Hope you all had a nice holiday weekend!
Since we couldn't be where we really wanted to be.....which is in Florida for the much anticipated wedding of cousin Nina & Pete (shout out to the world's cutest couple!)...we kicked it at home.
Home as in our home break. It might not be the best waves, but they're our waves...
And we virtually had the waves to ourselves, because hypothermia isn't everybody's cup of tea...
Happy grommets, happy parents. Happy Memorial Day!
Oh sure, the air temp might be 70 degrees...but how 'bout that water temp?
....a balmy 51 degrees!
The good news is that mind-blowing cold water really weeds out the riff raff (yup, that's called localism...you gotta problem with it?).
I would have taken more shots but my digits were numb.
Happy April Vacation!
PS - Hey Look, I found Keanu Reeves....
Having said our goodbyes to beautiful Puerto Rico & our amazing Spiderbyte extended family, we're settling back into the groove in snowy New England. And I have finally been reunited with my camera cable & can share some of our photos from the adventure.
I thought I'd go Hangover style & start at the very beginning....Rincon!
The memory I cherish most from Rincon was arriving at our first break together & paddling out as a family...all six of us. Such a rush!
The main items on the agenda in Rincon...family time + surfing, and our groms are finally at an age where those things go hand in hand...
And out of the entire week, there was only one day when the surf conditions didn't deliver. But it all worked out just fine, since we ended up having a blast doing some impromptu free diving at the local coral reefs!
Rincon proved to be the perfect spot for family/surf/R&R time before we headed to San Juan for the wedding of the century. Stay tuned for The Prequel Part II, San Juan!
Day Six in Rincon. We woke up to dismal surf conditions (even by Rhode Island standards).
Not to worry, folks...there are plenty of diversions to keep us out of trouble. For the better part of today, we went all out Cousteau down at the local coral reef. Totally worth losing a day in the lineup!
The only downside was actually seeing what lies beneath us when we're out there on our boards...hell knows we've felt what lies beneath us...
Day Three in Rincon!
One of our highlights so far has been watching Puck break in his new Rusty. That poor little grommet has been staring at his new board all winter as it was propped up in a corner of the playroom taunting him to get out and do some of this...
Also, a BIG Spiderbyte shout out to our friend Teep for being our virtual Rincon tourguide. We've hit all of his suggested sweet spots, including the Rock Bottom which felt like home to our little Spicolli...
I promise to post some details and pics when we're back in chilly New England but for now I'm kinda swamped...between chilling my Medalla and surfing these perfect waves, I barely have time to apply sunscreen.
There comes a time in a Spiderbrat's life when a combination of factors leads us to decide that it's time to bestow upon them their very own surfboard. These factors include: interest level, effort, skill...all which must coincide with scoring just the right deal on just the right board.
It's a big part of a grommets life, and today was that day for none other than....
....Pasquale Caaaa-puto!
This post could also be filed under the Cheapskate Wednesday department, because we scored this baby on Craigs List...and it was a D-E-A-L!
It needed a little bit of elbow grease, but luckily we had some assistants on hand to pitch in.
Years ago when our family was just a mini grom and a pack of babies, Spiderdad used to fantasize about the future when our army of kids would have their own arsenal of boards and we'd genetically dominate the local lineups. And I believe he's reached that day.
So now I just have to keep Spiderdad from going all Doc Paskowitz on me...
This weekend might be considered the Grand Finale on a couple fronts. First, because we officially closed the Spiderbyte Birthday Season with back to back kids' parties....9 third graders trashing our house Friday night, not to be outdone by 18 first graders Saturday afternoon for the twins' birthday bowling bash. Done.
The best way to recover from birthday madness?...A bottle of Grey Goose A day of surfing, of course!
And sadly, every day of surfing past October 1st needs to be treated like the Grand Finale, because you just can't predict the point when that water temperature will begin to feel just a little too painful.
And what's even better than bowling parties and birthday pinatas?...Scarfing leftover cake, surfside!
All in all, it was a great last* surf session of the season.
(*maybe, but hopefully not)
Guest post by SpiderDAD:
If you haven’t noticed, September is the marathon month of birthdays at Spiderbyte HQ. Errr…let’s just say New Years Eve is a (re)productive holiday for us.
But it seems like every year, when the smoke clears from the rootin’ tootin’ birthdays, we’re bleary-eyed and saddle sore by the time poor SpiderMom’s big day rolls around.
Another party would seem daunting and redundant – thankfully, like her son Spicoli would say, “All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz and I’m fine.”
And tasty waves, we did feast upon. Seems the surf gods bestowed a clean Indian summer swell just in time for the special day.
..and so, the Spiderbyte clan raises their goblets (juice boxes) to the most fierce party animal of all! We love you Mom!
In hopes of keeping my own psyche from plummeting into a very dark place, I thought I'd start this post with PRE-Irene memories...oh, the joy!
In the days leading up to Irene and when more responsible folks were securing their lawn furniture, we were doing what Spiderbyte does best...frolicking in the surf, of course.
And it was worth it, we had our favorite surf spot practically to ourselves (go figure?).
It was great to have some quality time before Irene, I was hoping the bank of happy memories might be enough to sustain us for what was yet to come. The calm before the storm you might say...
And then Irene rolled in.
Actually, we fared quite well considering our town reported the highest wind gusts in New England. Spiderdad rode out much of the storm in the backyard, psychically willing branches away from the skate ramp...
The aftermath has been a bit of a downer...our power/internet/phone lines are down, and it's reported that we may not have electricity restored until the end of the week. Luckily the public library downtown has power/internet, which I'll utilize until they kick us out (from the looks of the librarian in the children's room, this may be soon).
But the really crushing news is that today was supposed to be the first day of school...and school's been cancelled until further notice (please pass the voldka).
These are some dark times....
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