spring break in port aransas
Last week was spring break in Texas. We waited until the last minute to make plans for the week off -- until almost too late. Then, my friend Maile called.
"Hey -- we were thinking about going back down to Port Aransas with the kids. Want to come along?"
This was a no-brainer: we accompanied Maile and her family to Port Aransas about a year and a half ago, and it was such an amazing time. We immediately said yes, and incredibly, were able to find a last-minute, affordable beach house to rent for a few days. So Thursday, we headed down.
Despite my nasty run-in with the sun on the first day,* our quick little spring break was everything we could've hoped. Naturally, I had my camera with me -- here are some of my favourite shots.
These three were inseparable all weekend, and trying to get them to go to sleep each night, instead of sitting up and nattering into the wee hours, was almost impossible.
This is the first morning we were there. I'm thinking the lack of sleep is somewhat evident on their faces.
The air temperature was pretty cool by Texas beach standards -- about 70 degrees -- and the water was in the 60's. Knowing that we likely wouldn't be successful in keeping the kids out of the water, we bought them some cheap wetsuits.
For a while, they worked great ...
... until they had enough of that noise.
Daddies were conscripted into doing appropriate activities, like constructing kites ...
... and sandcastle moats.
After such hard work, refreshing libations were necessary. Obv.
Once the men were refreshed, they were pressed into service once again, this time to make Maile's husband's famous burgers. People, I'm sorry, but there was no way I was going to stop eating to take a photo of these bad boys, they were that good. We made Jason make them both days we were on the beach. Alex couldn't stop eating them. I believe Marcus actually wept.
Happily, Jason was very open about his secret ingredient, something so simple, so obvious, and yet so stunning in its brilliance.
Are you ready?
Pork sausage.
Dude, his burgers might send you on a bullet train to a heart attack, but trust me, you will die happy.
Anyway, needless to say, we had one of those memorable family holidays, the kind that turn sort of sepia-coloured in your mind, the kind you hold on to no matter what, to help you get through long days back at work.
With that, thanks so much to our sweet friends for the awesome idea of an impromptu beach holiday.
And as for everyone else, I hope you had a wonderful weekend -- and here's to making the week ahead a great one.
Song: Black water by the Doobie Brothers. One of the cars on the ferry on the way back home to Houston was blaring this, and it's been in my head every since.
* This is the third sunburn I've ever had in my life. The first one was in Trinidad when I was a teenager -- I stayed outside for 11 hours without any sunscreen, and since Trinidad is generally hot, and only 10 degrees above the equator, it was a foolish thing to do. The second was 2 years ago, also in Trinidad, when I stood in the ocean watching Alex paddle around. I had lathered her in sunscreen, but didn't bother putting any on myself, knowing that we were only going to be there for a couple of hours. It was a patently stupid move on my part, resulting in burn worse than when I was a kid But at the time, I remember thinking that the sun must have gotten stronger in the 30 years since I was a teenager, since I had only been outside for a couple of hours, versus the day-long exposure I'd had in my teens.
This time, the temperature was only low-to-mid-70's, and I thought that it would be physically impossible for me to burn, especially since I wore a cover-up all day, to keep the chilly sea breeze off. Boy, was I wrong. When Maile saw me that night, she blurted out that I was The Poster Child for Climate Change (which laid me out, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard). But honestly? This was the worst burn I've ever had (and it honestly wasn't that bad). And I don't know if the severity was due to a change in the concentration of UV rays hitting earth over the years, or simply the fact that my skin is much older and therefore less resilient; nonetheless, all this to say wear your sunscreen, no matter what race you are. I've learned my lesson. Be ye not so crazy.