Tuesday morning was cloudy and so the kids actually slept in a little bit. When they woke up Brandon heated up water and we had oatmeal again. It wasn't windy so we were able to eat slower than we had on any of the other mornings.
We all were really happy that there wasn't any wind. We were also happy that their weren't pokeys on the ground. The kids could go barefoot if they wanted. I think my favorite thing about that campsite was how private it was. There was only one other couple on our camping loop, and they were about 10 campsites away. I liked that we could do whatever we wanted without everyone noticing.
The campground itself was beautiful. I'd had the option of reserving us a site right next to the beach, but I though we would appreciate the trees. I was right. There were large Coastal Live Oaks all over the place. When I first moved to Texas I kept noticing lots of references to live oaks. Mostly I kept seeing neighborhoods with "Live Oak Street." It took me about a year before I found out that a Live Oak is a tree that doesn't go dormant and lose it's leaves in the fall. It's leaves fall off in the spring and it quickly regrows them. Live Oaks are one of the reasons that the south always looks so green. The leaves on the Live Oaks around our campsite made it seem like we were camping in the summer instead of November.
We weren't in a big hurry so the kids played around at the campsite while Brandon and I leisurely packed everything up. As usual our kids had tons of fun with rocks. Derrick picked up some rocks and started heading in the direction of the ocean. I've decided that he's something of a human divining rod. Even though the water was at least a quarter mile away, and even though he couldn't see it, he knew it was over there. Every little boy instinct in his body was telling him that he had to go throw rocks in that water. He even said his first ever three word phrase "Go-Go Rock," I humored him and went on a little walk with him to the end of the road, but then we had to turn around and get back to camp. I promised him he could go through rocks in a little while.
Veronica had been the first one awake so she was getting ready for a nap. I put her in her car seat and she fell asleep. I put Derrick in the car too, but he wasn't as calm about it.
Up until now the girls had been content to play in the car while Brandon and I took down the tent. But this time they got out and wanted to help with the tent. They were in charge of collapsing the poles. I had a glimpse into future when Brandon and I can sit back and the kids will take care of the tent.
After everything was packed we got in the car and drove the short distance to the beach.
So far every beach we'd visited had been different. This one didn't have a sandy area at all. Instead it had a long pier that stretched out into the water.
I was nervous about taking the kids on that pier, but I knew it would be neat to let them stand on it. So we carefully walked out to the end. We brought a bucket of rocks and broken shells along so that Derrick and the other kids could throw them in the water.
Veronica wasn't too happy about the fact that we wouldn't let her walk around by herself.
The water was really pretty. I saw another dolphin swimming around.
The only other wildlife that we saw was a dead fish washed up on a sand bar. It looks little in this picture, but it was really about 4 feet long which made it the biggest fish I've ever seen outside of a tank.
Once we were safely off the pier we went over to the shore and let Derrick throw as many rocks as he wanted. I told him, "you've done a lot of things that we wanted to do, now it's your turn for us to wait while you do what you want to do."
The rest of us ate trail mix. Veronica likes using her stroller as a chair when it isn't moving, but she hates riding in it. She'd rather walk around.
Another shot of Derrick throwing rocks. You can see some beach homes in the background.
We were there for a long time, and Derrick was still happily throwing rocks right up until we put him in the car. As we drove back we were able to see the campground that was on the beach. I was glad that I'd picked the wooded area.
We drove back into the woods and followed the park map to "The Big Tree."
This tree was one of the main reasons I'd wanted to stop at Goose Island State Park. The kids all eagerly got out of the car to go take a look at the tree.
The Big Tree is a coastal Live Oak that has been alive for 1000 years. I can't even comprehend something being alive for that long.
The girls said it looked like a spider laying on its back. They said it was probably very scary at night.
There were other trees around the big tree. They were all growing sideways because of the strong winds that blow in from the ocean. This area was only about 100 yards from the shore.
We walked around the tree and then it was time to get going. We didn't have much planned for the day, but we did have to travel over 150 miles. We were heading to Brazos Bend State Park which is about 30 miles south of Houston. We planned on stopping for lunch at a McDonalds along the way. We also needed to go shopping for some more fresh food.
The scenery for most of the drive was flat farm land.
We passed over a a few bridges, but eventually we said goodbye to the ocean for the day and turned north.
The kids slept for most of the drive, but they were eagerly looking for the McDonald's arches for the last 20 or so minutes. They were all excited to have some fries.
Derrick loved his fries so much that we bought him extra ones and he ate them while everyone else played on the play place.
The McDonalds was next to a Kroger so we happily went over there to do our grocery shopping. The girls were really excited about riding in a car cart. We picked up some more fruit, eggs, and ingredients to make taco salad. We also bought some wooden spoons because we'd completely forgot to pack cooking utensils and Brandon was sick of using tiny forks.
When we got back to the car Brandon took a moment and reorganized the cooler. At least one person walked by and gave us an odd look when they saw all our food spread out on the ground.
After we were all situated food-wise it was time to go to Brazos Bend State Park. We arrived there before 5:00, but the office was already closed for the day. So it was the same deal as the night before where we just picked our own campsite. Fortunately I remembered where we were staying this time. I'd decided to pay a little bit extra and reserve a structure. I figured we would like a break from setting up the tent.
It was super nice to have a place ready and waiting for us.
The kids appreciated that there was a park behind the structure. Everyone went over and played there for a while. Veronica loves to swing so I pushed her in the swings. Derrick likes to swing too and he'll say "Udd - Dog" when he wants an under dog.
Even Brandon loved the play ground. He had a huge grin on his face and he said, "I'm so happy we came here."
I was happy we were there too. The place was absolutely gorgeous. There were Live Oaks with Spanish Moss hanging from their branches. The grass was green and neatly trimmed. It reminded me of the Uchee Creek Campground where Brandon and I stayed in cabins when he graduated from Basic Training.
We'd had such a late lunch at McDonalds that none of us were very hungry. So we saved the taco salad stuff for another day. Instead we decided to make a fire and roast marshmallows. Brandon started out trying to make the fire in the pit that was on the ground. But I was nervous about Veronica tripping into the fire. (She's still really clumsy.)
So instead he made the fire in the raised BBQ grill.
Derrick was so happy when he saw the fire. He had a look on his face that seemed to say, "Fire - it's not just for birthdays."
The kids roasted marshmallows and ate graham crackers. We didn't do s'mores because they are just too sticky and too complicated for little kids.
The kids played around outside in the dark for a lot longer than they had any other night. Eventually they started getting tired and we brought them inside. Brandon and I helped everyone into their pajamas and helped them make little beds. Derrick and Veronica settled down right away.
Charlotte and Lydia picked out their spots and were very particular about how they wanted their beds. They didn't realize that they have a tendency to move around when they sleep and that they would end up on the cement.
So once they were fully asleep Brandon and I made them a real bed and put them on it. We also inflated our air mattress and got that ready for us.
We discovered that the bathroom had a little laundry room with two washers and dryers. That hadn't been advertised in the state parks brochure. If I'd known we could have done laundry at the park I would have brought a lot less clothes and more quarters. I had enough quarters to wash one load of laundry, but not to dry it. So I washed some clothes and Brandon set up a clothes line for them to dry. On our way back from the laundry room Brandon and I saw an armadillo.
Brandon and I stayed up for a little bit and talked about how the vacation was going. Both of us thought it was great so far. I was surprised by how easy it was. This was the first vacation in a long time where we didn't have to worry about bottles or binkies. I was still nursing Veronica, but that was only at night. During the day she ate baby food and what everyone else was eating. The kids were having a great time too. Brandon said he was proud when one of the twins looked up at him and exclaimed, "I love camping!"
I told Brandon that I'd always thought that our road trip around Southern Utah the summer before the twins were born was the Gold Standard as far as our vacations went. I'd always assumed that we wouldn't have another vacation that great until the kids were older. But so far this beach road trip was rivaling the Southern Utah trip. I was very excited to see what the rest of the trip would be like.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think?