In Which Josie Explores the Shore

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vacation Vices

What vacation would be complete without indulging in a few things?

 

1. Food

 

I think this is probably a major area of indulgence for most on vacation.  While as a whole there's no dining out (save the heading-out-of-town breakfast), it doesn't stop us from eating.  And eating lots of things that don't normally appear in our pantry.

 

 

Every morning the kids went straight to those miniature boxes of sugar-laden cereal.  Until it ran out.  Then they started in on my brother-in-law's personal stash.  In addition, there was a large quantity and variety of chips.  And I will neither confirm nor deny that 3 gallons of ice cream was consumed in 7 days.

 

2.  Television

 

We couldn't afford to take along on a babysitter (my mom actually had the audacity to suggest that no one would want the job!) so the TV was second choice for those early morning/post-lunch/dinner-prep times when a few moments of peace were needed.


Armed with a long-running copy of the old cartoon, we were set.  And as far as cartoons go, it is pretty tame.  Yeah, he smokes and the boys suddenly started puffing on their Pixie Sticks, but at least there is no dialogue - just funky music.

The menfolk relaxed with a couple of hours of COPS.  There's nothing more riveting than watching someone Tased in the head or seeing a punk on a motorcycle crash while exceeding 100 mph.  That's entertainment.

3.  Reading Material

One of my criteria for judging the merit of a particular house, is it's selection of reading material.  Biographies, non-fiction, and mysteries are all great, but what I really like are the trashy magazines.  All those supermarket tabloids that I can't flip through with the boys present.  The glossy covers that declare, "Kate Middlenton's Baby Bump" which I could only dream of on a good day.  I was a little disappointed in this year's offerings; they mainly focused on fashions that I would never be tempted to purchase.

On the other hand, there was a bookshelf with something for everyone:  Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis; Monica's Story by Andrew Morton; The Maker's Diet by Jordan S. Rubin; Sage-ing While Age-ing by Shirley MacLaine; Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith.  In my few minutes of downtime I curled up on the porch with Larkrise to Candleford by Flora Thompson.

I guess now we're back to clean living.

The Crew

A week at the beach with 11 kids, 5 of whom were 2 and under.  Here's the roll:

 

Abby - 10

 

 

Andrew - 8

 

 

Nathan - 8

 

 

Stephen - almost 7

 

 

Peter - 6

 

 

Matthew - 4

 

 

Eliza - almost 3

 

Jonathan - almost 3

 

 

Josie - 14 months

 

 

Lucy - just shy of 1

 

 

Miriam - just shy of 1, too!

 

 

Papa & Nana - young at heart!

 

Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine what "vacations" would become.

 

 

 

 

Nature Walk, Seashore Style

Beachcombing has to be one of the most relaxing and, simultaneously, exciting activities.

 

Who can resist the thrill of the hunt when there are creatures and objects waiting to be discovered?

 

 

And the treasures we found!

 

 

A clam, perhaps?

 



 

A dead horseshoe crab.

 

 

A dead jellyfish (and the reason I stayed out of the water).

 

 

A moonshell.

 

 

 

And a bucket full of lovely shells that was promptly dumped out by one of the younger members of the family.



 

The favorite was this large hermit crab which I scooped up out of the edge of the water.

 

Matthew was brave enough to hold it.

 

 

He was admired and released.

 

 

Another day we thoroughly inspected the tide pools.

 

There were lots of finds including a small shrimp and a shark.

 

 

My sister called this a limpet, and I'll take her word for it.

 

 

A four-legged sea star.  We found a random leg floating in another pool and wondered if they went together.

 

 

A backswimmer.

 

 

And my favorite, this itty, bitty, teeny, weeny fish.

So Hard to Go Home

"It seems like we just got here" came the chorus of voices, and I couldn't agree more. 

 

 

Anticipation is just as much a part as experience.  Whether it's vacation or marriage or a new baby, the joy is more full and complete when one has passed through the stage of yearning for the thing that is just out of reach.

It was full.  And rich.  And exciting.

And now it is over.

We pass through the stage of mourning.  The loss of those wonderful moments of vacating, of leaving behind the everyday in exchange for a lighter version of the everyday in a new and exciting location.  The same only different.

Back to three meals.  Back to piles of laundry.  Back to school and work.  Back to life.

Beach Trip 2011

No, it's not a typo.

But it's time to get it done before we leave for another trip.

And, boy, am I ready to leave.

Ready to hear the waves and smell the salty air.

Ready to discover non-toddler crabs.

Ready for sandy smiles.

Ready for Lowcountry Boil.

Ready for Papa & his parasol.

Ready to see this gal sitting with her two new cousins.

Ready for feeding hungry cracker-snackers after a busy morning of play.

Ready for some great sibling shots.

Ready for the ones to save for another decade or so.

 Ready for new discoveries.

Ready for reminders of old promises.

Ready to rest.

Just plain Ready.