Day 86-preparing for the road trip

   March 30-We had originally hoped to leave Bifröst today for southern Iceland.  However, it had become apparent that we would need the day to get ready to leave.  Most importantly, everyone needed to do laundry.  Our visitors had smartly brought only one week of clothes, so we needed to get those cleaned for the final week, and our family also needed clean clothes so we could join them.  So, we spent most of the morning walking back and forth between the apartments and the laundry room.  Meanwhile, our kids showed their cousins around Bifröst. 

An elaborate early 20th century gravesite for a farm couple,
along the highway between Bifröst and Borgarnes



   By noon we were all done with laundry, so we packed up the vehicles and took our guests out for a final sightseeing trip in the Bifröst area.  The sky had actually cleared, so my family 

Shan, Sally, Diane, and Greg enjoy the Sun and
no wind while the others explore the museum.

finally got to see what blue sky looks like in Iceland!  We drove to Borgarnes to take them to the Geirabakarí for dinner.  I don't know if my family was as impressed by it as we continually are, but they certainly did not complain about their food.  Then, we drove on down to Akranes to see the sights of that metropolis.  We first went to the folk museum.  It contains an interesting collection of items, but two of its general, overarching themes are fishing and geology.

The new lighthouse at Breið.

   We next drove out to Breið, which is the rocky point at southwestern edge of town.  Unfortunately, it was foggy at the coast, but the weather was still nice enough for everyone to explore the tidal pools and the lighthouses.  We had been there before, but we had never walked out to the older lighthouse.  When I did so, I tried the door on a whim and it opened!  So, most everyone came out and we checked out the (still fog-limited) views from its top.

Shan and Sally atop the
old lighthouse.

   Once everyone was done exploring Breið, Sally took our kids and headed back to Borgarnes to start cooking supper.  Meanwhile, I drove my family up and around the Hvalfjörður so they could see a true fjord.  We also were able to check out the historical marker about the heavy Allied presence in the fjord during World War II.  We also saw a rather large ship docked at the whaling station.  It looked more like a cargo ship than a whaling ship, so we figured it was probably just dropping off supplies.  We took a shortcut inland to and through Skorradalur and arrived home not long after Sally.

Spencer and Shan ponder the (probably) profound
pontifications procured from their Páska eggs.

  After supper that evening, we had two celebrations.  First, we handed out Páska eggs to everyone.  Páska means Easter in Icelandic and they have chocolate and Easter eggs like we do, but with a twist.  Their

Páska eggs are chocolate and hollow, filled with more candy and, invariably, a saying that is similar to a fortune you find in a fortune cookie.  So, everyone got to open and eat a chocolate egg and puzzle over an Icelandic saying.  Second, we had the first of what is sure to be a series of birthday celebrations for Joslyn.  Less than a week after we finally

finished celebrating Spencer's

6th birthday, we are now on to celebrating Joslyn's 10th birthday!  She opened the presents her grandparents and cousins had brought over for her.  By this time is was pretty late and we were hoping to get on the road relatively early the next day, so she put all of her new toys aside and everyone hit the sack.