Vagabond's BIG Adventure

Well the vagabonds have been awfully quiet lately and it is not because we have not had our share of roaming.  We have been so busy with out newest adventure that I haven't had a chance to keep the blog up to date.  So here is our BIG announcement.....WE'RE MOVING to Columbia!!!


No, not drug cartel Columbia the country, but South Carolina.  REALLY, ya'll, our Spanish is nowhere near good enough (please refer to the post "Off we go" if you have any doubts to the truth of this statement).  

So, you might be thinking...."What's the big deal? I thought this whole blog was about their adventures traveling."  We'll the shocker is this: I have never lived anywhere other than Greenville and Luke has lived here most of his life.  So our move is waaaayyy outside our comfort zone and this really is a big adventure for our family!

So on the last trip, I met with the realtor that we will be working with and we stopped to get sushi for lunch.  As we were leaving she said, "Don't forget your fortune cookie."  I wouldn't normally get one (I think they're.. ehhh), but I grabbed one and opened when we got in the car.  Here was my fortune:

Weird right!?!?

Zack and the Almost Shark Attack

On our last day with Luke's family in Emerald Isle, we went out to the beach while Sutton took a nap.  The water was a little cooler and it was a cloudy day so we were not all jumping and frolicking in the water like the day before (i.e. our boogie boarding adventure).  However, Luke's cousin Zach, was not wasting his vacation sitting on the beach.  He was....you guessed it....BOOGIE BOARDING!! Kicking and splashing and getting barreled.  He must have seen how much fun we had the day before.

Now the waves were pretty calm except for the shore break so we could see him perfectly....and the SHARK that swam in front of him through the waves that were breaking!!  MAN, I wish I had my camera ready!!  After the shark swam by, I looked at his mom and said, "Did you just see that shark?"  she said, "Uh huh."  I said, "Should we go tell him?"  Before I had time to even debate it with anyone, I got up and waved him in (calmly I might add).  When he walked up I couldn't contain myself, "OMG!! Did you see that shark that swam right in FRONT of YOU!!!"

A few minutes later the shark popped up again and people were calling their families and friends out of the water.  I got a better look at it and it was at least five to six feet long. It would have definitely caused more than a flesh wound!

"Did you hear? I just shared a wave with a shark!"




What would you have done if you got attacked?

 

"That shark knows better than to mess with me and these two lethal weapons."

Ironically, Zach had asked me earlier in the trip if he would make it onto the blog and I told him, "I don't know.  Maybe if you do something interesting."

Boogie Board Barrels

Luke's parents rented a house in Emerald Isle with his aunt, uncle, and cousins for a week so we packed up our stuff and headed down for a few days.  I have to say, it was really nice having so many baby-loving adults in one house because it gave Luke and I an opportunity to act like fools boogie boarding one afternoon.  

I was born to ride.

There were no waves (or else Luke would have been surfing) so we grabbed the boogie boards and decided to have some fun while Sutton was being passed around, chased, and loved on by everyone else.  If I have learned anything as a parent in these past 15 months it's this:  

           When people willingly want to spend time with your active baby...let them and quietly go take a nap, spend time with your husband, or finish eating your meal.  Which ever fits the situation appropriately.

Molly: Just one of the many adults willing to be our baby wrangler.

Getting back to boogie boarding.  Keeping the blog in mind, I passed my camera to Luke's cousin (Zack) and his girlfriend (Sara) and made sure that they documented the entire event.  Some how I knew there might be some fun pictures to come from our little fun adventure.

Tandem wave riding gnarliness

Getting barreled!!!

I think we might need to enter some sort of couples boogie boarding competition.  

What a gnarly sesh!!!

The Rut and the Kick in the Butt

So Roaming Vagabonds has been quiet lately...we've been in a little rut (aka July).  I could offer up a lot of different excuses about why:


 1.  We've had company.
2. Work stuff.
3. Yard Work.
4.  Sutton is sick.
5.  We're tired.
6. Sutton is sick again.
7. It's hot.


The list really could go on and on.  The truth is, even people who love to travel need a break.  However, We finished July the way we should...with a trip to the beach to visit my Dad, Stepmom, and sisters.  I think it's worth mentioning that we are teaching Sutton to call my dad "Matt Suey" instead of grandpa in honor of his college nick name.

Doesn't he just look like a Matt Suey...he surely doesn't look like a  grandpa.

Friday was an interesting packing day.  I had decided to make Matt Suey some homemade croissants so that made the day a little more stressful to throw that in the mix...rolling, packing, baking, rising, packing, crying baby, hungry husband, packing, nap time, baking...  It was all worth it though because my Dad had some delicious Mahi that he was very eager to trade for the croissants.  

So Saturday we pack up our stuff, boards, and our V.I.T. (vagabond in training) and rode down to Salvo for a few hours on the beach and some surfing.  As we were unpacking the car, I looked at Luke and said "Who's going to surf and who's going to watch the baby?"  Now this is a little bit of a trick question because I know how badly he wants to surf (even the small waves)...but I do too. Before he could fall into the trap that I had laid out that was sure to get him in the dog house, my dad said,"I'll watch the baby." Before he had time to rethink his offer, Luke was in the water and I was strapping on the leash...."Bye, there's food and stuff in that bag if you need anything!" I yelled as I ran to catch up.

"Hey, my dad's gonna watch the baby...sucker!"

Where did my parents go? I can't see with this gnarly hat in my face...

Now before you start wondering where are the pictures of us surfing, I'm just going to go ahead and let you know that I am not a great surfer.  I enjoy it, yes...but I am not good.  I will probably never post a picture of me surfing on here...ever. I caught (clumsily) two waves while Luke and my sister ripped it up.  It's cool...I enjoyed the quiet.

When I came back in a few hours later, my Dad and Sutton were sitting in chairs playing with a bucket.  My Dad look exhausted.

HIgher!! Higher!!

This little weekend trip was the wake up call that I needed.  Summer's almost over and we need to take advantage of every bit of time that we have.  I can't imagine how motivated we'll be for  a quick trip out of town in February when it's cold and the days are short.

Future ROXY sponsorship in the making!

EI, EI, ooo ohhhh

So my bestie invited me to come the beach and stay the night so of course I pack up all our baby junk (including the ridiculous amount of beach stuff) and headed down to Emerald Isle to enjoy at least two full days of sun, sand, and water with my little beach bum.

This is just what we need for one night...

And this is what we need for the beach! 

My little beach bum had a great time playing, scooping sand, and sitting in her mini chair!!  She was so much fun and really into everything that she was doing.  It's like she was saying, "Go ahead Mom, have some fun...I'm cool."  

A little water to wash down all that sand.

After a few hours on the beach I thought Sutton might need a nap so I decided that she should take one on the beach in our pop-up tent. How hard could this be?!?!  I see people posting pictures on facebook all the time of their sleeping babies on the beach under an umbrella, with sun kissed cheeks, letting their parents enjoy the afternoon.  If you have been following this blog, I think by now we all know that my child is not at all predictable in these sort of matters.

Sutton, unfortunately did not get this memo...she was not going to lay down at the beach....puleassssse! So I did what most parents do...I carefully weighed my options and decided that I would surrender and put her to bed early.

Later that night after she was asleep we decided to play tequila-monopoly and listen to rap music...just like spring break (minus the baby).  The next morning Sutton and I hit the beach one more time before we headed back home!

Go to Jail, Do not collect $200 but take you punishment in form of a tequila shot. 

Let's Recap on the major lessons learned this trip....

1.  Pictures of sleeping babies on Facebook are a lie and probably really fell asleep after a lot of screaming, crying, wrestling, and rocking!

2.  When a friend invites you and you child to the beach for a quick trip, it is ABSOLUTELY worth packing up all your junk....GO GO GO!!

3. Babies like sand, and they will try and eat all of it.  Don't fight it.

4. Monopoly + wine + rap music = a guaranteed good time

5. No matter how much your friends says "Take this shot of Tequila, I'll get up early with you and the baby."  They wont, so don't take that shot!

A few weeks later Court's Internet was broken and she sent me these little gems while she was bored and playing on her phone.

She is her mother's daughter.

On the Road again...

So we got home from Panama on a Saturday and we were packed and in the car the following Friday all for this guy.....he's turning 75 and having a surprise birthday party!!

I have a special relationship with my Mommom and Poppop...I genuinely enjoy hanging out with them. They aren't your typical grandparents who can't hear you and smell like moth balls.  No folks, they are wine drinking, silly acting and smell like meatballs and Aramis (a cologne that will always remind me of my Poppop and his comb over).

Our time in NJ was limited because of our recent trip so we had to get the fun started quickly... This is where the truth serum made its appearance. We sat around the dining room table after dinner laughing, joking, dancing, and drinking wine.

Luke's impression of my Poppop saying "You breaka my name, I breaka your face!"

Top me off a little more of that truth serum, Jan!

Still got it after all these years...

Now some of you might be like "OMG, they just got back from an international trip and then they loaded their baby back up for an 8 hour drive for two days!!! Are they crazy?!?!?!"

Well the answer to that is simple....."Yes, yes we are crazy". I'm not going to sit here and lie to you...you're smart folks and would see through my BS from a mile away. That road trip was hard...but the fun we had was worth it. Definitely better than sitting at home letting our lives pass us by.

At the Surprise party, my brilliant family yelled "Surprise" at the top of the stairs....were they trying to give the guy a heart attack and then seal the deal by making him fall down the stairs? 

Here Fishy, Fishy...

After long days of playing and relaxing on the beach we headed back to our house to fish

a little before dinner.  We found some shrimp and Fortunato brought out the fishing poles and 

we loaded up for some serious fun!

We had two poles and Luke and Fortunato went first.  Before I could even open the 

Presidente that I had taken out of the cooler I hear someone shout, “I got one! I got one!

Quick, Ashley, go get the camera! Come quick!!”  So I put my cerveza down and scrambled

to get out the camera and ran over expecting to see some beautiful dorado (aka Mahi Mahi) 

or some other prize fish….

Well, it wasn’t dorado, and we couldn’t exactly eat it, but it was the first official catch of the 

day.  We all  took turns casting, catching, releasing, and drinking until we ran out of shrimp 

and cervezas.  

My first, and only, catch of the day.

Luke reeled in the prize fish of the day!!

We both caught a fish at the same time, but my fish broke the hook!!

Poor little guy....

I'm going to throw you back so you can get big....ok!?!?

So Fortunato brought a bouy that they paddled out on the surfboard  to see if we could catch anything further out....

And this is what we caught after all that work.....

Nothing.

Playa Tetas

The first beach that we went to outside of our house was Playa Tetas.  Our friend Fortunato met us in the morning and we loaded up for our first beach/surf trip.  When we left is was low tide ( around 9:30). The tides in panama are extreme (especially when there is a full moon like when we went).  When we left is was low tide (around 9:30). The tides in panama are extreme (especially when there is a full moon like when we went). On the way there he asked " do you know what Tetas means?" "no" we say in unison. "it means tits", Fortunato replies.  I wonder what kind of beach we will be going to...

Where is everybody?  Work?!?  Ohhhh....

Tetas is a really nice beach.  We went on a Monday so there was hardly anybody there except for a few surfers skipping work to catch a few waves. What amazes me is that it was the same time as a school break and there was still hardly anybody there...ahhhh seclusion!!  Luke surfed the two breaks (a right and a left) and Sutton and I laid on the beach, took pictures, played, and ate sand (well, Sutton did).   As the tide started to come up, the boys came in and we got ready to go.

Yummm....this sand taste great!

Around lunch we packed up our gear and headed to the house to feed the baby and give her a nap. What would you do if your baby was sleeping and you just made a new friend to hang out with? Drink some beers and eat some chips and guacamole while you lounge by a pool!!!! That's the life!!


It's funny how a few beers will turn casual acquaintances into quick friends...

Rio Mar

So by now, if you have been following our trip to Panama, you are probably noticing a reoccurring trend in the beaches that we visited….they are practically deserted!!  Now if you like a crowded beach that is hustling and bustling this is not the place for you.  Rio Mar was the last break that we visited before the swell completely diminished and there was no more surf (just in time for the end of our trip).

When we arrived at the beach, we parked on a dirt road with a path that lead in between the construction site of a future luxury condominium and some local houses with some chickens running around the yards.  As we got closer to the beach there was a few families and children playing in a small river that lead into the beach.  The first thing I thought when I saw them…”why aren’t they playing in the ocean?”  Personal preference I guess…

Again, there was no one on the beach except for one surfer right out front of the condos.  No problem…we weren’t going there!

Now, you might remember me mentioning that the tides in Panama can be extreme so it will be no surprise that if you lost track of time and weren’t paying attention, you might get caught in this little cove and have a difficult time getting back out.  So as we walked to this surf spot, Fortunato told us a story about how this almost happened to him… “So, awhile ago you could drive out to this spot and surf, you didn’t have to park on the road.  A friend and I were out here surfing and he wanted to come in and take a nap in the car because he was tired.  So I kept surfing and I came in when the tide started to come up and I noticed that my friend was GONE with the KEYS!!  Can you imagine that!?!? I thought…today is going to be the day that I loose my car to the sea.  So I looked over and I see my friend walking back and he’s carrying something and all I can think is ‘Where did you go?’  He says, ‘Man, your battery was dead!!’  Crazy!”  I don’t think he’ll be driving down that close to the beach anymore!!

We walked about a quarter mile down the beach and around a point that had an isolated cove on the other side and a very nice break that was perfect for Luke and Fortunato.  The guys paddled out and me and my little sand eater settled in under a shaded cliff and watched the guys.

The saddest part about this little slice of paradise is that it probably will not be like this for very long because it is in the middle of being developed.  Huge condos are going up all around and soon it will be a luxury vacation spot.  It makes me think about the people that I saw playing in the river in front of the beach…what will happen to the place that they enjoy with their friends and families?