V.R.D.

note: V.R.D. = V acation R ecap D ay

day one, sat 15: the venture begins
THIS DAY SUCKED! it started early: 4:30 AM, after my (slightly more than usual for the night before travelling) 4 hours of sleep. the travels were ok, until philly. multiple long delays there, which were due to earlier storms. this of course, kept increasing my arrival at the beach later and later, from saturday night to sunday morning. all day, i only ate a $10 philly cheasesteak, appropriately enough, in philly. it was ok, but not worth that much. i even bought a philly's hat!??? what was that all about? i hate airline delays! and travelling all day. and being hungry. and when i buy other teams baseball hats. so, my dad and cousin pick me up at the airport, and we start my final leg of the journey.

day two, sun 16:
finally i arrive at the perfect daze, the beach house i will be living in till friday with my mom, dad, cousin, his wife, and their two daughters, ages 8 months and soon to be 8 years. i sleep for a very little again, get up, visit another house full of relatives, drink the pot of coffee they made for me, and hit the beach! the beach is awesome! love the beach! love it, or else. there is an apples to apples break out shortly after dinner. drinks with the cuz's at their place ends the night, sorta late.

day three, mon 17:
i sleep in. then i hit the beach. boche ball wars start on this day, taking away from H2O time. my 22 year old female cuz is the champ today. d'oh! after grilling out at the daze, EVERYONE meets at an aunt and uncles house for drinks. upon getting back, i introduce south park to my cuz's soon to be 8 year old. this episode has characters who only have butts for faces. :)

day four, tue 18:
my cuz and i are up early. me, him, and his 8 month old hike out the south end of the island. she is in a 'chest harness' contraption. this end of the island used to have a mini island that was only accessible at low tide, where whole sand dollars could somewhat regularly be found. it is low tide now. my cuz and his companion only make it about 3/4 of the way. i press on, only to find: the island is gone! the whole place is 'reconfigured'. i do get some cool shells though. back on the beach, i win the days boche war! t bonz at night rocks! got me a big ole steak. EVERYONE (except for those deep sea fishing, which did NOT include me) meets at grammy's place that night for drinks and ankle bracelot making, if one desired. the 'fishers' do stop by to show off their catches, then leave. oh yeah, almost EVERYONE hears about the 'butt faces' from south park :) surprisingly, i am NOT reprimanded or mamed.

day five, weds 19
up early again, go out again with the cuz who this time has both of his kids. we head to the north end of the island. this experience was later dubbed nature hike morning by us. bunny rabbits, a puffer fish (more on that later), dolphins, crabs, hermit crabs, pelicans, terns, gulls, a living starfish (the first one i had ever seen alive, in nature), among others made this 'hike' awesome. my cuz once again can not make it all the way because of his children. on his way back to the daze, he picks up the dead pufferfish from the spot we moved him to in the dunes. he takes some pics. when i get back, i do also. then a ceremony was held for Puff (naming rights were bestowed upon the soon to be 8 year old), and he/she was ritually cast back into the abyss. the abyss being the canal behind our house. back on the beach again, i finish third out of eight in the boche tourny. EVERYONE heads over to another aunt and uncles house for hors dervs (i know, sp) and drinks and to celebrate grammy's 85th birthday that was almost 2 months ago, and to watch the special dvd made by a family member for the occasion. MAD picture taking commenced afterwards. then Everyone heads to the daze for more drinks and the sundae assembly line of goodness. then i head back with my cuz's to their house for more drinks, and shots. and some more drinks. now it is very late, and ALL but one of the cuz's have had MANY drinks.

day six, thurs 20:
i get up early, all thanks to my non-drinking roomy cuz. we head the same way this morning, just me and my cuz. we get to the end of the island. we don't find any shells of any significance along the way or back. we are mostly observing, and talking, and having a good time. we saw another live starfish. this one had really thin, 'snake skin patterned' arms. we also came across a lady doing turtle nest test on fake 'turtle nests'. later, i am back at the beach for my final time, this year. no time for boche today. not EVERYONE is there anyway. the sun was too much for many by this point. sand castles were attempted, but mostly unsuccessful due to time constraints and the 'help' of a 4 year old. heated 4 person putt putt matches followed. i finished third both times. my cuz's wife and my cuz were the two victors. double d'oh! the putt putters get back, some dinner is consumed, then almost EVERYONE stops by the daze for a few drinks and to say goodbye to me. when all have left, and the rest gone to bed, i start packing / watching tv.

day seven, fri 21: the venture ends
i go to bed. i get up shortly afterward. i travel by car, by plane, by bus (inbetween terminals), by plane, by foot, by plane, by bus again (to the parking lot), by my jeep. feet everywhere in between. you get the point. i get my cat. i am home! i am tired, but happy!

in conclusion, i had a great time. i forgot how much i loved the beach. and for the records, EVERYONE = 37 people total. in six beach houses. 27 adults (greather than 20 yeards old), 10 kids. 17 males, 20 females. 27 family members, 10 friends of family. theorectically, pictures are to be posted later.