A Day at the Beach: Swapping Memories
This is best read with a happy tune as background…something Jason Mraz-ish or “Somewhere Over the Rainbow-esque”. Possibly a heat lamp while sitting in a sand box could help set the mood also…
“An Idyllic get a way. Beautiful beaches, vibrant views, relaxing retreats. Port Aransas is the premier vacation destination for beach, sun and family fun! Wiggle your toes in the sand! Search for seashells, bird watch, shop coastal stores and dine in island style restaurants. Our tranquil, tropical community boasts miles of natural beaches, gentle gulf breezes and just-right weather making our island a perfect, peaceful get away. Get close to the water and away from the crowds.”…the Port Aransas Visitors Board.
The perfect spot for a day trip with the grandkids! We only live a torturous 2 1/2 hour drive (seriously…driving through tiny Texas bumps in the road like Poth, Pettus, and Tuleta with their 30 MPH speed traps and 5 traffic lights each is pure torture) from the Texas coast. Sandy & I have made the trip only 3 or 4 times in 37 years of marriage. We had Carson, Jackson & Reagan for the day and we were zoo’d out. What to do?? Where to go?? Carson had been to the Gulf earlier this summer with his parents, but Jackson hadn’t been since he was two and Rea-Rea had never been. Sandy declared “Road Trip!”.
I was all a twitter with excitement.
Don’t get me wrong…I absolutely adore my GK’s and relish anytime we can spend with them. They’re a daily reminder of what love and joy of life should look like. I’m just not a coastal kinda guy. I’ll take the mountains, a stroll along a river , a walk through downtown San Antonio, even a fork in the eye over going to the beach any day. One man’s “gentle gulf breezes and just-right weather” is another man’s “sand blowing in your face, sun burned, sweating like a pig, dead fish smelling, sea weed wrapped around your feet” hell.
Why so cynical, Bill?
Three reasons….My Step-Dad. High school Spring Breaks. The U.S. Navy.
All I know is that the closer to an ocean I get the more anxiety filled I get. My step dad was “that guy” who sucked the fun out of everything that had the potential to be a great memory . As a kid we used to vacation in Port Aransas every summer. He would drag us out of bed at 5 am, load us into his 10′ aluminum boat and head out into the bay, where we were instructed to sit perfectly still while we fished. You can see how well that would work for a hyperactive, short attention spanned 10 year old. It would take about an hour for us to have him completely buggy. If he (there was no “we”. 5 minutes into it my brother and I had usually thrown our bait at the sea gulls) caught fish it was despite us and if he didn’t it was because of us. I don’t care much for fishing now either. Coincidence?? Sure…I’m certain of it. Spring breaks always resulted in third degree sunburns, jelly fish stings, digging sand out of my ears and embarrassing stories for months afterward. The Navy? See “My Step-Dad” above. By the way…Step-dad is the one who convinced me to join the Navy. I’m sure that’s coincidental, too.
Wow…talk about rambling…focus Bill. Focus!!!
Okay…back on track.
It was a fun day. The kids loved the beach! Sandy loved the beach! I loved the beach! We played in the surf, searched for seashells, bird watched, shopped coastal stores and dined in an island style restaurant…we even wiggled our toes in the sand. Just like the Visitors Board suggested!! We even went a step further and built a sand castle (they need to add that to their brochure). I thought the sand castle turned out pretty well considering the chief architects were two 4 year old boys and the engineer was a 2 year old girl.
They were upset when they discovered that the high tide would erase their efforts, so they proceeded to stomp it out of existence shortly after the project was completed. I found myself sitting, watching the kids play and being a little jealous. Don’t grow up too quick, guys. I arrived with an old cynics eye, but soon enough saw things as a little one again. I need to hold on to that.
The only thing we took exception with the Visitor’s Board on was the “beautiful beaches” part and in fairness the tropical storm earlier this week may have had something to do with that. The beach was heavily littered with sea weed, plastic bags and dead fish in various stages of being sea gull fodder. The beauty of being a kid is even that was part of their joyful experience. I mean, would you or I spend time 10 minutes inspecting a dead fish with a stick?
At the end of the day, we loaded up the car and head north for the 150 mile return trip. Five exhausted, sand blown, sunburned, dead fish smelling, sea weed wrapped, sand castle building, toe wiggling, bird watching, sea shell collecting day trippers who had just enjoyed a day to remember. We had made a memory…a good memory.
My step-dad would’ve hated it.
Pity…it was a fun day.
Bp
