"Take care of yourself, honey/' Dad said. I wasn't sure, but I thought he hugged me extra tightly, since I was going to be gone for a long time. I got through this last good-bye pretty easily, though, because Claire, Margo, and Nicky Pike all came barreling out of the garage, carrying suitcases.

"Come on, Mary Anne-silly-billy-goo-goo," Claire said. "It's time to go!" Claire is the youngest Pike and is going through an incredibly silly stage.

I helped load both cars (the Pikes always take two station wagons to Sea City) and at the very last minute, Stacey arrived with her mother. Stacey's mother looked a little sad and I knew she was going to miss her. Stacey is her only child, just like I'm Dad's only child. But Mrs. McGill would be alone for the next two weeks, while my dad would have Sharon and Tigger.

We finally straightened out who was going in which car. (I was going with Mrs. Pike,

Vanessa, and the triplets, and Stacey was going with Mr. Pike, Mallory, Claire, Margo, and Nicky.)

We were just pulling out of the driveway when Vanessa yelled, "Wait a minute. We forgot Frodo!"

Mrs. Pike turned around to smile at her. Frodo is the Pikes' pet hamster. "Vanessa, Jes-si's taking care of him at her house, remember?" Jessi has a hamster of her own named Misty, so she'd know how to look after Frodo.

"Oh, yeah." Vanessa settled back, sighing with relief.

"Now if there are no more problems, it's — "

Right on cue, the triplets sprang to life. "Sea City, here we come!"

Chapter 3.

Do you know exactly how many words rhyme with cat? I do. Vanessa used every single one of them during our trip to the beach. Vanessa is nine years old and wants to be a poet. I should say, she is a poet, because she is always making up poems. And you know what? It must be contagious, because now I find myself doing the same thing when I'm around her!