Reykjanesbaer

 The Real day one in Iceland.  We sleep past breakfast at our hotel,

but had seen the really hopping donut place beside our hotel the night before.  They say that they’re Greek pastries, but I didn’t see anything in Greece like this.  They look like someone took donut holes and fried them and then they’re drizzled in a variety of toppings.  We have chocolate and vanilla, and I even think that they’re too sweet, but they’re fuel for climbing a volcano. 

Oscar loves them and I have a banana and granola bar that we bought at the store the day before.  We head of out of Reykjavik toward the airport again, and it’s amazing how a functioning brain makes everything easier.  Now, I can see

how you get cut off in the roundabouts by someone in the inside lane who is exiting and it makes sense because it’s two lanes going in and two coming out.  I can shift and drive without feeling like I’m going to stall at any second.  The low tire pressure light is still on, but it still looks okay and our cars are so old at home, that we ignore caution and warning lights now.  We head

out toward the ocean and have to stop and touch the North Atlantic where Oscar proceeds to not step back fast enough from the incoming wave and gets his shoes and socks soaked immediately.  This is the second big trip where he has gotten his shoes soaked on our first day.  I’m ruling any water stops or what

even might turn in to water stops out of the next first days of any subsequent trip.  So, he gets some of my socks that are in the back of the car and his backup shoes to wear the rest of the day.  We head to the bridge between the continents and you would have thought we took the kid to the moon.  He’s singing songs about it, wants to be on the “USA” side and holler back and

forth between the North American and Eurasian plates.  We enjoy this stop a lot and just talk about geology and plate tectonics like the geeks we really are to our hearts’ content.  Gunnahver is next.  A bubbling, boiling hot spring that fuels an entire geothermal plant and is the first place where we get to remind Oscar not to ever get off the path in Iceland and not touch water or rocks that look fine because they could be covered in sulfuric acid or hot enough to bake bread.  This thing is amazing and the sulfur smell is not 

overwhelming but present.  Oscar says it stinks and we head out to the lighthouse here which is a big bird nesting site for Artic Terns.  We get some pics of little birds and head into Grindavik for lunch before tackling a volcano, which Oscar is now scared to do.  I think he thinks we’re going to sacrifice him to a fire god or something, but we find a place by the harbor.

       We can’t eat here though because there is nothing there that Oscar will try.  Not pancakes, not waffles, nothing.  Premier league soccer is on their television and John is mad about Oscar’s picky eating now because he wants to stay and watch it.  We head to another place on the tablet for places to eat called papa's and there is a ton on the menu that we all want.  John

tries bacaolo which is salted cod done as fish and chips and I get langoustine which is Iceland’s version of lobster and Oscar gets a pepperoni pizza of course.  We sit outside because COVID, even though they look at us like we’re crazy in the restaurant.  While out there, we watch a couple of women in a camper van have trouble parking.  The driver is trying to put it in reverse and finally yells,

 “I give up”.  Well, I know what’s happening here and come over to help them figure out that they have push down the little ring that is on their gear shift and they finally get to park the van.  They eat outside with us and are from New York, doing the ring road in 5 days in the camper.  We chat and talk and are joined by another family of Americans, from California by way of New York, by way of Michigan.  What are the

 chances?  So, we’re all sitting at our respective picnic tables and the only ones crazy enough to be eating outside when it’s overcast and dreary.  We get to make more friends on this trip and Oscar plays catch with their son some while we finish eating.  It’s a nice start to our vacation and we’re off again to the volcano.