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The Trip: Day Four
Jun. 27th, 2011 11:36 pmFirst thing this morning, I had a roast beef sandwich, and then headed to the little airport a few miles away to pick up Grandmother. We stopped at Publix on the way back to the condo, and got a few more groceries. She'd already had a full day of traveling at that point!
Back at the condo, we geared up and got sunscreened and headed for the beach. Our umbrellas were in the front row, this time, which was really nice. Leah had sent the kids on ahead, with a caution to go in only wading until we adults arrived. When we adults arrived, they all had wet hair, which (if I remember correctly; and I do) indicates more depth than wading. The riot act was read, with a promise of consequences which would be most unvacationy if simple directions weren't followed again.
Macy had brought down her new $4 pink raft. We adults got ourselves settled, and I headed for the surf line with the pink raft. I got out several yards, about chest deep, and managed to get a leg over the thing, and paddled like a madman as a wave crested behind me. The raft accelerated and I went hurtling toward the beach. The kids all (naturally) wanted a go, so we got Nathan up there, I helped steady him for the wave, and he washed up grinning insanely. Next was Maddie's turn, and I helped steady the raft again. The wave hit and threw us both forward. I felt a hard BUMP on the back of my head and felt that buzzing you get from a hard hit in the head. I somehow knew that it had been Maddie's head, and when I came up from the surf, she was kneeling at the beach, eyes wide in fright and blood streaming from her nose. I felt that terror that parents know all too well at seeing my child injured, and knowing that I'd been part of her pain. I walked her up to our stand of umbrellas, got her seated, and Grandmother had a look at her. Grandmother is a nurse, so we had out own medical professional right there with us. No break, thank god. We sat in the shade for a good while, and then headed up to the condo to rest during the middle of the day.
Clayton had requested hot dogs for his meal of choice. The water park area has Weber Genesis grills almost identical to mine at home, several of them around the pool area (several yards back from the water). They're plumbed into a gas line so you don't have to worry about tanks. None were in use, so I fired one up and stood in the sun and listened to my iPhone while the dogs cooked up nicely. I brought those back up, and found that Leah had cut up the melon and pineapple I'd bought earlier, and that the only thing missing from the table was hot dogs! We ate, cleaned up, and I prepped the pork loin I'd bought this morning by rubbing it with olive oil, and laying a mosaic of little discs of sliced garlic on top, then coating with fresh-ground pepper and sea salt. This went into an oven pre-heated to 400F, which I promptly turned down to 175F. That's just a little higher than what the USDA recommends as an internal temp for correctly done pork. You leave it in there for several hours, and it'll be perfect when you take it out. I bumped it to 225 for a while, knowing that we didn't have that many hours.
Everyone took some down time, and then we headed back toward the beach around 4:30. I began a sand castle, which soon became a sand Sacrificial Temple to Zod. I had three of the four towers, a central ziggurat, and four walls with three watch towers on each, when it was time to head back inside. Rather, I went inside, and everyone else went to the pool.
The condo had an aroma of roasting garlic and meat that I can only imagine one would compare to what heaven's kitchens smell like. I quartered potatoes and peeled the last clove of garlic, and put that on to boil.
I make mashed potatoes the way I like them, and that's without apology for the ingredients. I did limit myself, though, to only half a stick of butter and only half a brick of cream cheese. A little half-and-half to thin out the mixture, and healthy doses of fresh-ground pepper and sea salt, and the side dish was done. I pulled the pork loin out of the oven, and moved it to a platter to rest while I chopped carrots, green onions, and mushrooms to add to the salads. Each person got only what he or she wanted in the salad. I like the bag of mixed herb salad, but everyone else likes just baby spinach. I made sure of what each person wanted, and that's exactly what was served for each bowl of salad.
Leah baked some Nestle's pre-formed chocolate chip cookies, and everyone had a scoop of ice cream on top of a hot cookie. (no I didn't have one). We'd thought we were going to watch a DVD, but the boys started watching goofy youtube videos, and Maddie came over to watch my working on my planets on Lacuna Expanse. She decided it looked cool, so I set her up to start an empire. Clayton was interested, too, so we got him set up, and the two of them talked back and forth as they worked through the tutorial to start building a world.
Now, the condo is quiet, the kids are asleep, and I'm about done for the day, myself.
Back at the condo, we geared up and got sunscreened and headed for the beach. Our umbrellas were in the front row, this time, which was really nice. Leah had sent the kids on ahead, with a caution to go in only wading until we adults arrived. When we adults arrived, they all had wet hair, which (if I remember correctly; and I do) indicates more depth than wading. The riot act was read, with a promise of consequences which would be most unvacationy if simple directions weren't followed again.
Macy had brought down her new $4 pink raft. We adults got ourselves settled, and I headed for the surf line with the pink raft. I got out several yards, about chest deep, and managed to get a leg over the thing, and paddled like a madman as a wave crested behind me. The raft accelerated and I went hurtling toward the beach. The kids all (naturally) wanted a go, so we got Nathan up there, I helped steady him for the wave, and he washed up grinning insanely. Next was Maddie's turn, and I helped steady the raft again. The wave hit and threw us both forward. I felt a hard BUMP on the back of my head and felt that buzzing you get from a hard hit in the head. I somehow knew that it had been Maddie's head, and when I came up from the surf, she was kneeling at the beach, eyes wide in fright and blood streaming from her nose. I felt that terror that parents know all too well at seeing my child injured, and knowing that I'd been part of her pain. I walked her up to our stand of umbrellas, got her seated, and Grandmother had a look at her. Grandmother is a nurse, so we had out own medical professional right there with us. No break, thank god. We sat in the shade for a good while, and then headed up to the condo to rest during the middle of the day.
Clayton had requested hot dogs for his meal of choice. The water park area has Weber Genesis grills almost identical to mine at home, several of them around the pool area (several yards back from the water). They're plumbed into a gas line so you don't have to worry about tanks. None were in use, so I fired one up and stood in the sun and listened to my iPhone while the dogs cooked up nicely. I brought those back up, and found that Leah had cut up the melon and pineapple I'd bought earlier, and that the only thing missing from the table was hot dogs! We ate, cleaned up, and I prepped the pork loin I'd bought this morning by rubbing it with olive oil, and laying a mosaic of little discs of sliced garlic on top, then coating with fresh-ground pepper and sea salt. This went into an oven pre-heated to 400F, which I promptly turned down to 175F. That's just a little higher than what the USDA recommends as an internal temp for correctly done pork. You leave it in there for several hours, and it'll be perfect when you take it out. I bumped it to 225 for a while, knowing that we didn't have that many hours.
Everyone took some down time, and then we headed back toward the beach around 4:30. I began a sand castle, which soon became a sand Sacrificial Temple to Zod. I had three of the four towers, a central ziggurat, and four walls with three watch towers on each, when it was time to head back inside. Rather, I went inside, and everyone else went to the pool.
The condo had an aroma of roasting garlic and meat that I can only imagine one would compare to what heaven's kitchens smell like. I quartered potatoes and peeled the last clove of garlic, and put that on to boil.
I make mashed potatoes the way I like them, and that's without apology for the ingredients. I did limit myself, though, to only half a stick of butter and only half a brick of cream cheese. A little half-and-half to thin out the mixture, and healthy doses of fresh-ground pepper and sea salt, and the side dish was done. I pulled the pork loin out of the oven, and moved it to a platter to rest while I chopped carrots, green onions, and mushrooms to add to the salads. Each person got only what he or she wanted in the salad. I like the bag of mixed herb salad, but everyone else likes just baby spinach. I made sure of what each person wanted, and that's exactly what was served for each bowl of salad.
Leah baked some Nestle's pre-formed chocolate chip cookies, and everyone had a scoop of ice cream on top of a hot cookie. (no I didn't have one). We'd thought we were going to watch a DVD, but the boys started watching goofy youtube videos, and Maddie came over to watch my working on my planets on Lacuna Expanse. She decided it looked cool, so I set her up to start an empire. Clayton was interested, too, so we got him set up, and the two of them talked back and forth as they worked through the tutorial to start building a world.
Now, the condo is quiet, the kids are asleep, and I'm about done for the day, myself.