It was awfully close, though. As we were packing up to leave, one of the kids found a lone moon shell hiding in a corner of the hotel room, and when I took it and poured warm water into it, out came a wild scrabbling of small jointed limbs. So, we finished packing up, and stopped by the beach so I could set him free. At first, I set him down just in the shallow water, so he could recover a bit, but when I straightened up, I noticed a little girl edging toward me, her eyes on the shell and realized my efforts were doomed to failure if I just left him there. So, with a sigh, I went back, picked him back up, and tossed him into a nice thick patch of sea grass in water that was about knee deep. Well... knee deep for me, that is!
It was a good vacation, and I wish it could have lasted a little longer. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, being somewhat more adventurous this time and exploring more of Rockport than we did last time. We had adventures, and did silly stuff, like this...
I will refrain from comment...
We shopped, and I have to tell you, it wasn't as hot as it had been last year, when we were suffering through the Triple Digit Summer From Hell, but it was much, much more humid, and that knocked the heat index up into the triple digits. This made walking much steamier than last year. Ugh! Thankfully, the Husbandly One and the Impossible Son volunteered to walk our purchases back to the van, letting the Impertinent One and I stay in the shade (and mugginess) before tramping off to the next shop.
They were always disgustingly cheerful when they walked back.
We had fun looking at all the shops, bought a few things here and there. I would have liked to have bought some art, maybe some furniture, but how to transport it back? However, I did spot a shop called "Jack and the Bead Stock" that was having a huge sale on beads, etc, so, you know I had to go there and check things out! And walked out with a big bag of charms with plans for earrings and bracelets. But only after the Husbandly One twisted my arm a little and encouraged me to stock up. Still, I was very gleeful when we left, and can't wait to make some stuff!! Unfortunately, I was too engrossed in
We had lunch, went back to the hotel, rested, and then got ready to hit the beach. And I have to say something about BullFrog's SPF 50 SuperBlock Lotion Sunblock with Titanium Dioxide. It's probably the best sunblock they've made so far, and we've been using BullFrog since Miss Priss was in diapers! But this one, it works, it really, really works. It makes you look funky, because it's white, and it makes you look like something that's been locked in a dark basement all winter, and you've only just come out into the sun. But... you won't get burned.
I burn. Not as easily as the Blonde Sister. It takes me longer, but I burn. But... not with this stuff! It is awesome!!! Seriously, this year, nobody got sunburn. Period.
Anyhow, I digress. We went to the beach, and the kids decided, after trying to find sea shells to take home, and finding way too many occupied ones, to think outside the box and instead, collect as many hermit crabs as they could!
As you can see, they set to it with great gusto...
... and collected quite a lot!!
And the majority of the shells were very much occupied!
and not all were happy about being captured, as you can see!
A tiny sea snail must have ridden in one of the shells, because we found it trying to get out of the bowl. The Husbandly One obligingly set it in his hand so I could get a shot of it.
The Impossible Son loves our trips to the beach, and it's always a chore to get him to come out of the water when it's time to go...
"No, I don't hear anybody calling me, nope, not me, not at all. No, Mom's not trying to call me, and my sister's not threatening me with death, so... I'll just look for more hermit crabs... yeaaaaah, that's what I'll do!!"
Of course, his sister was making death threats, because she was hot, uncomfortable, and somewhat grumpy, because her moon cycle hit just before we left home, and she wasn't comfortable with the idea of swimming in the ocean while pretty much bleeding. I understand that. I did offer her tampons, but she's not worked up the nerve to try them yet, and I'm not forcing her. In her own time, you know? So, we kicked around in the shallows, made a sand castle, drew in the sand, played soccer, walked up and down the beach, talked to people, and kept ourselves occupied. However, when it was time to go back to the hotel, she wanted to go back and not wait around for a Little Bother who didn't want to get out of the water before he absolutely had to.
All in all, it was a good trip. We played in the water, went shopping, ate great food, and had interesting adventures.
There was a new Chinese restaurant just down the road from our hotel, called the Panda Bay, which turned out to be really, really good. We went for dinner on Friday night, and got a waiter who pretty much leapt to attention if I so much as twitched. And considering that I talk with my hands (everyone who either knows me or has met me in Real Life is laughing heartily right here, because they know), you just know the poor man was run off his legs!!
He seemed really, really taken with the Impossible Son and kept encouraging him to eat without pressuring him. They didn't have a menu aimed at kids, but they would do what they could to accommodate their quirks (food not touching, sauces served separately, so the kids control how much goes on their food, etc). We'd ordered a combo plate for Mr. Impossible with sweet and sour chicken, and sweet and sour pork, sans the sauce (because neither Miss Priss, Mr. Impossible, nor I can have it), and he dug into it with gusto, only pausing long enough to ask for ketchup, which the waiter obligingly provided.
Our tea never got more than two inches below the top of the glass, and I got to where I practically sat on my hands, so the poor man would pay attention to his other customers!! The Husbandly One seemed to be inexplicably entertained by all of this and asked me if I'd packed my red v-neck shirt. I asked why, and he said, "If we come back for lunch tomorrow, you should wear it. Maybe we'll get free appetizers!"
O_o???
Anyhow, we enjoyed ourselves, and have decided that we definitely need to come back, and we also need to try staying in either a beach house, or a condo or something, just for variety's sake. We also want to come during the winter for beach combing and just for something different. And visit the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, something we weren't able to do this time.
And now to bed, and now to bed...
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