We did some resetting on this day at the beach, trying to dial down the previous day’s intensity (sorry everyone) and somewhat over-scheduling (SORRY EVERYONE). Overbearing though I may have been at that point on the trip, as of this morning, we had ticked most of the boxes of things each family member wanted to do (soooo sorry NOT sorry, everyone).
Just three activities remained on the agenda:
fishing
boat ride
kayaking
…actually, maybe five things. 4) Adding more beach time and 5) my NEED to have a satisfying fried seafood meal.
We knocked out three before the end of the day. Not too shabby.
Fishing?
You really never know what you’re going to get with our kids. This was one of those times, because their favorite thing of the day (and, it turned out, the whole trip) was…fishing.
It’s not like we’ve never fished before, but if I had to pick their top 10 favorite activities, I would have put fishing at, like, number 72.
Before the trip, we got the kids to tell us which activities (from the large menu of options) they for sure wanted to hit. Camille had said fishing, but sometimes she just says stuff, so we weren’t sure how serious she was. But she was consistent and insistent. And Essie was into it as well.
So I made it happen. There’s a state park fishing pier—nay, THE state park fishing pier, the longest in Alabama—less than half a mile from our condo. I had to buy a license for myself online, then rented rods/reels/bait at the pier itself.
It’s quite a setup. The pier is long and wide. As you crest the ramp that leads from the parking lot out over the water, there’s a shop on the right where you can rent any equipment you need, grab bait, and buy sundries and gifts. It even has nature dioramas here and there.
Across the pier from the bait shop is a delightful outdoor bar and restaurant. It’s all open-air, but shaded with a roof, so you get all the benefits of sea breeze and sun with none of the drawbacks.
We walked further down the pier to drop in our lines. The kids LOVED it. Camille said when she grew up, she was going to fish as a profession and live in a cabin with a spouse and children.
They fished for like two hours, and we had to all but drag them away. Which is especially remarkable because it was pretty boring! Granted, it was a windy day, so huge waves were crashing onto the pier, and that was cool, and the pier itself was cool, but they caught nothing and got no bites. We used dead bait (chunks of squid), too, so you just kinda drop a line in the water and sit there. We didn’t even use bobbers (I dunno why, that’s what they gave me).
Quite frankly, I was glad they didn’t catch anything. I had no idea what I would do if they reeled in a fish from the ocean. I mean, I would throw it back, I guess. But this is the friggin’ ocean, so we’re not exactly catching li’l bluegill here.
And apparently some of the fish around here you’re definitely supposed to keep, so I was hoping some other fisherperson nearby would take a catch off our hands if it came to that? But some things people catch off this pier are ginormous, so what would I do in that case? How would I even get it off the hook? I didn’t have tools or anything.
ALSO! The rental guy was like, “Oh by the way, if you catch [certain kind of] catfish, you’re in luck. They’re tasty and in demand. Also, by the way, BEWARE of [other kind of catfish]—those rat bastards will sting the hell out of ya. Don’t touch ‘em.”
I still do not know how to tell these two polar-opposite catfish apart, and I do not have any idea how I would remove the evil catfish from a hook without it stabbing my hands with its stabby poison stabbers? “They really dig those stingers in deep,” he admonished.
After a good long while, Colleen and I parked ourselves on the outdoor seating at the little restaurant to eat and drink, with a vantage point where we could still keep an eye on the kiddos. They had nice sister time without us over there, fishing together.
So, the fishing excursion: huge success. Who woulda guessed?
SHRIMP BASKET LET’S GOOOOO
The rest of our afternoon was…interesting. That’s a story for another day. But it also included some Very Boring Things, such as Camille sacking out with a screen for a few hours and me writing a freelance article I’d foolishly agreed to finish.
Leen and Es went to the beach and then the condo’s hot tub. After I wrapped up my article, I joined them for a spell, then we showered and dressed for dinn–uh oh, now Es was completely zonked, just like Camille. But that just means… OOOH DO MOM AND DAD GET TO GO TO DINNER ALONE????!!!!!
Parents of youngish children know how difficult it is to get away for any sort of date, even at home. If you have family around, you can dump them there, or else you have to line up and pay a sitter. On vacation? Forget about it. BUT! The kids just wanted to crash, and they’re old enough to use a phone if need be, sooooooo alright, date night it is! We were finally going to go get fried seafood.
But we needed some supplies first, including children’s ibuprofen for their headaches and aloe for their sunburns. I quickly drove to the corner store, got stuck in a long line, drove quickly back, and OHHHHHH no, Momma’s crashing too, and the kids are emoting and need her. Maybe…maybe this is it for the night.
I am…a little crushed. Apparently the deep disappointment registered on my face, and the kids allowed themselves to be convinced to let us go, and Leen (bless her heart) dragged herself off the couch to go on a quick date with me.
We went to a place called Shrimp Basket and OHMYGOD it was perfect. It’s a dingy little fried seafood place on the main drag, mostly outdoor seating, with a great menu and tons of charm—the kind of charm the health department would issue a citation for, but you just don’t think about that and enjoy it anyway.
I had a shrimp basket at Shrimp Basket, which is a basket of miscellaneous fried things that used to live in saltwater (including shrimp), and that was exaaaaactly what I wanted. I could have cried for joy. The Shrimp Basket also has its own hot sauce, and it was so great that I bought a few bottles to take home.
We brought ice cream back for the kids. They hadn’t moved from the couch, watching Moriah Elizabeth YouTube videos. They were both almost asleep but rallied for the ice cream. (*sniff* I’m so proud.)
Then they both passed out in place, and remained there until well after the sun came up the next day.
This piece is part of a series of pieces around our recent spring break trip. There’s more to come, but you can catch up to where we are so far by reading these. In chronological order: