The Camino is a path marked by seashells and yellow arrows. Any intersection, any possible fork in the road has a clear yellow marker indicating the direction towards Saint James. Whenever we come across a new shell the girls and I yell "Amarillo!" as loud as we can, as if finding an Easter egg. Jake just follows the arrow. If my girls get nothing else correct in Spanish 101, they will know the color yellow, oh and "baño por favor". That one is already deeply entrench with some awkward experiences.
I guess whenever a rag-tag crew of four, finds themselves on a long journey following a yellow marked path to discover the promises of a legendary old man, OZ is bound to come up. It had been a particularly hard day: a long hike/rain/hills... we were dragging and thought we had reached our destination when it became apparent we still had another hour before we were done for the day. So before we turned on each other, the question surfaced, if mom was Dorothy who is everyone else. First of all, of course, I am Dorothy, I'm the one that whined about wanting to go on an adventure, and now I'm the one that whines about missing home. Plus I am wearing red pumps as I walk 😏
Here is our TinMan.
This girl is all heart. She is sensitive to those around her,
and notices. She is the first to spot when one of us is struggling and will saddle right up next, with a song for Claire, a conversation with me, and a silent walking partner for Jake. She notices the lonely pilgrim on the trail and helps the rest of us to see them as well. Plus she has
caught a touch of the tweens and at random moments will start crying, it is sweet and precious, and we keep our oil-can handy.
and notices. She is the first to spot when one of us is struggling and will saddle right up next, with a song for Claire, a conversation with me, and a silent walking partner for Jake. She notices the lonely pilgrim on the trail and helps the rest of us to see them as well. Plus she has
caught a touch of the tweens and at random moments will start crying, it is sweet and precious, and we keep our oil-can handy.
Here is our Scarecrow.
This girl is all curious. An hour hike with her and 40 questions about clouds will come up, and you had better know your stuff- cause she knows Siri and is not afraid to fact check. She wants to know how grapes turn into wine and don't just say "fermentation" cause you got to do better than that- she's got time, so break down that sugar. We talked for two hours yesterday about why a Euro is worth more than a Dollar, I don't know why the Euro is worth more than the Dollar. But after a discussion about Imports/Exports, markets, and Trump's tweets I think we figured it out.
Here is our Lion: 
It's not just cause he is cute and cuddly (man, does the trail look good on him). It takes courage to take two little girls around the world. He is on 24/7. We walk into a train station- Jake knows all the exits. We come to an intersection, he is calculating the speed of the on-coming truck and how wide Claire is twirling on the curb. He memorizes every face that talks to Charlotte and sleeps by every door. I don't know where our passports are- he has told me 15 times- but I still don't know, because I know where he is. We don't do this without him.
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