Last night (September 7th) was the official end of the summer season at Hampton Beach. It was the last day of the Seafood Festival. At 6pm the crowds disappeared, the town rolled up the sidewalks and we said goodbye to all the great people we met here this summer. We are staying on a few more weeks to see what kinds of people might show up during, what we consider, perfect kiting weather – the temps are low, the crowds are gone, the winds are high and we’re at the beach!
Jim and I made a toast to the ending of our kite adventure and it made me think of all the people that supported our dream.
The customers have been great. Most people have really appreciated the quality of our kites and were thrilled to finally have a kite store at the beach. Our fellow vendors in Tent City have become friends – we recommend each other – I wear an anklet from Anklets and a toe ring from Toe Ring. We’ve all bought items in each other’s shops. Air Brush has made many signs for us and a great hat for Jim. Every night we laugh with them! Caricature also created a beautiful drawing of our little store that I will always cherish. You Need Sunglasses has been there with all kinds of things we’ve needed – batteries, paper cutter, umbrellas, etc.
But, most of all, I’d like to thank our families and friends. You can’t decide to drop everything, temporarily move five states away and start a whole new life without the support of the people you love. When I told my family of our plans, I immediately received emails that were filled with “awesome”, “you’re living your dream”, “you guys will do great”, “I’m so jealous!”.
The first week we were here, my daughter Lexi helped us move up. She set up house with me, went grocery shopping, and visited Lowe’s and Wal-Mart more times than I care to remember. She helped with inventory and even got to try out a new kite or two. She visited a second time with Bridget and her dog Josie and even though the weather didn’t cooperate we had a good time!
My sister Candi and her husband Dave joined us a few days later and were there for the bulk of setting up the store. Dave was a man on a mission with the drill and Candi was hanging kites from every open area. They brought up some great food for a cookout at our house and even made a big container of one of my favorite foods – Canadian Macaroni Salad (mustard, Spam and Velveeta with elbow macaroni – YUM!)!
My sisters, Kristel and Wendy, were with us in spirit and if they weren’t such awesome mothers, they would have dumped their kids and come up and had a blast! Miss you guys!
Jim’s family lives all over the country but offered up well wishes and kept in contact to see how we were doing. It was a welcome break to hear from them.
This adventure couldn’t have happened without Walter, Jim’s nephew. He agreed to move into our lovely home while we spent the 11+ weeks in New Hampshire. He kept our house running, sent us our mail, kept the cars in good shape and most importantly, loved and cared for our cats that we miss so much – Tug, Piper and Kitty! He checked in often and sent us pictures now and then. Other than a few mishaps (Kitty getting out of the house and then locking Walt out without his keys!), he’s kept our home and babies safe. We appreciate what he did so much!
My parents are always supportive but it was so nice that they came to visit and celebrate my birthday with a great dinner. They are hopefully coming up next week as we start to pack up and think about getting back home. We have plans to go to Maine with them – I’m really looking forward to it.
And then to all my extended family, friends and followers on Facebook – thanks for liking our pictures, following my blog, commenting on our activities and just sharing in our fun!
I have so many more posts to write, but I just wanted to acknowledge that, as in anything in life, the support of loved ones is what gets us through the difficult times (and the fun ones!). We could have done this without our families being on board, but it certainly made it easier and a lot more awesome with them! Thank you all!!!
Dawn & Jim
Adventures in Owning a Kite Shop 