The Corpus Christi area is the closest beach to San Antonio. Still about 2 hours away, but I grew up in Southern California where we drove 2 hours to San Diego quite often. So this trip didn't seem bad at all. And luckily we all enjoy road trips. Nick and I packed up the van the night before with blankets, towels, clothes, snacks and drinks in the ice chest. In the morning all we had to do was feed and dress everyone and pack up the last essentials in the babies' diaper bag. It took us an hour and a half which doesn't seem too bad for a family of 5 that includes baby twins. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :)
We made it to the coast in 2 hours. An extra hour included stopping for the bathroom and to eat lunch and feed the babies and get sunscreen on, etc. We then spent about 3 hours on the beach. Nick and I set up under a covered picnic table where it was rather cool in the shade with the ocean breeze. The girls were comfortable there, although the sand and wind were a bit much. We tried laying them on the blanket for awhile but that didn't go over really well. They didn't like wearing hats and it was too bright; unfortunately there wasn't enough shade by our table to spread out a blanket.
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| Strong daddy braved the sand with our gear and the double stroller |
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| this didn't last long |
It was warmer than we expected and there was a TON of dry seaweed along the water line. So we did not get to set up closer to the water which was a disappointment. I had envisioned laying the girls close enough to the shore so they could look out at the water more. But it was okay; Felicity especially was intrigued with the crashing waves, the birds, all the people.
Connor could not get enough. He was fearless in the water and made Nick take him out further and further. He saw a guy body boarding and wanted to try it himself. The gulf was so nice because the water was warm, stayed shallow quite aways out, and was quite calm. Basically the opposite of the Pacific Ocean and all the beaches I grew up on. :) Much better for little kids!
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| Ruby's sunglasses were a little too big |
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| sandcastle! |
I have to give Nick a lot of credit here. He refused to even wear sandals when we first met, never mind flip flops. Now he happily wore flip flops, played in the sand and water, got all wet and had to deal with cleaning up a wet and sandy Connor and did it all without complaint. Yay for Daddy!
Oh, and then after all of that we stopped near a marshy area by the beach to park in a quiet spot so I could nurse and Nick took Connor on a walk.
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| Ruby is done eating and ready to go |
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| big bridge in the distance |
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| Waaaa! |
Views going over the bridge! No worries, I drove carefully and let Nick takes the pictures. :)
So...we stopped again to eat, change diapers, etc. Totally expected all 3 kids to zonk out and sleep all the way home. Did they? Um no. Unbelievable! Ruby and Felicity finally did fall asleep for awhile, only to be rudely awakened when Connor kicked their seats. So, 30 minutes from home they all had a melt down and we had to pull over and settled them down.
Overall it was a success. 6 hours of driving plus about 5 hours of exploring and fun. Definitely a long day, but we made great memories. I sure wish we could have stayed an extra day but we will next time. Now we know what it's like in that area and we can plan better where we want to spend our time and money.
It was exciting to see the great gas mileage our van got too. We only used a half a tank of gas for the round trip! And only spent $20 on food and the entrance fee to the park. Not bad huh?
We were all very sandy and sticky when we got home. Tired or not, we all got bathed and Nick and I competed as to who could wash a kid faster. Guess who was fastest--Nick bathing Connor or me bathing both girls? ME! Haha! Okay babies are easy to bathe quickly at this age. We'll see how easy it is in another few months. ;)
No surprise, we're spending Labor Day resting and recovering at home. :) Hope everyone else had a fun weekend!!
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