My Grandma owns a condo right on the ocean. It is super sweet and we have used it for the last 20 years. The problem is getting there . . . . it is a very long drive. Marty and I take the kids every summer though even if we have to drive while they are sleeping! This year, for my birthday Marty bought the kids and I one-way plane tickets to meet my parents there, and then we would drive back with them to WV. Marty had to work but we would go back with him in a few weeks anyway. It was a fabulous week and we really enjoyed the time with my parents.
But this would begin the trip to expect the unexpected!! The first thing that didn't go as planned was the kids and I traveled into Tropical Storm "Debby"!! Our plane ride was largely uneventful although a little turbulent toward the end. However, I cannot remember it raining for a full day ever for the past 20 summers I have visited. It did this trip. We really had only one day we could not go to the beach though. The kids and I made the best of it. We went to see the movie "Brave" and had frozen yogurt at our favorite place, "High Five". You pick your yogurt and your toppings from this huge bar and then they weigh the finished product. If the topping had anything to do with chocolate, Reese ate it. I was really worried he would be sick.
The second surprise was our fourth night's dinner companion. See below! The waitress said he was the medium sized one, and there was a much larger one in the canal next to our table on the deck. He just didn't show himself that evening. Yikes! These guys weren't corraled anywhere---they were swimming around while we ate.
Below is a picture of the kids at one our favorite restaurants. I told them to "look scared"!!
We also ate our fair share of ice cream. This was Emma and my parents at Dairy Queen.
I couldn't believe how brave my kids were in the ocean. Not unlike myself unfortunately. My mom and I were just talking about how I used to swim past the furthest breaking wave and float out on a raft way out in the ocean. I would not do that now. Too many shark sitings!
Emma and Reese really got the hang of boogie boarding. They figured out where to hit the wave when it was breaking so that it would take them all the way in. It was really fun to watch. My mom was a nervous wreck watching them!
My Mom and Dad always have some fun games for the kids to play in the sand. Reese is past the castle building stage, and he prefers to play any kind of ball in the sand. The picture below is of Reese setting up Frisbee Field Goal. It was really fun. The kids met some other kids while down there. We always do because we have come to know most of the residents by now. They often have their grandkids visiting. Reese had a full game going at one point with teams and everything.
And probably the most unexpected event was my brother calling my parents and I on Friday night and letting us know that we had a heck of a storm back home. The power was out without any knowledge of when it would return. My parents, my brother and I always have a lot of meat in the freezers because we butcher our own cows, pigs, etc from the farm. My parents did not want to lose all that food so halfway home they bought a generator. A huge generator!! We had to buy a car carrier for the top of the car to put our luggage in and then I had to sit in the third row with the huge beast for 8 more hours. We made it home though with everyone in tact! The kids were troopers, both navigating through airports and riding in the car. They missed Daddy and Piper though. Piper always puts her paw on the kids arm or leg so that they will pet her. Here Reese is kissing her paw. He was so glad to see her. It has been 7 days since the storm and my brother is still without power. My Mom and Dad just got theirs back today! Praise God! And praise God for a wonderful trip!
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