Well, we got in from Galveston around 7:15 Monday night, and as I sit here and type this, it "feels like we never left". When I say "feels like we never left", I mean it literally "feels like" I am sitting outside typing this from Galveston. You see, we were lucky enough to be greeted by the same stifling heat once we got back home. Unfortunately for us, the stifling heat I'm talking about was on the inside of our house......thanks to a broken air conditioner. Grrrrr. So, if I come across at some point during the blog as bitter or sarcastic, keep in mind that I am typing this with sweat covered fingers in a 90 degree house. Dedication my friends, dedication.
Our trip was great. We left on Thursday morning as soon as Lori got home from the night shift she worked the evening before. We rolled out of town about 10:00 and we made fantastic time. We made it a good 200 miles before we had to stop for a lunch and bathroom break. Let me tell you, when you are traveling with a female, a 6 1/2 year old and a 2 year old, 3 1/2 hours before a stop is approaching record book territory. After a quick Mickey D's burger break and welcomed restroom pit stop we were back on the road. We made it through Houston before rush hour, and got to the beach house about 4:30.
After unpacking, we had plenty of time to make a quick trip to the beach before dinner. We all hopped in our friend's Kenny and Hailey's golf cart, and took a short drive to the beach.
Mmmmmm....can't you just smell that salt air. With smiles all around, we found a great place to stop, and soon all of us including Mystic were frolicking in sea foam baths. Ahhhhhhhh...........
Refreshed from our foamy furlough, we made our way back to the beach house for dinner. After dinner, we waited for our great friends Kenny and Hailey to arrive with their daughter Carley and their dog Major. While waiting, we enjoyed a perfect sunset bathed in vivid colors.
Our friends arrived a bit after 9:00pm, and after getting the kiddos to bed, we sat and visited for a few hours. Comfortable friends, good conversations, good drink, good music, ocean breeze, and fine cigars. Wow, sometimes life's rewards are humbling.
Friday started off with a great country breakfast that Kenny made for everyone. Bacon, eggs and biscuits. Yummy. After stuffing our faces, we went down stairs and started playing. Christopher made a bee line to the Motorcycle, and started channeling his inner Peter Fonda.
Ok, having Dora on the side instead of an American Flag might be a bit less "cool", but you couldn't tell it by Christopher's reaction. While I stayed and played with Christopher, the newest Sea Isle gang started roaming the streets.
After playing down stairs for a while, we were all getting pretty warm, and decided to go to the for a dip in the neighborhood pool. All of the kids had a blast. Once we left the pool, it was off to the ocean again for another sandy encounter. Fun times were had by all.
Dinner that night was burgers and dogs, and the chef did not disappoint. Nobody was left wanting. Stuffed to the gills and extremely satiated, we put the kids to bed, and we went downstairs for a rousing game of dominos. We called it a night about 1:30am, and went to bed happy, hoping the kids would sleep in a bit.
"Kids sleep in".....yeah right. Not ours. Nope, not even close. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers, and I guess it could have been worse than 5 hours of sleep. Anyway, we were all up at the crack of dawn on Saturday, and once again "Kenny the chef" treated us to a flipping good breakfast. Pancakes and bacon. MmmmMmmmm! A little down time for the hosts never hurts after such a big breakfast.
We were pretty lazy most of Saturday morning, and finally made it downstairs a bit after 12:00pm. Here is a picture of me and Aidan enjoying each other's company, and the cool breeze blowing through carport.
Christopher enjoyed being chauffeured around by Carley in the Barbie Jeep. He thought that was super cool, and they were both all smiles.
After his ride, Christopher came over to the hammock to enjoy some sibling fun with his brother.
We finally ventured out to the beach mid afternoon. After arriving at our granular destination, we enjoyed boogie boarding, throwing the football, and just relaxing in the surf and sun.
We left the beach about 5:00pm with a bit of anxiousness lingering in the air. You see, Saturday night meant shrimp night, and oh boy.....we always love shrimp night. After getting back to the house a little after 5:00pm, we started preparing the bacon wrapped, cream cheese and jalapeño stuffed shrimp for the grill. It takes a lot of prep time, but my goodness is it worth it. Each succulent morsel wrapped and seasoned to perfection. They are hands down the best shrimp that I have ever eaten. I am currently wiping drool off the keyboard just typing this. Next time I will get some pictures of the shrimp, so you can at least see the edible masterpieces for which I so fondly wax poetic.
After dinner, we got the kids to bed, and wend downstairs to play a few games of darts. The air was cool and the breeze was nice. Perfect weather for visiting outside. Although the darts were fun, we were all really tired, and decided to call it an early night. We were all in bed by 10:30pm.
Sunday was spent visiting most of the day, and we were all a little bummed about seeing Kenny and Hailey and Carley leaving. They had to get back to Houston, so we bid them a remorseful farewell about 4:30pm. After they left, we loaded up the golf cart, and the Thornton family clan headed to the beach. As we were getting to our destination, I noticed a couple of sand sculptures that we stopped to look at. Here is a 15 foot whale just minding his business,
while a family of turtles swim in front of him.
As soon as we arrived at our spot, Christopher and Aidan grabbed their boards and headed for the water.
Christopher could not make up his mind on which one he wanted.......hmmmm......red or blue?......so he took both to the water's edge. Mystic was going crazy for her retrieving dummy, and started channeling her best Underdog impersonation.
"There's no need to fear........." We all played for a couple of hours, and finally got back to the house about 7:00pm. We were all tired, and after eating and watching Harry Potter, we were all in bed by 10:00pm.
Monday morning we were up early. We prepared most of our stuff for packing, and then headed out to the beach one more time. We love the surf, and just could not leave without one more dip. Christopher made up his mind this time, and went with red.
We only stayed for a couple of hours, and then started packing up. Christopher was ready to go.
We got back to the beach house about noon, and after having lunch, we got on the road home right at 2:00pm. A profound sadness filled at air as we drove down the coastal highway and Christopher said "Bye-bye beach" one last time....and just like that we turned and headed north. 5 hours later we arrived home, and even the 90+ degree house could not dampen our spirits. We had a blast.
I would like to thank Kenny and Hailey for inviting us down again. You will never find a better couple to call friends. We are lucky to have you in our lives.
Well, there you have it. I hope I did not bore you too much with such a long story. We love our friends from Houston, and we love the ocean. We got our temporary fix for both, and we are satiated for the moment.
William
