One bright cloudy day in September, the family Davis set off into the world to find out what fun the state of Texas had to offer - more specifically the town of Beaumont, Tx. The father of the family had some business to take care of there, so the entire bunch of us packed up and went along - including a grandmother and a cousin.
Our first stop was at Adventure Kingdom; the plan was to play miniature golf with the miniature people, but, of course, the moment we got out of our vehicle it started to rain. Not a downpour, or anything, but rain enough that it would be a bit uncomfortable for playing golf, so the people (both miniature and full-sized ((and plus-sized))) sought shelter in a nearby house.
Umm, Honey? I think you're a little big for that house...
Of course, the mother didn't have enough sense to come in out of the rain and instead hung around outside taking pictures. Which is what mothers do best. (Ok, maybe not...)
After a bit, the rain stopped, and we once again set out on our little adventure.
First on the agenda:
Teach the Child how to Hit the Ball.
She was frustrated with it, but kept on plugging along. (She's a bit of a perfectionist, and gets frustrated when she doesn't immediately catch on to things, but she kept trying...and we only had two or three meltdowns along the way. :) )
The Littlest Little Person whopped the ball with his club a few times and then gave up on the club: he'd just pick up the ball and walk over to the next hole and drop it in. He would then whoop and holler about how he "DID IT!" Of course, since he with his superior golfing skills finished well ahead of everyone else, this left him PLENTY of time to get in trouble investigate the grounds.
I don't know what he did, but he got caught. Sentence: life without parole in the custody of one Gillian Davis. Somebody tell her she'd better stock up on ice cream....
He had a pretty cute accomplice!
Next, we attempted the paddle boats.
Next time I go to try out a paddle boat, someone remind me that short full-ish skirts, windy days and paddle boats are NOT a good combination! (Unless my husband is the only other person in the vicinity...he'd probably get a kick out of it!)
Yeah...'nuf said.
I'm not real sure that the occupants of the other boat knew what they were doing. We spent most of our time wildly paddling to get out of their way before we crashed! (That would be the grandmother and the cousin driving)
Next stop: FOOOOOD!!!!
Of course, Jonathan's favorite part of the meal was the ice cream...
Like father like son?
With tummies filled and ice cream mustaches wiped, we headed for the beach. Would you believe? For the past (almost) four years, we have lived only a hour from the Gulf of Mexico, and this was the first time we actually made it there! This was the kids' one request; they wanted to go to the beach. The REAL beach.
So off we went.
They dispensed with footwear and waded right in.
He pretty much kept to the shallow water, which was fine with his mother. The tide was pretty strong by then, plus it was windy, so it would knock you off of your feet if you weren't careful.
Now this one? She loves the water. I had to keep calling her back, 'cause she wanted to go out where it was deeper. She'd lay on her belly in the sand and float.
The search for that perfect shell...
Unfortunately, someone soon discovered that of all the lovely things hiding in the sea, not all of them are friendly to visitors. She headed out about waist-deep (on her) in the water (which was very cloudy and sandy at that point), and after only a moment she began screaming. Of course, Mama's heart stopped.
I ran to carry her out of the water- she was wailing that her leg hurt. I checked it over and over, but couldn't find a mark of any kind, but she was adamant that SOMETHING had stung or bitten her.
Now, at this point, we're probably 30-45 minutes away from a town of any size, and having no idea what might have gotten her and whether or not she night be allergic to it, we decided that the best move would probably be to head back toward civilization.
Meanwhile, she's still bawling pitifully that her leg hurts. By this time when I checked her leg, small blisters had popped up all over her calf and back of her knee. My guess was that she had run into a somewhat grumpy jellyfish...
After a brief stop for benadryl and vinegar (supposed to be good for jelly stings), we headed to our hotel. After a bath and some food (and a little Popeye and Olyve Oyle) she began to recover.
After church the next morning, we headed back...via the scenic route - we drove along the coast through Texas and Louisiana and took the kids across the Ferry. (and thus a trip that took 45 minutes one way took 3 hours the other!)
While we were on the ferry waiting to cross, we let the kids unbuckle and look out. We got to see several dolphins jumping just off the side!
All in all, 'twas an eventful journey. Juliana may have to have counseling before she'll ever go back in the ocean (just kidding, sort of. She IS that dramatic...). All in all, she doesn't seem to have suffering any lasting effects from meeting up with the business end of whatever it was. By the next day, she had fully recovered. (and believe me, she'll milk as much sympathy as she can out of any injury!)
Hopefully, the next time we go to beach we'll get to stay a little longer!
