Crashing a Party

Captain’s Log. Diaper Date 2488. Daddy Chronicles.

And so it has come to pass that vacation has ended. Not yet officially, as my feet are still on liberated soil and not within the confines of our homestead. The sun is still shining, the breeze is nice, and the waves are crashing – almost like the water is bidding us goodbye.

I have much to write about as we have had many adventures – all notable and significant to our yearly trek of rejuvenation. The kids, surely, have had a wonderful time. Though they prefer the pool to the primitive waves of natures, they certainly enjoyed their fair share of salt water time not to mention the sands upon which they built repeatedly.

The people have been kind as well. As it turns out we crashed a yearly reunion. Of 30. People.

Let me explain. The reason we picked our vacation location is because it wasn’t a sky rise hotel. It’s a small property with many little cottage like apartments nestled in between two huge sky rise buildings. It’s small, quiet, and simple. There’s a pool, and you are two marches down a football field from the beach. It’s perfect.

We were there for a couple days when we got word that there were thirty people descending upon our tranquil vacation spot. My initial reaction was one of apprehension. Sure, the place was big enough for thirty other people, but what would they be like? Are they gonna take over the pool? The grill? The beach? Then I learned that they had been coming to Beach Haven for years, some over 10-15 years, and somehow that made me feel better. And then I had a thought.

They weren’t crashing our vacation. We might be crashing theirs. Inadvertently, but crashing nonetheless.

And then I met them, their wives, their kids, their friends.

The nucleus seemed to be Big Mike, Buckeye Mike, Scott, and Kevin. Also met Paul, Trevor, Jeff, Francis,Tabitha, Cindy, Beth, Amber, and many more. Remember there were 30+ names. And they were all awesome, good people. They treated my family like family. Offered us suggestions of places to go to eat, where to see fireworks, etc. Welcomed us to join them at the pool, at their meals, shared beverages. We talked, laughed, and had a great time.

My take away from that experience was twofold. One, life is pretty good when you have a circle of friends that you can travel with, hang out with, and stay in touch with for an extended period of time. And two- kindness is about the greatest gift that you can give a stranger. We shared a beach spot for the better part of a week, but I didn’t know those people from Adam and vice versa, yet we were able to do more than co-exist. As I mentioned, I appreciated the kindness they extended my family, and I hope they felt the same way as well.

And the crew, they are all characters. Good people and good friends. I got background info from Buckeye Mike and got to talk about my home state a bunch, learned a bit about fishing, and business, from Big Mike. Jeff, and many others, were generous with snacks and beverages. I learned not to mosh pit with Scott. Kevin roasted peanuts and provided plenty of laughs, and Paul gave me the lay of the land before everyone got there.

I had never crashed a wedding or any other kind of party before, but I am glad that we crashed this one.

The Beach Haven sign reads, “Come as Guest Leave As A Friend”. And I would like to believe that we did indeed leave with a new group of friends.

For now, Captain…Out.

(Editor’s note: this post was started while still on vacation but finished here at home. Unfortunately, my feet are no longer on “liberated soil”. I mean the soul here is liberated to but it isn’t vacation liberated soil – you get what I mean…)