A couple weekends back the Bo-Hots got together for a trip to Rockport - it was the perfect ending for short summer season. My mom and aunt Marilyn (their name from home is Borchgardt, pronounced bo-heart), along with me, my cousin Kristin and sister Megan really had the best time all weekend.
We kicked off the road trip at Marilyns were we each got our matching, and branded, cups for the weekend. A couple orange juice, bloody marys and mimosa's later we were ready to go.
We kicked off the road trip at Marilyns were we each got our matching, and branded, cups for the weekend. A couple orange juice, bloody marys and mimosa's later we were ready to go.
Several laughs, stories, and wedding planning later we had arrived. After a quick stop by a local boutique/ gift shop to buy hats and look at shoes we headed to our home for the weekend.
Unfortunately mom, who was in charge of coordinating our accommodations, forgot to jot down the condo number. Thankfully she knew it ended in a 7... or a 3... or something like that. Kristin was in charge figuring out which condo it actually was. That consisted of walking up to the random condos, trying out the key and running back to the big blue van when the key didn't work. After several tries we found it.
We were fortunate enough to stay in a fantastic condo on the bay side of Rockport, complete with a beautiful view.
We were fortunate enough to stay in a fantastic condo on the bay side of Rockport, complete with a beautiful view.
We quickly got settled, changed into bathing suites, filled up the cooler, made the drink of the day, and headed to the water. While we did not have sand, or even steps, we could use to slowly get into the water, we did have floats to lounge on, a rope to connect us to the pier, and of course a cooler filled with iced down drinks.
Time passed by and beer passed through us as we stayed in the water for HOURS. It was a blast spending time with everyone without distractions or to-do lists. That being said, being in the water presented us with a few problems.
First, kids being pulled by boats next to us shouted out that we needed to watch out for an alligator that was in the area. This especially concerned Kristin who would jump anytime a foot accidentally hit the bottom of her float. Thankfully we did not have any encounters with alligators or other animals over the weekend.
Second, the cooler was on the pier (which was about 2 feet - at least - above water level) and there was not a ladder leading up to the pier. This meant in order to get a new drink we (usually me) had to balance ourselves just right on the float, while doing a half pull up and half stretching as far as humanly possible. Then we had to feel around the cooler for a bottle - most of which were laying flat rather than straight up and down. Not only that but there were different types of beers so we had find the particular flavor of choice for the person who needed a refill. Despite our challenges with the cooler, we didn't seem to have too many problems almost completely emptying it. This directly leads to our third, and largest challenge.
We all got in the water by jumping off the pier with the exception of Marilyn, who found a ramp type thing. The ramp was covered in seaweed and really slippery so she placed the float on the ramp, sat on the float and pushed off the ramp. The slipperiness came in handy when getting into the water. However once the cooler was empty we needed to get out of the water. Without stairs or a functioning ladder we were left with the option of pulling ourselves up on the pier or using the ramp which was so handy when getting in the water. Kristin and Meggo pulled themselves up and mom, Marilyn and I (wanting to be helpful and provide a push from behind) went to the ramp. Marilyn slipped once or twice attempted to get up but made it to the top of the ramp first. Mom was next. We had a few more problems because unlike Marilyn who started on the edge of the ramp and used the pier to support herself, Mom started in the center of ramp where there was absolutely nothing but slippy slime to grasp onto. Finally mom got out and it was my turn. My sweet sister came to give me a hand but without a grip (besides her hand) I ended up pulling her into the water with me. I am not sure why at this point we didn't say "hey, its hard to get out here lets just pull ourselves onto the pier", but it honestly did not cross our - or at least my - mind.
At this point everyone was laughing so hard and loud that a nice man from the pool (which was at least 100 feet away) ran over to make sure we were ok. So nice and gentlemanly. After assuring him we were all ok in the best of health he left and I started to help Megan get out, the same way I did with Marilyn and mom. First time Megan slipped like the rest of us and we all dissolved into laughs. Unfortunately on the second try, when I pushed Megan, her foot slammed into the wood post and she got a huge splinter in the big toe and the toe nail on her... umm... pointer (?) toe split in half. Mom, Marilyn, and Kristin had no idea we had an injury so they continued laughing. After convincing them we really needed help, they pulled Meggo out, and I climbed onto the pier. Kristin played doctor (she is one in real life too) and Megan, ever the trooper, limped with us to the pool to rinse off.
So a book later, you know the three major challenges we faced as we floated in the gulf. The 1 minor challenge was take a group picture of all of us while we were in the water. I only bring this one up because it was The Picture of the weekend and still makes us laugh when we talk about it. FYI this took place prior to the ramp incident. The plan was I would get out set the camera up on a post on the pier, position everyone so they would be the shot, set the timer for 10 seconds (the max amount of time), and run and fast as I can down our ramp, over and to the end of the ramp the group was tied to. I would jump in and pop up in just enough time for the camera to go off. Apparently the rest of the group did not fully comprehend the plan because between my running and jumping in they bust out laughing and stopped looking at the camera. Way to go team. Nevertheless, we got a great, fun shot of the group.
Time passed by and beer passed through us as we stayed in the water for HOURS. It was a blast spending time with everyone without distractions or to-do lists. That being said, being in the water presented us with a few problems.
First, kids being pulled by boats next to us shouted out that we needed to watch out for an alligator that was in the area. This especially concerned Kristin who would jump anytime a foot accidentally hit the bottom of her float. Thankfully we did not have any encounters with alligators or other animals over the weekend.
Second, the cooler was on the pier (which was about 2 feet - at least - above water level) and there was not a ladder leading up to the pier. This meant in order to get a new drink we (usually me) had to balance ourselves just right on the float, while doing a half pull up and half stretching as far as humanly possible. Then we had to feel around the cooler for a bottle - most of which were laying flat rather than straight up and down. Not only that but there were different types of beers so we had find the particular flavor of choice for the person who needed a refill. Despite our challenges with the cooler, we didn't seem to have too many problems almost completely emptying it. This directly leads to our third, and largest challenge.
We all got in the water by jumping off the pier with the exception of Marilyn, who found a ramp type thing. The ramp was covered in seaweed and really slippery so she placed the float on the ramp, sat on the float and pushed off the ramp. The slipperiness came in handy when getting into the water. However once the cooler was empty we needed to get out of the water. Without stairs or a functioning ladder we were left with the option of pulling ourselves up on the pier or using the ramp which was so handy when getting in the water. Kristin and Meggo pulled themselves up and mom, Marilyn and I (wanting to be helpful and provide a push from behind) went to the ramp. Marilyn slipped once or twice attempted to get up but made it to the top of the ramp first. Mom was next. We had a few more problems because unlike Marilyn who started on the edge of the ramp and used the pier to support herself, Mom started in the center of ramp where there was absolutely nothing but slippy slime to grasp onto. Finally mom got out and it was my turn. My sweet sister came to give me a hand but without a grip (besides her hand) I ended up pulling her into the water with me. I am not sure why at this point we didn't say "hey, its hard to get out here lets just pull ourselves onto the pier", but it honestly did not cross our - or at least my - mind.
At this point everyone was laughing so hard and loud that a nice man from the pool (which was at least 100 feet away) ran over to make sure we were ok. So nice and gentlemanly. After assuring him we were all ok in the best of health he left and I started to help Megan get out, the same way I did with Marilyn and mom. First time Megan slipped like the rest of us and we all dissolved into laughs. Unfortunately on the second try, when I pushed Megan, her foot slammed into the wood post and she got a huge splinter in the big toe and the toe nail on her... umm... pointer (?) toe split in half. Mom, Marilyn, and Kristin had no idea we had an injury so they continued laughing. After convincing them we really needed help, they pulled Meggo out, and I climbed onto the pier. Kristin played doctor (she is one in real life too) and Megan, ever the trooper, limped with us to the pool to rinse off.
So a book later, you know the three major challenges we faced as we floated in the gulf. The 1 minor challenge was take a group picture of all of us while we were in the water. I only bring this one up because it was The Picture of the weekend and still makes us laugh when we talk about it. FYI this took place prior to the ramp incident. The plan was I would get out set the camera up on a post on the pier, position everyone so they would be the shot, set the timer for 10 seconds (the max amount of time), and run and fast as I can down our ramp, over and to the end of the ramp the group was tied to. I would jump in and pop up in just enough time for the camera to go off. Apparently the rest of the group did not fully comprehend the plan because between my running and jumping in they bust out laughing and stopped looking at the camera. Way to go team. Nevertheless, we got a great, fun shot of the group.
After a quick dip in the pool (and the rescuing of a chair by mom) we decided we would get cleaned up, head to Crab-N for dinner then come back to the condo for a night a games. Dinner was fantastic - the crab cakes were to die for - so much so that we got like 8 orders to go so we could freeze them and bring them home with us). Megan, who hates fish, actually ate, and enjoyed, raw oysters. Way to go Megan! Kristin had the genius idea that we should order a bottle of wine to have with dinner. I agreed to split one with her because a bottle of wine was absolutely necessary after mimosas, the drink of the day, and more beers and we could count. Thanks Kristin.
Back at the condo we had a blast playing catch phrase (Megan and I dominated), and Bananagrams, a super fun game mom taught us.
The next morning I think most of us had flu like symptoms so we started slow with breakfast and a few games of bananas. Megan got hit hard with allergies so she decided to take a nap and the rest of us headed to the pool with our new, fruity, drink of the day. Mom and Marilyn enjoyed relaxing in the water and setting up competitions for Kristin and I to participate in. We did synchronized swimming, handstands, breath holding, and every other type of activity they could think of. Once Megan joined us we had a diving competition that seemed to last for 2 hours. Finally we decided we would head back to get cleaned up, get dinner and go out to a local bar.
Once we were ready to go, Krisitin, Marilyn, and mom surprised me a Megan with pretty princessy veils and told us that night would be our pre-bachelorette party. The veil was so fun and pretty and fun to wear and it was so thoughtful of them to make them for us.
First stop was Moon Dogs for dinner. They had the best calamari that I think I have ever had.
After dinner it was time to go out and get the party started. We went to Alice Fays on the Bay- this is the same place that provided us with a bus ride home after Kristin bachelorette party a couple years ago.
The night started out slow but picked up pretty quickly. Not to be boastful but I've got to say that the Bo-Hots were unquestionably the life of the party - and the dance floor! It was a SUPER fun night and set the standard really high when it comes time for the actually bachelorette party. Mom, Marilyn, and Kristin, thank you all so much for the night, it was a BLAST!!!
Sunday come too quickly and none of us were eager to leave. We slowly packed up our things, played a few games of Bananagrams and made the treck back to Brenham.
The entire weekend was a blast and is sure to be an annual trip for all of us.
The entire weekend was a blast and is sure to be an annual trip for all of us.
Hi Lindsey,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Jane and I'm with Dwellable.
I was looking for blogs about Rockport to share on our site and I came across your post...If you're open to it, shoot me an email at jane(at)dwellable(dot)com.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Jane