What I did on October vacation – Days 1 & 2

“What I did on my October Vacation”

by Debbi Speer

What I did on my October vacation was to get into a car and drive a really, really, REALLY long way to the beach.

The end.

Not good enough? Okay, I’ll give details, but remember: YOU ASKED FOR IT.

Our trip officially began on Sunday morning at 4:50 A.M. Yup. No kidding. I got up that early so I’d have time to get myself ready before the kids had to get up. We still had to load up the coolers, pack the last-minute items, and load up the car, all with the goal of leaving by 6:30 A.M. The kids got up at 5:30 and got themselves dressed and their beds made without much interference…er, help… from Mom and Dad. Loading took a little longer than we had anticipated, but we were backing out of the driveway by 6:45 A.M., which wasn’t too bad. A stop at 7-11 for ice and caffeine (not together, mind you), and we were officially on the road by 7:00. Woo-hoo!

We made excellent time, stopping for breakfast at a picnic area south of Waco at 8:30. The morning breeze was very chilly but we were able to enjoy a quick breakfast and some wiggle time in between the shivers. We managed to be in Austin by the time church started, and were in San Antonio by lunchtime. We stopped at a gas station where Debbi was nearly denied access to the restrooms because she had chosen to wear her NE Patriots Super Bowl Champion t-shirt. We enjoyed a very warm picnic lunch in the sunshine next to the gas station and played a game of “tickle tag” before piling back into the car and once again hitting the road. Our next stop, in Corpus Christi, came just as the Cowboy game was getting underway, and we were pleasantly surprised to be able to listen in to the first quarter and part of the second before losing the signal. And finally, after 10 1/2 hours of driving, we were there! We pulled into Marisol at almost exactly 5:30…and we had the car completely unloaded and all items inside the condo (though only the milk was put away) before 6:00. Woo-hoo!

Here we are on the balcony, relaxing!

Trey took a minute to play before dinner.

We thought about trying someplace new for dinner – some place on the island, not back in Port Isabel – so we headed across the street to check out Louie’s backyard and/or Amberjack’s. The latter turned out to be too upscale, and Louie’s turned out to be a bar, so we headed to something a little more familiar: Blackbeard’s. Definitely the right choice. The kids enjoyed the traditional grilled cheese, but Matt and I opted for seafood! Stuffed crab, stuffed shrimp, fried shrimp, grilled stuffed crab, crabcakes…it was all good! We actually brought some food home to enjoy for lunch or dinner later this week. When we returned, we treated ourselves to a family swim in the pool before heading upstairs for bed. Matt and I enjoyed some time out on the balcony, listening to the waves roar and crash on the shoreline just a short distance away. The breeze blew warm salty air in our faces, and we reveled in the peacefulness of the moment. Ahh, it felt good to be on vacation!

Our balcony and the view just before sunset. The balcony faces east, so we can watch the sunrise each morning.

Day 2 began far better than day 2 last year. On that day, we awoke to a condo with NO air conditioning (unknown to us, it had gone out before we arrived) and an anticipated high in the upper 90’s with very high humidity. This time, we awoke to a nicely chilled condo, with a fridge full of food (we shopped before we came, and brought most of our nonperishables with us), and a gorgeous day outside. After breakfast, Matt took the kids down to the pool and I headed back to Port Isabel to my “favorite” store, Wal-Mart, to do some food shopping. Though there is a grocery store on the Island, the prices are worth the extra drive across the bridge to the mainland. After picking up the few items we needed (plus the obligatory few we didn’t), I headed back to meet the family at the pool. We swam for about an hour more, then headed up for lunch.

Our little mermaid!

Having fun with Dad! This picture was taken from our OTHER balcony, outside our bedrooms. This faces due west.

Trey “hanging out” in the hot tub area of the pool.

After lunch, it was BEACH TIME! We found a beach umbrella in the closet and after our experience last year with the canopy, we thought it might be easier to use that instead. The wind, however, was pretty stiff (same as last year on this day), so we ended up not using it at all and just playing in the surf and sand. Crisana spent her time building sand castles far away from the water, while Trey jumped, splashed, and bodysurfed in the waves, some of which were cresting at 3-4 feet. Matt and I tag-teamed between the two so that we were able to spend time with each of the kids. After about an hour, Matt and Crisana headed up to the condo for naps, while Trey and I stayed down at the ocean. We laughed and played in the water and had a great time together for another hour and a half. Finally worn out, we headed up for showers and some down time.

Crisana busy building her sand castle masterpiece.

Showing off our architectural masterpiece!

The boys…riding the waves and challenging the surf!

We ate in, and Crisana beat us all in a fierce game of Cootie after dinner. After the kids were in bed, Matt and I enjoyed some together time watching “The Bachelor” before turning in for the night. All in all, a great start to our week here! It really feels like we are on vacation!