Road Trippin'

There's something very nostalgic about the idea of road tripping. My childhood was dotted with many road trips, mainly to New Mexico and occasionally to the Carolinas. I remember loading up on soda and treats and putting them in my little area in the van and then trudging through the miles until we arrived at our destination. Although I'm sure those hours in the car comprise a relatively small percentage of my childhood, they take up a lot of property in the memory department.

That being said, since moving to Texas I've wanted to do this Austin-->Destin road trip. Over Memorial Day weekend we made it happen. The original plan was to drive through New Orleans and stay there for one night. Imagine lunch at the French Quarters, followed by a swamp tour in alligator infested waters. It would have been a true taste of Cajun livin'. But with only a five day time slot, we cut out the NO stop. 

We left Friday after school and drove to just east of Baton Rouge (with a pit stop at some dang good BBQ in Wallerby (?)) and made it to Sandestin by 3 on Saturday. We saw some pretty country along the way and were finally welcomed by beach-- hallelujah!

After checking out our condo and grabbing lunch we made our way to Miramar Beach. We steered clear of the 20-something's partying it up and jumped in the warm water. I've said it before and I'll say it again…Beach life is the best life. Kaia was so fun to watch, taking the waves like a pro. There wasn't a strong current so she didn't need/want anyone holding her hands and she was continuously jumping the waves or diving under them. I can't quite explain why but those are proud mama moments for me! All the boys loved it and Yosh and I were right there in the mix. I wasn't a fan of all the algae in the water but beggars can't be choosers. (…or can they….)

Anthony, Eriko, and their family happened to be about 20 miles away from us at Rosemary Beach so Sunday we headed to their place to beach it up with the cousins. I love how cousins pick up right where they left off. Dallin, Porter, and Kai instantly started a hard core game of football (them against the waves? I'm a girl and those thing aren't innate to me but, through observation alone, I can tell they're innate to those boys!) and for hours fought the waves and the muy strong current all in the name of the game. We were wiped out long before they were! We did dinner at Anth and Eriko's before heading home. The physical exertion of the day was confirmed when Dallin started projectile vomiting due to heat exhaustion. Poor thing, I've never seen him in such bad shape. He broke his 10 year streak of making it to a toilet or equally convenient throw up deposit spot. Bless his heart.

The next day we hit The Track. You know-- mini golfing, bumper cars, carousel rides, the whole shebang! It was a kids' dream. That night we headed back to The Pope's for an adult dinner with them and their St. Louis neighbors at The Bay. It was a great night.

The boys spent the night with the cousins. Wednesday we all met up for the Rosemary-->Seaside bike ride. Have I ever confessed on this blog that beach cruising is usually my favorite part of vacation?!! Nothing makes me feel 13 again like cruising. And cruising with the fam elevates the experience even more (…which should be awkward to feel both 13 and a mom with 4 kids…) We had lunch in Seaside before heading home and getting caught in an epic rainstorm 3 miles short of our destination! I'd be lying if I didn't say it was awesome! The rain was coming down hard and fast but there was no lightning and the air was warm so it just felt like a spontaneous adventure! The completion of said adventure was rewarded with a sugar coma, courtesy of The Sugar Shack (apparently a Rosemary Beach staple.) A quick dinner, followed by baseball/soccer, more sugar, and some live music dancing, and we were on our way home. It was the perfect way to escort out our vacation!

Wednesday morning before heading out of town, Porter and I snuck down to Another Broken Egg Cafe for an increeeeedible breakfast. We then attacked the 12ish hour ride home. We took a quick pit stop at LSU's stadium to put a check by Yosh's bucket list. Other than that, it was Sound of Music, the Princess Bride and the Sandlot for hours on end.

I loved it and am already anxious to plan our next go round with Rosemary Beach! 

Tavarua, Fiji

For years I've heard about this vacation from Kelsey Clark. Each conversation ended the same way-- "You guys should come on the next one."

2015 was the year where it finally fell into place.

This became one of those vacations where it's hard to put the week into words. It's hard to articulate feelings and magic and do it justice. It's one of those things you won't ever grasp until you experience it for yourself.

Still, I do want to write some words.

Each day we noted our highlights.

Sun Jan 4

-seeing rainbow (Kaia)

-lightning storm at dinner (Yosh)

-Deeter telling Dad he was putting himself to bed before dinner (Yosh)

-watching boys surf (Mom)

surfing (Porter)

(Dallin's lack of contribution to this tells me he was asleep before he could throw out his bullet points!)

That day I also wrote, "I'm curious to see how we'll feel at the end of the week. Today was a lot of fun but not sure this island has enough to do for 7 days."

I didn't do much research about our trip so was very surprised to pull up to this teeny, tiny island and find out that this was it! If you were to run around the whole island, it would total a mile. Small!

Mon Jan 5

-fishing (Dallin)

-swimming (Kaia)

-going snorkeling at the sand bar (Dallin)

-kayaking (Kaia)

-going in the hot tub after the sand bar (Porter)

-seeing the blue star fish (Yosh)

-"When I get older, my boobies are gonna get fat." Deeter

-seeing the big hermit crab (Porter)

-seeing a sting ray while kayaking (Gay)

-"Today is Thanksgiving for the mosquitos. And on Christmas, one is going to suck my blood and give to another one as a present." Deeter (the mosquitoes were out in full force)

-most incredible massage ever by Elanoa (Gay)

Tuesday Jan 6th

-surfing (Porter) ((he got up 6x that day))

-playing ping pong with the boys (Dallin)

-snorkeling at the sand bar (Gay)

-napping on a lounge chair (Gay)

-taking a nap on a lounge chair (Kaia)

-watching movie with all the kids (Porter, Deeter, Kaia)

-playing spades (Gay)

-snorkeling Restaurants (Yosh)

-Watching Deeter and Porter reel a fish in (Yosh)

-Kaia is playing so well with all the kids

-Mom and Kai kayaked around the island

Wednesday Jan 7th (Happy Birthday, tess!)

-the whole fam went to the sand bar

-Kaia LOVED snorkeling. Mom loved seeing her determination. The mask wasn't comfortable/fitting. After a while, I was like, Forget it, we can just sit in the boat. Kaia was like, Noooooooo! I want to snorkel! Glad she didn't give up because I sure was ready to!

-I liked getting wiped out by some waves. (Deeter)

-Andy took Porter surfing in the morning. Before long about 10 kids were out there getting usher in by Andy and Frog. They were all catching waves. It was quite the sight!

-That whet the kids' appetite and all day long they were anxiously awaiting the next set of waves. Yosh got in there and started pushing them in and a crew gathered. Darshan then started pushing too. The kids were in heaven. The parents were all lined up on the deck watching their kiddos. Kaia and I jumped in a kayak and paddled out behind the surf scene and watched from there.

-SURFING!!! (Porter)

Thursday Jan 8th

-Deeter loved seeing the guy with a 50 lb Spanish mackerel that he had brought in from spear fishing.

-Kaia loved "surfing". Daddy held her board while she laid on her tummy.

-Boys went and snorkeled The Namotu Drift. Porter loved seeing a reef shark. (Porter chased the shark for a good 20 yards before Yosh noticed what was going on and went and yanked him away from the chase! Can you say No Fear?!! Ha!)

-Yosh loved seeing the shark and all the sights on the Drift. 

-Yosh had a lot of fun pushing kids into waves for surfing.

-Apparently while snorkeling The Drift there was an attacking fish. Dallin was one of the victims! (teeny, tiny imprint)

-Fijian night! It was amazing. Our group presented the village chic with kava. The ceremony was amazing- very personal and intimate and far from commercialized. It felt almost sacred to be part of a small, native ceremony.

Friday Jan 9th

  -going surfing (Kaia)

((she loves going out on a board while the kids are surfing and just laying on the board to watch)

-Mom and Kaia took a boat to Castaway Island with Darshan, Christy, and 4 Fijian kids. It was interesting seeing the other islands and being reminded that there were other humans around us! We had lunch there and then stopped at a sand bar on the way home to snorkel.

-sitting by the bonfire (Deeter)

-Deeter LOVES playing Spades

-I surfed a lot of waves (Porter)

-snorkeling and seeing rock fish (Porter)

-pushing kids into waves (Yosh)

Saturday Jan 10th

*I woke up ready to get the heck off the island! It's funny because it didn't hit until it HIT! Not a gradual onslaught. i took no notes that day but I remember an epic volleyball game, 4 on 4, the hales vs the Fijians. We lost*

Sunday January 11th

We left the island at about 10:30. We went to the Sofitel Hotel for the day until our 10:00 pm flight. Being at the hotel really put into perspective what a unique and magical place Tavarua is. The Sofitel felt so commercialized and lost the majority of the Fijian flavor. You actually had to pay for food and outings and everything else! Tavarua was all inclusive and you could take a boat out as many times a day as you wanted, therefore not restricting you to singular experiences. We did many snorkel excursions, many fishing excursions, etc. It really was an amazing, amazing trip!

All photos are by Scott Winer.