The resort road trip

I believe it was sometime during last summer’s road trip – perhaps while we were scrubbing off the tar from the beach in Galveston – that Gulley and I looked at each other and decided that maybe being in your forties means you’ve paid your dues at the various snake farms, glass bottom boats, Dallas Metro bus rides and, for heaven’s sake, the zoo. And so we declared then and there, somewhere between Hempstead and College Station, that next summer’s road trip would involve a resort.

Our summer road trips with the kids pre-date the existence of this blog, but here’s a pic from one of our earliest trips. Please note the carseats.

Gulley and I’ve spent a lot of summers getting whiplash on roller coasters, learning about Texas history at the museum, riding public transportation, going to children’s museums, and stopping to see the Baylor Bear and swim at Barton Springs. We’ve dealt with carsickness, food poisoning, eyes burning from chlorine, and chipped teeth. We have fought and loved and laughed and -at what might have been our lowest point – Gulley caught throw up in a plastic HEB bag every fifteen minutes from Dallas to College Station.

All that to say, it felt like we’d received our great reward when we arrived at the JW Marriott in San Antonio yesterday and walked out on our balcony to see this view.

Gulley and the boys picked Caroline and I up about 1:00 yesterday afternoon and we weren’t even off our street before the kids pulled out a huge bag and announced that they’d been planning for weeks to bring their own stash of candy for the road trip. Apparently they’d pooled their money and then Jackson rode his bike to CVS where he bought $22.41 of candy. This was a big source of pride. TWENTY-TWO DOLLARS AND FORTY-ONE CENTS. We have M&Ms, Hot Tamales, Dots, Sweet Tarts, Gummy Worms, York Peppermint Patties and Sour Patch Kids to last for weeks. Gulley and I applauded their ingenuity and Will said it was mostly his idea and was so relieved “THE MOMS” didn’t get mad about it. Listen, if they want to spend their money on a stomachache then that’s their business.

We made the quick trip to the JW Marriott and the nice people here gave me a quick tour of the property while Gulley and the kids headed down to the pool. I was tempted to stop at the spa and spend the rest of the afternoon there, but I felt like Gulley might be bitter if she spent her day on the water slides while I was in the steam room breathing in eucalyptus. But I will share that the coolest discovery of the whole tour was that they have a huge garden on the grounds and a full-time gardener who grows produce that they serve at the various hotel restaurants. And based on the strawberry jalapeño jelly we had earlier this evening, I will say that the gardener is doing a fabulous job.

Anyway, we spent all day long by the pool, rode the slides, floated the lazy river and Gulley and I solved a myriad of the world’s problems. We also toasted to the fact that our kids are now old enough to roam freely while we have a cocktail by the pool. Sometimes I miss the toddler days but today was not one of those days. It was glorious.

Of course we have our share of teenage hormones and trying to hit people with our towels and knowing A LOT, just in case I’m making it all sound too perfect. Gulley and I have both already had a motherhood moment where we’ve had to ask, “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?” only to be met with a shoulder shrug and a descriptive, “I don’t know.” And the truth is they don’t know because their frontal lobes are not fully developed and they all have questionable impulse control.

Not to mention that they’re a little bit jacked up on $22.41 worth of candy.

(I realize Will is missing from this picture but getting them to all be still and take a picture is like herding cats.)