Port Aransas Spring Break '11

We spent the first half of our spring break in Port Aransas. As usual, my birthday fell in the middle of spring break, so I decided to invite some of my friends to join us at the beach to help me celebrate it. Mom and Dad, Cheris and Rob, Stacey and Chris, Zach and Elizabeth and Anne and Jeff were all there to share the spring break/birthday fun. We also had 13 children with us and it was a blast. Vacationing with the kids is so much fun now. They sleep, they swim, they get along with their friends (mostly) and are really a joy to share the whole experience with.
We shared a car ride down to the beach with Stacey and Rowan because Brynn was still recovering from a bug. This was so fun and set the festive mood immediately. We stopped at Joe's Crab Shack (for the playground) and had a drink and food. We had a slight hiccup when we realized that Sam gets carsick, (he threw up in front of the hostess stand) but we quickly recovered.
We arrived with great excitement and settled in. We slipped into the lazy, boozy, sun-kissed routine that we usually adopt while at the beach. The weather was hit or miss, but we still managed to have some fabulous beach days. We also took a long bike ride one day where we visited the bird sanctuary and the local playground. We lunched at the Port A Brewhouse and cooked fresh shrimp and got in the hot tub and walked through the shark and even got a sun tan!
On my actual birthday we spent hours on the beach and then all met up in the party room downstairs for a birthday potluck buffet. The kids and Rob provided a pre-dinner concert and then we all ate and enjoyed each others company. I received a fabulous, hand-made apron, a bottle of vodka, and most exciting of all...a huge tin of chocolate chip cookies that I could eat! It was the first baked good I had eaten since October and it was wonderful. I was in heaven. It was a great birthday.
The only bummer of the trip was that Rowan was attacked by what was either an evil stomach bug or food poisoning and was totally incapacitated. Chris and Stacey had to leave on the morning of my birthday and their departure left a big hole in the fabric of our group.
All in all though, I have to say that we had a great time. I had some wonderful birthday phone calls and cards from my loved ones who couldn't be there and really enjoyed being with my friends on vacation. Port A is my home away from home and I love it truly.
Now- Spring break is only half over and we are ready for more fun!