When I look at the title for this post, it feels vaguely depressing to me. Like "separate vacations" indicates a demise of a relationship. But Jim and I have always been full supporters of occasional separate vacations, as long as the majority of your vacations are taken with your significant other. Jim just got back from the fishing trip in Alaska he went on with his brother, stepdad and lots of other men. I'm extremely jealous - it's his second time to go back to Alaska without me since we vacationed at
Camp Denali a few years ago. Of course, I'm jealous of the Alaska part of it, not the fishing part. And I have no idea what guys do when they go away without the women. Belch, fart, scratch themselves. Share their innermost feelings (right). But it is good for guys to get together and be "manly" with each other periodically.
I was thinking about my girl-getaways of the past few years. It all started with a beach trip to Port Aransas with my mother and her friend Christi a few years ago. We had a cheap but clean motel on the beach. Visited the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus. Had the now-traditional Saturday night meal of shrimp, avocados and margaritas. Got the car stuck in the sand on the beach. Read LOTS of books and had lots of good conversations.
We've done beach trips a few times since then with an ever-expanding group of women, culminating in a trip last year that had women in age ranging from their 20s to 60s. Unfortunately this year there seem to be too many life-altering shifts in everyone's lives (pregnancy, new career, impending retirement, new houses) that it appears the trip may not happen. But even if it did happen I would probably have to miss it. I had the realization hit me one day a few months ago that I just can't make it with the two small kids I have. Grace it so clingy and still commenting on when I spent three days in the hospital giving birth, and Alex is still breastfeeding. But I have the memories of all the past trips, and I am eagerly looking forward to either next year or the one after when I will be able to go again much more guilt-free than I would have been able to do this year. There is just something I can't put into words about spending time with those women in particular. We can share our thoughts and feelings about almost any subject and get wonderful advice about various events happening in our lives. And all of them I have known for over 20 years. So to my beach sisters - Susan, Christi, Sue, Kim, Maggie, Joanna - thank you for sharing such wonderful times with me, and I can't wait until we are all sitting in the penthouse again sipping margaritas.
One last item - could the picture below indicate why we keep going back to Port A??? It was snapped on that first trip so long ago.
