Unplanned Days

(This post is for Kelly. Since she knew I was blogging in my head the whole time!)

Today My Girl decided we needed to go to the movies. We picked Nim's Island. It was a cute movie and made me long for the life I once wanted growing up. I wanted to be a Marine Biologist and explore the ocean, live by the sea, work on boats all day in the hot sun, scuba dive . . . Except I found out how much science and math I would have to take in college and since I hated both I opted for a degree in Journalism instead. I swear I could live life as they did in the movie. All alone on a deserted island in the middle of the ocean, living in a tree house with a computer and internet access. Heck, if you have internet access what else do you need?

Anyway, we had our own Nim's Island adventure today.

After the movie I decided it was too nice outside to go home and clean like I had planned. Since hubby was out of town too I thought we might hit the lakefront for some fresh air. We hit Sunset Point first for a short stroll. Then, My Girl had to pee so I headed for Lucy's Retired Surfer's Restaurant thinking we hadn't had lunch maybe we would could grab something to eat and hit the restrooms too. I missed the turn out of too much house gawking and ended up down by the Yacht club. I know my friend Kelly and her family often dock their sailboat there on the weekends so I took a peek and there they were. I pulled in and asked if My Girl could use the bathroom. Once on board, Kelly offered us a hamburger since they were cooking some for themselves. I accepted although that was not my intention to stay.

Next thing I knew they were asking us if we were doing anything else today and if we wanted to take a boat ride to the Fountainbleu Beach. Of course, My Girl was all over that so I figured "What the hell. Let's go. What else are we doing?" So off we sailed to the beach. Kelly, myself and the kids all sat up front and let the water splash on us as we forged through the waves. It was a bit choppy today. Nice cool breeze and a very clear sky made it a perfect day!

We anchored out a bit from shore and took the dingy into the beach. Kelly's husband took myself and my kids first. The sailboat was rocking pretty good and getting down into the dingy was a bit of a challenge. Once closer to shore we happened upon a large mass of sea grass that was not good for the dingy's outboard. It was slow going. Once he dropped us on shore, he headed back out to get Kelly and her kids. He had to paddle almost the whole way as he was going against the waves instead of riding them in and the grass was bogging out the motor.

Kelly and her kids arrived, we set up camp (umbrella, beach toys, chairs) and Kelly's husband decided we needed an exit plan. There was no way he could paddle us back out to the boat. The grass was too much and with one paddle and a boat of people it was too much work. So here was our plan. We would stay on the beach with the kids. He would paddle himself out to the sailboat in the dingy one more time. He would take the sailboat back to the dock. He would then load his kid's carseats into my vehicle and then drive to the Fountainbleu State Park to pick us all up and take us back. So there we sat on the beach stranded with no drinks, diapers, food, cell phone - with four kids! Really, though, it sounds worse than it was. There were people all around us and he was only gone for 1 hr.

So the kids had a blast splashing in the water and playing in the sand. We sat under the umbrella in the shade and relaxed and waited while poor Captain Mike did all the work. The day was so clear we could see downtown New Orleans which was way cool. Just too bad Kelly forgot the mimosas! Even a beer would have been good.

So Captain Mike returned with my car. We all piled in with our sandy selves and I dropped him back at the boat and took Kelly and the kids for a spin through Wendy's and then back to her house. We had a quick dinner there and then back home for bath's and bedtime. Phew!

So much for cleaning. Instead we had a fun-filled, long, unplanned day! It is always great that way ;-)