July 16 - 22, 2007 -- We rented an awesome house and even though it rained almost everyday, we could not have asked for a better vacation. It was so fun and relaxing, and we all clicked so well. The food and drink were non-stop as were the laughs. We upgraded from our original reserved house to one with a pool (Thank you Eric for pursuing that, and Dru & Sandy for begging a good price). What a difference the house made. The kitchen was much larger, which was important since we spent so much time there. The room accomodations worked out better for all, with room to spare. But the real crowning difference was the pool and hot tub in the back yard. We took advantage of the pool at nights and on those rainy days where the beach wasn't really an option. The three showers outside really helped with post-beach clean-up, too!
Hobson was always in the kitchen creating something. We ate so much--- Nachos, Chalupas, Pasta, Meat on a Stick (running gag throughout the weekend--no pun intended), shrimp, fish, pizza, Chinese, BLTs, Egg-salad sandwiches, breakfast tacos, migas, waffles, beans, rice, tortillas, green salads, pasta salad, cakes, struessel muffins, fruit, tortilla soup, chips, salsa, and the kids ate CASES of Noodles in a Cup. We ALL gained weight. Then add the constant blender drinks, beer, wine, tea, water, juice, coffee. The service was fabulous. The only complaint (and it is an extremely WEAK complaint) was the 5:30 AM bacon and coffee smell after staying up in the hot tub drinking wine the night before 'til 2:00 AM, and the morning he sent the girls to wake us up with breakfast in bed. Nice thought--sincerely nice gesture--but I am rarely hungry when I am sleeping. Hobson got to see my whiney-bitchy morning face as thanks for a plate full of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. I later apologized.
The first day at the beach was interesting, since it was raining. We were not the only fools setting up in the rain, and while we could see a storm blocking visibility of the southern tip of the island, it never did move up into our area. We learned the hard way that if we walked into the water we needed lids for our drinks unless we liked that salty taste, and that we should hold onto our sunglasses. (I lost pair number 1 here.) The kids had a blast on their boogie boards and the adults laughed just as hard when the big waves smacked up against us, or completely knocked us off our feet. The rains brought bigger waves than usual for the area.
We went to the beach in the rain, and to Schlitterbahn in the rain, and still got wicked sunburns. Schlitterbahn was a treat in that the rain kept the crowds to a minimum and we rarely had to wait in a line for any ride. Also, without the sun, we were able to stay outside for over 6 hours! We started to get hungry so the guys went to get food to grill. We had BBQ chicken, burgers, and of course, meat on a stick. It was perfect! At times we would hook up our innertubes and ride together, and at other times we would float apart but would always run into each other again somewhere on the lazy river.
The four female cousins laughed 'til it hurt watching Sandy flip at the drop off and having a cute 20 year old fellow try to help her get back in her tube, then all of us struggling to rescue a second set of sunglasses knocked off my head while riding down a chute. Trying to jump into a tube in deeper waters turned out to be a real challenge for some of us, and the awkward positions, odd sounds, and eventual flips or worse, swim suit loss, made for some gut busting laughs as well.
On another day we visited Sea Turtle Rescue where injured sea turtles are taken to be rehabilited for release or nursed back to health and taken to a zoo or marine center. We hoped to attend an early morning sea turtle hatchling release, but the hatchlings decided not to hatch on our last day there.
We drove across the bridge to neighboring Port Isabel and had a picnic by the famous lighthouse, and did a little tourist shopping. Eventually Gio & I broke off to hit the dollar store for my third pair of sunglasses.
The rain never slowed us down, but did deceive us into believing that we were not getting that much sun. We were all fried on the second day. Then odd things started to happen. On sunburn day, poor April wore a pair of loop glasses all day, causing a red and white racoon effect. That night Sandy and Eric teased her relentlessly in the pool using waterguns to target the "Racoon in the pool." It was all in fun, but Sandy believes that in some Karmac power kind of way, she woke up the next day with a swollen face. It didn't look bad, just...well...different. Very smooth. Then the next morning, for some reason, Dru's lower lip doubled--well, maybe tripled in size. Just the lower. No idea why. For me - it was a rash on my chest that sprouted up on the trip home and tormented me the rest of the following week. Just a little memento.
We had a couple of plumbing issues and Dean became the point man for the plunger (why didn't we ever get a picture of that?) A cigarette in one hand, the plunger in the other--perfect superintendant stereotype. He performed his job beautifully!! Hobson also pulled out his tool box and performed some minor repairs on the house. Then all four guys got pulled into the handyman role. Very handy fellows to have around. Thanks!
The clothes dryer ran non-stop throughout the week. Lots of wet clothes and towels kept the laundry room hopping--and we all loved the laundry shoot from the upstairs bathroom. The guest bathroom configuration upstairs made for some fun challenges. There was a full bathroom behind another full bathroom. There was no access to the back bathroom except through the front one. Made for some interesting negotiations.
On Friday, Uncle Don & Aunt Rome drove down from Houston to help celebrate Nick's 16th birthday. They visited us on the beach, then headed to the house to take advantage of the pool. Aunt Rome brought a homemade spice cake for Nick's birthday. Uncle Don also took the kids out to the souvenier shops and let them each pick out a t-shirt. What a sweetie! Chrissy and Chris also joined us later at AmberJack's restaurant on the bayside of the Island. We had a great dinner out on the deck and enjoyed the Friday Night fireworks, then headed back to the house for cake and of course, more swimming.
We all found it pretty impressive that four families could share a house for a week and still enjoy every minute of it. We had no real agenda for the week, just some idea of things we might like to do. We pretty much played each day out by ear and improvised on a lot of things, too. It all worked out so perfectly with no stress and no hassles. No phones, nor alarm clocks, and no appointments. Isn't that what a vacation is all about?
