Washing Rugs, More Shopping, and the Zoo

The heat definitely returned, so after Michelle got off work on Wednesday, we loaded up the car and headed to the sea for rug washing.

There was a dock set up on the water with tables for the washing and racks for drying. There was even a press for getting out the excess water. These Finns have quite the system.

With four of us working, all the rugs were finished in fairly short order. We treated ourselves to ice cream for all our hard work and sat by the sea. I even went for a little swim.

Wednesday afternoon, my cousins, Michelle and Rachel, and I headed to squirrel island. We had a bag full of nuts to tempt the squirrels with, but were quite unsuccessful.

Michelle was able to get one squirrel to eat out of her hand. And I fed a pigeon from mine. It was very remarkable.

Rachel had trouble with her bike and by the time she joined us there were no squirrels to be found.

Instead we found a picnic table and sat down for a few rousing games of Yahtzee. We've been playing that along with Scrabble almost nonstop the past few weeks.

On Thursday, Rachel and I went to the flea market in the morning, while Michelle was working. We browsed through the tables, Rachel got a cute shirt, and I found a Marimekko jacket that was lovely but overpriced. Also, I didn't have cash.

Once Michelle found us, we went for lunch at an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet. And we got our money's worth. Our family is good at eating, what can I say?

After lunch, we decided to do some more shopping instead of visiting the zoo as the temperature had heated up and our energy levels were rather low. I found a couple more gifts and cute dresses (and socks--woohoo).

My aunt had plans for the evening, so we were left to fend for ourselves for dinner. Rachel made us some delicious grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches. Then we played a horribly long and painful game of Scrabble.

Today we finally made it to the zoo. We rode out on the ferry after meeting Michelle outside of her work (last day until after the trip!).

The zoo was a lot of fun and we saw a ton of different animals, including the leopard being fed. The low point of the zoo visit came when birds pooped on Michelle's camera bag and my back. No fun.

We treated ourselves to drinks at a beer house after the zoo. I had cider (typical), Rachel had a mojito (a summer fave), and Michelle had a really delicious cherry beer.

My aunt made us a delicious stir fry for dinner and now we're waiting for a Skype date with the family back home.

This weekend is full of plans, including a trip to the minigolf course tomorrow. May the best woman win!