after all, it is a
5-hour drive).  And as family members
pass back and forth with suitcases, stacks of beach towels, etc., they will
glance at my bags, glance at me, and smirk. 
Someone will ask if I really think
I need to take all that
knitting?  And, depending on how “packing
day” is going, I will sigh or grin or stamp my foot and say, respectively:  probably not, but…(or) heck, yeah! (or)
something inarticulate.

Several projects for 2 weeks at the beach would not seem
excessive to most knitting enthusiasts. 
But I am not going to the beach (quiet fireside evenings, stormy
afternoons curled on the couch).  I am
going to The Beach – our annual family vacation. The age range this year is 9
months to 89 years. It is true gathering of the clan with some 25-35 sisters,
cousins, grandparents, et al.  (the age
range this year is 9 months to 89 years). Large family meals, themed costume
parties, card games, board games – as well as extensive family-generated team games
that last for days and include pirate maps, obstacle courses, and scavenger
hunts.  Swimming, beachcombing, shopping,
golfing.  If the weather turns drizzly
there are antique shops, the aquarium, art galleries.  We decorate each other with henna tattoos,
make music videos, build sandcastles. 
You get the idea.  Terrific fun,
priceless experiences. Most of the family do not even bring knitting. 

But I do – after all, everyone else has to sleep some
time.  There I will be:  sunburned and achy from a water fight,
henna-tattooed and a little cranky from losing that last hand of poker – and
knitting in bed to the sound of moonlit ocean waves crashing on the rocks.