Our Beach Vacation

We (daughters Cathy and Kim, their husbands Ray and Ash, grandson Will and his friend Alex, granddaughter Hannah and her friend Jacklyn, brother Preston and I) just returned from a week at Holden Beach. This was our 4th year of spending our vacation there and it was great. Four years ago the "kids" learned to play bridge, so this week gave everyone a chance to practice and remind ourselves and each other why bridge is such a complicated, fascinating game.

Cathy is the organizer and cleaner-upper. (You dare not set a used dish or glass down or it will disappear!) I cook ahead of time (the family's favorite spaghetti sauce, chicken tetrazzini, and a couple of large batches of cookies) and she and Ray cook during the week. Everyone helps do the dishes. Cathy constantly does laundry. (Don't leave anything out that appears damp or remotely dirty or it will disappear, too.)

Kim and Ash went out hunting for sharks teeth every day and found quite a few. I don't know how they do it. I've never found one in my life. Ash caught some fish and a big ray (which broke his line and got away) off the pier. He caught a nice fish in the surf, too, but it got away when he was trying to get it ashore. I saw it, though, so it's not a "fish tale".

I beat Kim 6 out of 7 games in Scrabble--better than my usual 2 out of 3 average. I kept the score sheets this year to be sure to record them in our little book at home. (Kim has fussed all year that we lost 2 of her winning scores last year.)

The little boys were amazing in the water. They are too short to get beyond the breakers and got "kaboomed" over and over. I'm thankful they know how to take care of themselves when they get knocked down. I'd certainly never be able to go save them if they got in trouble.

Hannah and Jacklyn (age 13) went out walking (i.e. looking for boys) every day. Jacklyn said a really OLD guy (like 17 or 18) kept trying to talk to them but they weren't interested. Thank goodness.

Brother Preston, who has no kids, exhibits great patience with those who do and the younguns themselves. We have fond memories of when WE were kids and Mother took US to the beach every year. He's a great bridge tutor, too.

What a change it was from 4 years ago when Ash had to jerry-rig something to be able to use his computer even a short time. With wi-fi access we had 2 or 3 laptops set up and on line all the time and everyone could do what he or she wanted to without problems. There was a bit of a problem with cell phone reception. (Is it really because of the Alltel/Verizon merger?)

Ray did a great job setting up (and taking down) a borrowed tent for the beach. If we can't borrow it next year we must buy one. It's great to be able to sit in the shade on the beach when it's as hot as it was all week.

We had nary shower or even a cloudy day. With weather in the high 80's and 90's we really appreciated the ocean breezes and inside air conditioning. That walk from the beach to the house across the hot sand was terribly hard on my feet. I actually jogged through the sand a couple of times it was so "burn-y". My 35 lb. weight loss was greatly helpful for that.

Speaking of weight--we didn't lose any during the week. Cathy saw that we ate good balanced meals, but we just HAD to make trips up to the ice cream place after dinner. My 12 dozen cookies disappeared before half the week was gone. There's something about the beach that doubles one's appetite!

We have already reserved the same house for next year. I appreciate everyone's helping out with the expenses this year. Hope by next year the economy will have recovered enough that I can take care of all the costs again. Grandma Margaret would want it that way.