Beach Vacation 2015

We struck out on our family vacation to the beach without any idea how things might turn out. Neither P nor I had done beach trips growing up, and I think we can still count on one hand the number of times we've gone to the beach as adults. The last time we went, Sarah was a baby who detested the feel of sand, and Luke was a preschooler who was terrified of waves. So why not try it again - and this time add a third kid who is still nursing!? 

Thankfully, we have no horror stories to report (other than the bottle of Sprite Andrew drank/spilled all over himself and his car seat an hour into our trip, thanks to a big brother sitting entirely too nearby). Instead, we have golden skin that still smells a bit salty, way too many photos on our phones (and in our Insta/Facebook feeds...sorry...), quite a few good memories, and a couple of great "learning experiences" (e.g. do not entrust the 6-year-old with anything valuable when he plays in the ocean waves, and sayonara to a pair of goggles and a kick board; also, do not let kids drink entire bottles of Powerade just before arriving at a ferry where the wait is up to 60 minutes #pottyemergency). 

We chose Port Aransas for our first beach experiment, reasoning that we'd be close enough to home or other destinations in case the ocean idea was a total flop from the start. And although we didn't have to worry about that after all, Port A was still a great place to stay - close to the beach and as many kitschy tourist spots as one might need (giant paper mâché shark, anyone?), but also a short drive from Corpus Christie, where we had an eye on both the State Aquarium and the USS Lexington aircraft carrier museum. 

The kids were super excited about going to the beach. We moved all three car seats to the middle of the minivan so that we could fit more gear in the back, but we regretted the decision almost immediately: the big kids were unbelievably wild with their excitement, and I feared for their baby brother's life, sitting so close to the Crazies. But I confess their joy was contagious; there's really no better way to start a weeklong family vacation than with grinning faces in the back seats. 

Sparklers and Black Cats before the big fireworks begin

To break up the trip down to the coast, we spent a long-overdue weekend in Brady with Granddad and DD. We watched the fireworks from their backyard and listened to Granddad's and P's recitations of the names of Revolutionary War heroes and the (abridged) text of the Declaration of Independence. We cheered beauty queens and little league teams in the Heart of Texas Independence Day Parade and then toured the Brady Museum. We visited Granddad and DD's farm to feed the longhorns and pick fresh vegetables, and we spent plenty of time visiting at the house while the kids had their fill of Barbies and Hot Wheels and the rest of DD's great toy collection. It was a good time spent together, and we might not have pulled the kids away had the lure of The Beach been less powerful.

Heart of Texas Independence Parade and the Brady Museum

Extra playtime at DD and Granddad's

Farm Life

On Sunday, we loaded up once again and headed towards the coast. We had to stop for groceries and last minute swimsuit shopping, so it was evening by the time we arrived in Port Aransas. It was quite a struggle for the kids to be patient for so long, so we knew that a quick sunset trip to the beach was in order, and after a meager meal at a delicious but overcrowded pizza buffet, we strolled on down to check out the shore. As the big kids ran wildly in and out of the edges of the water, it became clear that this was going to be a great week.

A glorious sight.

We ended up spending two full mornings at the beach; the big kids mostly stayed in the water and the waves, and Andrew entertained himself quite well eating and playing in the sand. I sat back with a novel while supervising my little sand baby and P did most of the work keeping Luke and Sarah alive in the ocean. It was perfect. :)

The beach days were mostly useless for anything else because it took so long to get cleaned up, and the kids napped long and well after a morning in the sun (PTL!), but one of those evenings we decided to try a "sunset cruise" along the bay. I was hoping for more of a "guided" tour, but even without that, it was really pleasant to coast along in the late evening breeze. We saw dolphins, gulls, and pelicans, and the kids drove us crazy with their desire to explore the small fishing boat rather than sit back and relax, but it was good. P and I agreed that it was ok that the bunks inside the main cabin were of far more interest to our 6- and 4-year-olds than the glorious sun setting over the ocean waves. 

Hello, Scat Cat

On the other two days of our trip, we drove into Corpus, first for the Aquarium, and then for the USS Lexington. I confess that I'm a bit of a museum/zoo addict, but I think we all thoroughly enjoyed both attractions. From trained dolphins and touch tanks to real war planes and mannequins having root canals in Sick Bay, there was a lot to take in, and the kids were no less fascinated than we were. Well, Sarah and Andrew and I might have been a little less fascinated in the ship museum than P and Luke, but we all had fun nonetheless.

Texas State Aquarium

Andrew loved Every. Second.

USS Lexington

The other parts of our trip were spent drinking root beer shakes from Whataburger, relaxing in the hotel pool, eating Mexican food, and watching the Tour de France on the hotel room TV (P says every good vacation needs a bit of random-sport-watching on the hotel TV).

On the way out of town on the last day, we finally stopped in a souvenir shop to pick out t-shirts and souvenir books, and the kids pored over their new books for a good portion of the trip home while P and I enjoyed the countryside - and the feeling of not having to wear a baby around all day, scan the crowds for meandering children, or smear sunscreen over wiggling bodies once again.