We are in Gulf Shores, AL for vacation. My sister and her in laws, along with my Dad and Step Mom all pooled our money and rented a beach house. We did this back in January before the oil spill and before finding out we were pregnant. I'm not sure if we knew then what we know now if we'd have agreed to join this trip. The beach we're on is fairly clean, there are tar balls (little tiny ones) and crews on the beach every day cleaning things up, but the water looks fine. But that's all I know. It looks fine. The kids are all playing in the water, the fish are jumping and swimming around so maybe it's a bunch of media hype, I'm not sure. One thing I do know is that when asked my brother in law said he wouldn't eat any fish they catch on their fishing trip, just to be on the safe side. My husband then pointed out to me later: He won't eat the fish but he'll let his kids swallow gallons of the water while out there playing? Heh. Good point. But to each their own. For me, the beach is bittersweet. Yesterday, our first full day here, I made it a total of 2 hours on the beach before I had to surrender and go in. It was just too hot and when I'm sitting under a canopy in my big pregnant lady bathing suit and feel like I want to cry for no reason, well, that's my signal that it's time to go in. It is the strangest thing really, if I get too hot or too hungry, I just start to cry. Anyway, I don't know how much time I'm going to spend on the beach this trip, but just being near the ocean and listening to the waves is nice and relaxing. My husband is getting in some MUCH NEEDED fishing time. He has fished his entire life and misses it so much. I asked him a couple of months ago to just schedule a fishing trip with his best friend in Florida, just find a flight and go. I told him we'd figure out the money thing, but he never did. Because he is responsible and knows that with a baby coming in a few months we need to be careful with our cash. I still wish he'd planned and taken that trip to Florida, because it's not just fishing that he misses, it's fishing with his best friend. You can't duplicate that experience with anything else. He's fishing this morning with my dad and brother in law and nephew, so that's something. He was so excited yesterday, scouting out fishing spots and getting his gear ready. I hope he has fun and comes back with lots of tales of the ones that got away or the ones they threw back.
I've done fine on this trip so far. Although my first night here I cried because I was homesick (already!) and missed my bed and my cats and my house. I think some of that was just being tired, we'd traveled for two days and while sitting in the car doesn't seem like it's something that will wear you out, it kind of does. Plus, there are a lot of people here (9 adults, 5 kids) and I don't know some of them very well and I feel large and self conscious and out of place.
I have this strange new pregnancy thing going on, well, it's not new, it's been going on for a couple of weeks, but it has gotten progressively worse over the last few days. I feel like the skin on the top of my belly is being burned. Sometimes, there is also sharp, prickly pain that joins the party that will make me gasp just from the sudden intensity. I've consulted Google and it's either skin stretching or the baby is on a nerve. Or both. I think it's both. I'll mention it during my visit next week but according to the internet there's not jack shit you can do about it so... suck it up. Good times.
The next part of our vacation happens in New Orleans. We're leaving here on Wednesday and headed to New Orleans with my Dad and Step Mom. I think it's going to be a fun way to end this vacation - in a nice hotel with room service! I've never been to New Orleans and I am hoping with all my heart that I am not too tired or miserable pregnant to enjoy seeing it.
