I've got the majority of my work finished for the week, which means I've got time to upload photos and share our little vacation with you. With stops for lunch and the occasional peeing, St. George Island is roughly eight hours from our little abode. We decided to take the Corolla... with two mid-size dogs, because it's getting close to having to sell a kidney for gas. Let's just say it was a little tight, but it worked out a lot better than I thought it would. Jewels is usually pretty hyper in the car, but after about a half hour of driving, she realized this was going to be quite a trip and slept most of the way, much to Sadie's delight (and mine). We did hit some parking-lot traffic on I-75 in Atlanta, thanks to construction, so the dogs stuck their noses out the windows to get a true sense of what it smells like in Atlanta - a.k.a. car exhaust.
We stopped to please our tummies at Steak 'n Shake in Tifton, Georgia, where Jewels was attacked by some random bird. It first went after Sadie, kind of flying back and forth around her butt, so I got Sadie away from what I thought must be her nest of babies or something. Then, while were were eating about 15 feet away from that location, Jewels was lying under a shade tree, and the crazy bird started on her, this time actually hitting her from behind. Chris, being the hero he is, got up and threw our water bottle at the bird. I think he actually hit it. The little twit did not return. (Insert heroic orchestra music here, and picture Chris with fists on the hips and chin in the air. Not sure what his name would be.)
We arrived in St. George to discover that our vacation spot was actually a duplex, but no worries - no one was next door. But a day later, Mr. and Mrs. Redneckerson arrived, complete with mullets, a little yipper named Levi and cigarettes... lots and lots of cigarettes! The wife - we'll call her Birtha - spent the majority of their stay camped out on the adjoining screened in-porch smoking her lungs until they were black. So, we were not able to enjoy the benefit of being outside and not in the sun. The units were non-smoking, but that did not apply to the porch apparently, where there sat a large ash tray, just waiting for someone like Birtha. Since I'm pregnant and I hate smoke anyway, I steered clear.
But all was not lost on Birtha, Levi and Cletus. We were able to enjoy the pool a bit and the beach a lot! Sadie has been to the beach before and pretty much loves to swim almost as much as she loves to go for a walk. So the minute we hit the beach and got close to the water, she started a fight with a wave and then pounced it. When Chris and I got into the water, she followed without hesitation. Jewels, however, apparently hates water unless she's drinking it. She was freaked out by the waves and camped out just shy of the water, watching us all swim and have fun. We tried to coax her into the water several times. Chris even picked her up and brought her in a couple of times, only for her to haul ass back to shore. She can swim, especially when she thinks her life is depending on it.
We had some great food, of course! It's the best place to go for shrimp and several fish varieties. It's also an oyster hub, but Chris and I don't eat oysters. After getting spiffied up one evening, we drove into Apalachicola, a little town just about 10 to 15 miles away from the island, for some dinner. I had soft shell crab for the first time. It was OK, but I'll take my Alaskan snow crab legs any day. Oh, and that's another thing. Since we were in a vacation house, there was full cable (now I sound like the redneck). So we watched some movies, some Carlos Mencia, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central and that show "Deadliest Catch." I have no problem paying good money for those crab legs. Those guys risk their lives for that food!
So enough with the words, here are some photos of our time at St. George. Oh, and there's only one photo of Chris and I together. That's because when you go on vacation with just dogs, it's tough to get any photos of the couple.
Chris driving:
Sadie and Jewels enjoying the ride... at first:
Here we are, before going out to dinner:
They approach the water:
Sadie scopes out the waves:
And she's off:
At one point, the waves got pretty violent, tossing her around a bit. She wanted to swim but couldn't get past the waves. That's what "moms" are for. Yeah, she's just shy of 60 pounds. I probably shouldn't be picking that much weight up right now. Eh!:
Jewels checks out the water:
Um, I think I'll just stay right here, thanks:
After Chris carries her out and lets her go, she swims profusely back to dry land:
I don't EVER want this water on me again:
But she loves acting like a circus dog - she got up to 6 feet (not in this photo, but close):
And the trip back:
I think they had a good time.
12 comments:
I'm just gonna go ahead and picture you guys singing and dancing in the surf.
Now I really want to go to the beach. I'm glad you all had a good time.
I agree. This post really made me miss the beach. We used to go to St George with my family up until the move over here.
The picture of you two is great.
And...I must confess that I've never heard of Beach Blanket Bingo and actually expected this be a post about playing bingo on the beach. (Raise your hand if you grew up in Africa and missed a few elements of American culture...)
Aww, love the last picture of Sadie. Looks like the dogs had a good time..except, you know, for that whole beach/water thing for Jewels.
Aww, tired puppies are cute. I hate that you had redneck smoking neighbors -- that will put a damper on any vacation.
Still, looks like you had fun!
Chris beat up a bird to protect the dog? What a bully! I think I would have just laughed at the dog until it got smart enough to just move. Our cat gets attacked by the mockingbird in our holly tree ocassionally. She's so used to it that she just ignores it now.
Oh, and I share your preference for Alaskan and king crab legs over the local blues. Blues are ok, but a waste of time in my opinion. The giant crabs taste so much better and offer more meat for the effort.
The best crab ever is the Dungeness, though. We bought four of those live once and cooked them for us and Kim's parents. So much meat and better than any crustacean I've ever eaten. They're just too hard to find out here though. They're pretty much standard around San Francisco, though.
I'm jealous. I remember what vacations were like. Vaguely.
Next time please take me with you!! :)
Mickey: Well, you know as well as I do that Chris absolutely LOVES musicals!
Kari: When it comes to "BBB," you're not really missing out! And when you move back to the US, we'll have to take a trip to St. George!
Steph: I love that pic of Sadie, too. She's such a sweetie! And Jewels did have a good time, despite the whole hating water thing.
Courtney: Yeah, you need a dog... But the rednecks could have been worse, and we didn't let it spoil the trip.
Jacob: For clarification, we had Jewels tied to the tree b/c she's run like heck around the parking lot or try to eat our food. So, she didn't have much choice in trying to get away from the bird. Oh, and I'll have to try the Dungeness. Sounds delicious!
Julie: You seriously need to enjoy the vacation time. It's vital!
Nicole: OK, but you may be baby sitting a lot! Heehee!
Awww, sounds like a fun trip. You left out all accounts of barfing or close calls to barfing! I was surprised! Aww, and just think, this is the last vacation you and Chris will get without bringing the kids or getting child care! Why do I sound bitter all of a sudden! Sounds like you had a great time! You deserve it! And what's up with all of the !!!! in this comment! Whatever!
Well, that makes it a little better. Chris still beat up a songbird, though.
For the record, the bird flew away seemingly uninjured. The whole thing was a bit of bad karma for Jewels, I think, because she frequently chases birds and squirrels with the intent to kill (I assume; she's never caught one).
It was a good trip.
Unfortunately, I fear the Corolla will not accommodate such a full-family adventure once Baby arrives.
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