Point Bonita
I've been meaning to post for a while, but I'm still getting accustomed to my new schedule. Last weekend we had a little mini-crisis when Devon and I were on our way back from a baby shower. I got invited to a baby shower that was a sort of baby shower-cum-bbq; Walt wasn't interested in attending (shockingly!); but Devon and I went, since Devon's friend Layla was going to be there since the shower was for her aunt. She had a great time running aroung with Layla, playing with other kids and (probably most critical to her) eating chocolate cake. By the time we left, it was dark and Tess (the honoree) was passing out little glowstick necklaces and bracelets. Devon was thrilled with her accoutrements, and she kept playing with them on the ride back -- trying them on, taking them off, bending, unbending.
Then as we were on the bridge, she started screaming bloody murder; and after a minute or so, I realized that she had broken one of the glowsticks and gotten some of the liquid in her eye. I couldn't pull off the highway for several minutes, since we were on the bridge, and when we finally got off I rummaged around in the car and found a water bottle with about an ounce of liquid. I appropriated that as an eye rinse (to Devon's great displeasure, since she was still screaming and thrashing around) and then hightailed it home.
In the meantime, Walt called the pediatrician, who told him to rinse out her eye and call the Poison Control Center. Walt's call to the Poison Control Center went something like this:
Hi, I'm calling because my daughter got the liquid from a glowstick in her eye. What should I do?
That's the second glowstick in the eye call I've gotten in the last 10 minutes. Well, it's mostly [insert chemical string here], which is like rubbing alcohol. Stings like hell but it's not toxic.
We were relieved, of course, but Devon was pretty traumatized by the whole experience (especially after we made her rinse her eyes out again when she got home, which she hated). My brother's reaction was to tell his friend who specializes in product liability accidents, so he can think about the potential of suing glowstick manufacturers. Who knew that glowsticks were regularly on the Poison Control Center call list?
We totally recovered the next day, though, by taking a visit to the Point Bonita Lighthouse. I hadn't been there in a long time, and I had forgotten how neat it is -- it sits right out on the point, and you have to cross a bridge (literally) to get to the lighthouse. When we got there, the park service rangers were manning the bridge and only letting two people across at one time. I don't think they were doing that last time I visited, but it made since because it was really rickety.
Devon enjoyed hiking down to the lighthouse ("hiking" is a bit of a misnomer, since it's only 1/2 mi. and mostly paved), but the highlight for her was the souvenir stamp she got in the lighthouse. The Park Service has a special Point Bonita Lighthouse rubber stamp, and the ranger there lets kids use the inkpad and stamp a piece of paper for a souvenir of the visit. She loved it. Walt has some great pictures that I'll try to post.
We also stopped at the beach after the lighthouse, although we didn't stay too long since we weren't really dressed for the beach. Walt was wading with Devon and didn't pay attention to the waves, and he got soaked. The beach at Fort Chronkhite is also rocky (little pebbles), so it's not the most comfortable for walking -- and of course the water is like ice. Devon loved wading in the water, but I was freezing after about a minute.
She's also adjusted to my being back at work, although she didn't like it too much at first (neither did I, for that matter). She wasn't letting Walt help her get dressed and wasn't excited about Daddy and Devon days (which she usually loves). But after a rocky first week, she's getting used to my work schedule again. I'm glad for it, and I'm sure that Walt is especially glad for it.
Then as we were on the bridge, she started screaming bloody murder; and after a minute or so, I realized that she had broken one of the glowsticks and gotten some of the liquid in her eye. I couldn't pull off the highway for several minutes, since we were on the bridge, and when we finally got off I rummaged around in the car and found a water bottle with about an ounce of liquid. I appropriated that as an eye rinse (to Devon's great displeasure, since she was still screaming and thrashing around) and then hightailed it home.
In the meantime, Walt called the pediatrician, who told him to rinse out her eye and call the Poison Control Center. Walt's call to the Poison Control Center went something like this:
Hi, I'm calling because my daughter got the liquid from a glowstick in her eye. What should I do?
That's the second glowstick in the eye call I've gotten in the last 10 minutes. Well, it's mostly [insert chemical string here], which is like rubbing alcohol. Stings like hell but it's not toxic.
We were relieved, of course, but Devon was pretty traumatized by the whole experience (especially after we made her rinse her eyes out again when she got home, which she hated). My brother's reaction was to tell his friend who specializes in product liability accidents, so he can think about the potential of suing glowstick manufacturers. Who knew that glowsticks were regularly on the Poison Control Center call list?
We totally recovered the next day, though, by taking a visit to the Point Bonita Lighthouse. I hadn't been there in a long time, and I had forgotten how neat it is -- it sits right out on the point, and you have to cross a bridge (literally) to get to the lighthouse. When we got there, the park service rangers were manning the bridge and only letting two people across at one time. I don't think they were doing that last time I visited, but it made since because it was really rickety.
Devon enjoyed hiking down to the lighthouse ("hiking" is a bit of a misnomer, since it's only 1/2 mi. and mostly paved), but the highlight for her was the souvenir stamp she got in the lighthouse. The Park Service has a special Point Bonita Lighthouse rubber stamp, and the ranger there lets kids use the inkpad and stamp a piece of paper for a souvenir of the visit. She loved it. Walt has some great pictures that I'll try to post.
We also stopped at the beach after the lighthouse, although we didn't stay too long since we weren't really dressed for the beach. Walt was wading with Devon and didn't pay attention to the waves, and he got soaked. The beach at Fort Chronkhite is also rocky (little pebbles), so it's not the most comfortable for walking -- and of course the water is like ice. Devon loved wading in the water, but I was freezing after about a minute.
She's also adjusted to my being back at work, although she didn't like it too much at first (neither did I, for that matter). She wasn't letting Walt help her get dressed and wasn't excited about Daddy and Devon days (which she usually loves). But after a rocky first week, she's getting used to my work schedule again. I'm glad for it, and I'm sure that Walt is especially glad for it.
posted by Devon Szalva at
1:24 PM
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