Spring Break Trip

A few years ago, we decided to break tradition, and actually go somewhere over spring break. It was a most unusual trip. Unusual enough to not ever attempt another. We drive down to Mategorda in a 2 car caravan with my sister's family. About 20 miles away, toward the end of a long drive, my brother-in-law had a car accident. Of course we were in a small town where people don't move very quickly. The two mothers gathered the children in a gas station parking lot while the men handled the police, insurance, etc. The wait in the gas station was interesting. This wasn't your fancy station, complete with flavored coffee and a snack bar. No. We stood in a hot parking lot, with no relief. We shifted feet, leaned on the wall, sat on the curb, whined and complained, told stories and laughed. A man pulled up and tried to sell us meat out of the back of his truck. Another man pulled up in a Mustang. He looked at my sister and I, corralling 6 children, and tried to "pick us up!!!" That had to have been the most desperate man in the universe! We have no idea what he thought we would do with our children, to go off drinking beer, etc with him! My sister and I will laugh for the rest of our lives over that incident. Finally, some of us took the kids the rest of the way to Mategorda, while my sister and brother-in-law rented a vehicle and had theirs towed to a garage. That was just the first day. It also turned out to have the only decent weather of the trip. By dinner time, a storm moved in. The wind blew so strong, it could knock me down. The temperature dropped to what felt like just above freezing. The kids went to the beach, but instead of shelling or building sand castles, they dug 4' deep pits, the size of a walk-in closet. They carved couches, chairs and tables out of sand so they could hide down out of the wind. Not the best way to spend a vacation at the beach. I think I stayed inside for the rest of the week. One day it didn't rain, and it was bearable to be out in the wind. We went fishing and shelling.

That was the great exciting trip. It confirmed my desire to never travel on spring break again. My brother-in-law flew back down the following week to retrieve his car.