Here Comes The Sun - Day 3

It was early when Sammy woke up... apparently this relaxing-sleep-in kind of trip isn't quite her style.  But she was gracious and kept herself busy til 8:00 am.   After showering and devotions, the rest of the house started making their ascent.  We decided to just eat breakfast in our condo today... a hodge-podge of cold cereal, toast, applesauce, Pringles and yogurt.  I know its not crazy healthy but hey, its vacation!

We spent a little time out on the verandah before heading out to the beach.  And no kidding, its as gorgeous as we remembered!

We were out from 9:30 am until around 2:30 pm.  It is a blur of snorkeling in the ocean, sitting on the chairs at the beach, swimming in the pool, and so much more!  It was a great way to spend the day.  We bought some fresh bananas from a woman walking on the beach and even found a large crab up by the pool!   There isn't a ton to share other than to let the pictures paint the picture...

 

Lots of smiles and lots of sun!

We headed in mid-afternoon for some rest time.  The guys watched a movie.  Mary rested and read a book and I worked to catch up our blog while on the verandah.  

We needed to stop by the security desk for bracelets so we left a little early for supper.  We stopped at Mama Mia Restaurante, an Italian restaurant, across the street from our condo complex.  They were so accommodating!  They moved a fan directly in front of our table, tilted the TV in our direction and found American programming to watch.  

 

We all enjoyed our meal and then hit the party store and pharmacy for some much needed supplies (laundry soap and ice cream).

The kids requested one more swim in the pool, so we headed out for a dip.  The water felt wonderful to cool our sunburned skin.  

We wrapped up around 7:30 pm, just after dark and decided to tuck the kids in for a movie in bed.  They are snuggled in watching Honey I Shrunk the Kids, each with a bowl of ice cream.  Life is good!

Us adults are headed back out to the verandah for a relaxing evening!  I'm sure we'll soon have our bowl of ice cream as well.

The temp today was in the low 90s again.  After dark, the thermometer still reads 80*.  The ocean is warm, the pool is warmer and we are loving every moment!

We are all tired from a relaxing day in the sun!  Looking forward to tomorrow!

First Time Kayakers - Day 20

So earlier on the trip I had found a local company that offers kayak trips in the salt marshes of Huntington Beach State Park.  They were eager to provide us a great time and teach us about the ecosystems.  They would even allow each kid to have a boat of their own.  They were aware of our needs and willing to work with us so we were excited (and maybe, if I'm being honest, a little nervous).  

We relaxed most of the morning... reading, tv, playing, devotions, etc.  You know, it takes time!

I planned out the time it would take... 1 hour drive (actually 45 minutes), 30 mins for lunch... so we needed to leave at 11:15 am to make it by the 12:45 pm rendezvous place and time.

So imagine my surprise when we left the restaurant at 12:40 (still 20 minutes from the launch) AND noticed the gas tank was on E.  It was awful.  After we got fueled up, we got stuck in traffic.  Ugh.  I hate being late and this was not even excusable.  We parked 45 minutes later than planned.  I was so embarrassed but our guide Paul was very kind and understanding. 

We got started right away.  Paul found two hermit crabs in the water to show us...

Then he and I used a seining net to collect all sorts of little creatures that we could learn about... crabs, shrimp, and fish.  It was very cool!  Tyler impressed us all his with knowledge of crabs and how to determine if they are male or female.  I'm really proud of him! 

Then, without any instructions or training, we strapped a life jacket on each of them, and pushed them out in the water.

Both kids loved it!  They did so good and figured out naturally how to use the paddles and steer.

After a little while, Sammy got tired so we tied her on to the guide and she floated the rest of the way.  She got my sunglasses, put her feet up and settled right in.  It was so funny to see her lounging while the rest of us paddled away!

The guide showed us some mud on the "shores" and suggested the kids try to walk on it.  It wasn't normal sand though... it was that oozy, slimy, sinking sand that marshes have.  Tyler was willing but wanted the guide to go first, so in he jumped... to his thighs in mud.  Then Tyler took a turn.  Then even Sammy.  It was wonderful to hear their squeals and laughs.  They had the best comments!  After we peeled them out of the mud, they climbed back into their boats... COVERED in thick black mud.  Gross!  Sammy splashed water into her boat and slowly got rinsed off.  Tyler (who had to paddle) had to wait til the end of the tour when we got back to shore to get the mud off.

As we paddled away from the sinking mud, Tyler shouts out "Well, I guess we can check that off the bucket list!"  Yes, Buddy, I guess so... you don't ever have to jump into thigh-deep sticky stinky mud again!

It was a fabulous tour with Black River Outdoors... we would highly recommend them.  At this point, the kids were drenched from rinsing so we headed back to the van dripping wet.

Since we were so close to Huntington State Park, we took a drive through to show Mary what it has to offer and then decided to make a quick detour to the beach to give the kids a chance to better rinse off.... in their underwear.  (Shh!)  

We grabbed take out from Outback on the way home and enjoyed another relaxing night... Everyone going their separate ways to get some quiet time.  

What an adventure today!  So much to see and learn.  It is a great example of why I love to travel with these kids!!

The Beginning of the End - Day 7

It was after 10 am when we headed down to Gulia's for breakfast... Tyler's favorite.  But today, he was in for a treat... his coke came in a chilled glass bottle, his first.

And it wasn't just Tyler that had a treat either.  Sammy and I ordered a brownie... that's right, now her breakfasts consist of french fries and a brownie.

Next stop, the beach...  JC and Scott went down to see a local fisherman's boat that came into shore to sell his catch to some of the other resort guests.

We had fun with the beach ball and snorkels again.  We had a little run in with a crab.  The crab was huge... probably 5 inches wide.  You could see those pinchers through the chest-deep water.  When it turned to come our way, Tyler started splashing in the water to get me to move away.  Unfortunately the splashing made it impossible to see through the water and we all panicked.  JC, Mary, me and the kids all let out a shriek that even Scott could hear from shore.  Regardless, it was really funny and gave us a great story for later.

We stayed down at the beach until 1:30 pm.  Then we ordered some snacks from room service for lunch.  After that, the adults were having a hard time keeping their eyes open so Scott, JC and Mary all decided to take naps.  Around 4:45 the kids and I headed to the pool.  While we were there we met some very nice people from Canada who gave me some food advice.

It was while at the pool that Tyler found a hermit crab wandering on the cement.  He was unwilling to leave it "alone" and "afraid" so we stopped swimming for a rescue mission.  It was very sweet and he was so proud of himself for saving our friend the hermit crab.

We headed back to the room so we could get cleaned up for dinner.  After everyone woke up from their naps, we took a walk to the west to "El Meson"... a restaurant recommended by our Canadian friends.  The place reminded us all of home... electricity, air conditioning, even the steak looked American!  We enjoyed a wonderful meal and the company of a group from Tampa who were there doing mission work.

We came back home for ice cream and then watched a movie.  Now, its time for bed.  Only one more day of sun and we want to be ready!

A Perfect Day In So Many Ways - Day 14

After a lot of minor disappointments... no pan to bake my apple turnovers then finding out WAY too late that they put coffee in my chai (Yuck), my day took a significant turn toward improvement when I found these waiting for me at the front desk.

We had a great lunch at Uncle Rog and Aunt Gretchen.  It was a fabulous recipe!  After we finished, Rog and Gretchen had to get back to work so we headed down to our condo to prep for the beach.  We started off with a great walk.  The kids loved running in the surf again.  Then it was back to our cozy spot with our umbrella and beach chairs.  It wasn't long before we found ourselves in the ocean for a LONG session of body surfing and jumping the waves!  

Next it was time to dig holes... and bury ourselves!  I was so excited to see how well the kids worked together and kept themselves busy.  Katie and I were able to relax and enjoy their giggles.

We did the usual ritual of beach, pool, hot tub, then home for showers.   Even though its been repetitive, it doesn't get old!  Neither does this view.  

We had dinner at home and then prepped for our crab hunt.  Below is a giant one we found... bigger than any we've seen before.  The kids spent some time chasing it down the beach with their flash lights... shrieking as it scooted in their direction and jumping out of the way.

So much fun today!

Myrtle Beach State Park

Oh my goodness!  I cannot believe its taken us this long to check out the Myrtle Beach State Park.  It was wonderful.  Besides the beach and fishing pier, they have a playground and an ice cream store.  AND the very best is the Nature Center that hosts educational classes for kids.  You can get the schedule off the website since it changes each month. 

 

But this morning as we were preparing to leave, I realized I had printed September's schedule and today is indeed the first of October.  So instead of the original plan, we stopped in today to watch them feed the aquariums.  It was fantastic!

 

They fed a shrimp to this blue crab... if you look closely you can still see it in his mouth.  So cool!

There was an area with puzzles, blocks and chalkboards for the kids to play.

 

Since we had missed the Reptile class (from September) the ranger was willing to share with us.  She even gave us the handouts and answer keys that would have been used in the class.  Apparently, she is available to answer questions and help in any way you need every Tues - Sat in the afternoon. 

 

Tyler is pretending to be a branch so that this corn snack will wrap his tail around his arm. 

Tyler was a little jumpy, but still brave enough to touch the snakes!

Miss Jessica took lots of time to answer all of Tyler's questions.

 

This little guy was pretty cute... but he moved MUCH faster than the first snake we saw. 

 

After stopping for a treat, we walked the fishing pier.  We saw Jelly Fish and Jelly Balls floating in the water at the end. 

 

It was a great afternoon and definitely worth the small cost of admission.  We are already planning to go back and Tyler has started a list of questions to ask Miss Jessica.