Beaches Turks and Caicos

My oldest son is 15. Soon he will be a man, if he isn’t halfway there already. He will have many people more important in his life than me. I might even someday soon become a chore for him, an ‘Argh, better call my mom before I forget’ sort of person.

So when I was recently offered the opportunity to head to Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos (http://www.beaches.com/main/tc/tc-home.cfm) for five days – with the proviso that I could bring ONE child – I chose Callum. After many arguments and fights and accusations of being a terrible mother and then, eventually...some hefty bribes for the other boys. Five days at a resort in Turks and Caicos. Just the two of us.

Well, I have to tell you we couldn’t have chosen a better place. Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos is a one-stop shopping sort of place. Now I’ve done the all-inclusive thing before. And here’s what I remember about the experience. Buffets of all sorts of food that all ends up tasting like fish. Fish flavoured pancakes. Fish flavoured rice pudding. You get the idea.

Not at Beaches though. A small town gal like me isn’t used to being spoiled so fully or so well. Actually, a small town gal like me was pretty gobsmacked by the whole thing. We stayed in the newest area of the resort – The Italian Village. Our room overlooked the ocean, my bed a king-sized four poster with a mattress made out of clouds and goodness. Callum had a separate bedroom – hugely important for any teen boy travelling with mom – with his choice of three beds. And our bathroom...words can’t describe. A huge marble soaker tub. A separate shower. Fluffy towels. I just can’t describe it...let’s just say I would pay the price of the airfare just to go and spend a week in the bathroom. Callum’s favourite room feature was the ever-replenished mini fridge, free of charge of course.

Our schedule was meant to be tight. We only had five days after all. And there was so much to see. The water park, the surf simulator, the Scratch DJ Academy. Snorkelling in the lukewarm Caribbean Sea. Eating at all of the fifteen restaurants ranging from soft serve ice cream and burgers at Bobby D’s to white glove service and seafood at my favourite, Barefoot By The Sea. Barefoot By The Sea is an open air seafood restaurant overlooking...well, the sea. The food is exceptional, and there’s nothing quite like watching the sun go down as you eat crab legs, your toes curled up in the cold cold sand. We ate fajitas and steak at Arizona’s, eggplant parmigiana at Mario’s and drank excellent lattes made at Cafe De Paris.

We got alot done. But also – we did nothing. So much important nothing. I’m sure Callum will never forget the sight of me falling out of my inner tube on the lazy river not once, twice but three times. I will never forget his easy laugh. Or swimming with him in the phenomenal pool at the French Village. Or watching him down the biggest plate of meat I’ve ever seen at Cricketeer’s Pub, after which he said “After eating that I think I’m 27% more man.”

Or walking through the grounds after dark, the lights twinkling and the flowers smelling like something from a dream. We snorkelled in the sea despite both being terribly sunburnt (note, the weather in Turks and Caicos is so unfailingly perfect all the time it’s easy to forget sunscreen. DON’T.) We swam through a reef just feet from the shore where sea turtles ate and colourful fish swam by us. Another great thing about Turks and Caicos – no sharks. Not scary ones anyways. I checked.

Mostly I got a rare glimpse into the man Callum is going to become. He visited Club Liquid, the teen nightclub and when I went to pick him up after giving him a full hour of freedom, he was deep in conversation with one of the waiters. Respectful, listening intently. Interested.
He seemed happy to just have time with me for the most part – no, more than that. He was grateful for this opportunity. And present – there wasn’t a thing I suggested that he grumbled about. Even at the Scratch DJ Academy; he participated with enthusiasm.

On our last morning, I let him sleep in. We’d been out late at the weekly barbeque put on by the staff (where the parents were all forced into a limbo contest...hilarious. The sound of kids squealing with laughter was louder than the music, even). I was due for a spa appointment at Red Lane Spa for a facial. As I lay there detoxing, my aesthetician named Uriel a beautiful god of a man who looked like Sidney Poitier, took care of my sun burn with a sea weed wrap and said ‘While you rest, let me massage your feet....’, I thought about what I’d gained this week. With Callum. In the sun and by the sea, eating, drinking, laughing, talking...being pampered like we’d never known.

And it came to me. Time. I had time with him. Time I can keep forever...

California Two

On to our second week. Southern California - or SoCal as the cool kids say. And though I'm not cool, I'm saying SoCal as well. Less typing.
We thought we would try to cram as much in as we could this week. Top of our list - all the theme parks - and I do really mean all of them - sailing, surfing and eating. I decided to get us the SoCal City Pass (http://www.citypass.com/city/socal.html) because it's crazy cheap (I think we saved at least a few hundred dollars) and it covers all the parks. Two days at Disney, one at Universal, one at Sea World and one at the San Diego Zoo. That should be easy to do within seven days right?
Wrong. My recommendation would be to take two weeks and buy the City Pass. That way you'll have days to relax by the pool or shop or do whatever and you won't feel like breaking down and sobbing every time you have to line up for a ride. Stay somewhere gorgeous - we stayed at the Hilton Anaheim (http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/SNAAHHH-Hilton-Anaheim-California/index.do) while doing Disney. Great pool on the fifth floor and awesome beds.
OK - tips for Disney. And keep in mind I was travelling with two parents and four children so I've done my time in the trenches.

1. Get there first thing in the morning. Staying close by helped because we could walk to it. Our plan of action was to figure out the furthest ride we wanted to visit and make a beeline for it the minute we walked in. There will be time to enjoy the main gate splendour later. Believe me. The most popular ride while we were there? Finding Nemo in Tomorrowland. So we started there and made our way back to the entrance as the day continued.

2. Use the Fastpass. I wish I could tell you how the Fastpass worked, but my wonderful, energetic mama was in charge of Fastpasses. All I know is that she would come bounding up to us out of nowhere, purse bouncing on her hip and fist full of Fastpasses, crying out 'We need to be at Pirates of the Carribean in 10 minutes!'. It was awesome.

3. Leave for the afternoon. Seriously. Go back to your hotel. Swim. Nap. Eat lunch off site if you can - although this year Disney does have a great all-inclusive plan where you can eat for free. Afternoons are busiest and families are crankiest. Come back around supper time. Wander around. Check out the parade. Ride some of the outdoor rides at night - I highly recommend an old classic, the Jungle Cruise, at night. Totally different experience.

4. Stay hydrated. Use the cooling stations. And if you have daughters who want to dress as Princesses for the day...for the love of God, bring them a change of clothing! I don't know how many little girls I saw wearing wilted dresses and dropping tiaras at the end of the day.

As for the other theme parks - I have to say, they didn't really measure up. Sea World was pretty cool - feeding the dolphins, checking out Shark Encounter and the penguin exhibit - but it lacked a certain something. Plus, it felt odd watching those shows with Shamu. Particularly after the organic experience of Monterey Bay. The marine biologists who work with the whales had to get up and do a little salsa dancing while Shamu splashed us in time to the music. Weird.

San Diego Zoo was lovely. Universal Studios - not a fan. I was all about the Jaws ride. They didn't have a Jaws ride or many rides at all, to be honest. I'm not sure who their target market is. There wasn't much for my younger boys, pretty much nothing for the older two and I was ready to go after a few hours. Hmm.

Once we were finally done our exhausting tour of the parks, I took the boys over to Long Beach to try their hand at surfing. They took lessons through Toes On The Nose (http://www.toesonthenose.com/lessons.html), a great little outfit out of Huntington Beach. I was terrified. I kept hearing the Jaws theme in my head, sure they were going to be eaten by sharks.

They weren't. They loved every second of it. All of them managed to get up on their board - even little Nathan - and stayed surfing for hours. The instructors were very hands-on and supportive. The beach was beautiful. And at one point, I watched Cal and Ben sitting on their surf boards looking off into the ocean, relaxed. It was exactly what we needed after a few hectic days.

Our last night was spent on Coronado Bay at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort (http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels/San-Diego-Resort/Overview.aspx). If I had found this place on my first night, I doubt we ever would have left. First of all, San Diego has the most perfect weather you can imagine. And Coronado Bay is this little slip of an inlet just off the coast. The hotel is to die for. We went sailing again with our own personal skipper, a cool young barefoot-type who hung out with the boys and taught them about the whole sailing lifestyle (if I remember correctly, it involves alot of sleeping in hammocks). The resort sent us a gorgeous picnic lunch.

Their pool was rated the absolute best by all of the boys. Now, I found the pool a bit unnerving - there were an awful lot of perfect looking moms in string bikinis with rock hard bodies floating around. But sometimes you just have to get past that. Jack and Nathan spent the afternoon looking for minerals and shells on the beach with the Kid's Camp staff. Cal and Ben played giant chess and ping pong by the pool. They loved the Pottery Barn Teen Room - that was seriously what it was called. In fact,the whole thing was like living in the Summer Pottery Barn catalogue.

We ate dinner looking over the Bay that last night. Then we went outside to watch a movie by the pool. Everyone slept like angels.

And my heart said good-bye to California. Even though it wasn't really ready yet.

California Road Trip

(left) Sea Nettles at Monterey Bay Aquarium (right) Winchester Mystery House, San Jose

(left)Jack sailing Monterey Bay (right) Mom & the boys @ the Dolce Hays Mansion

How much can you see in California in two weeks? A challenge, right?
Now...how much can you see in California in two weeks with four crazy boys and two parents in tow? A-ha – there is the real challenge.
My parents moved to California a few years ago. Which means two things. One – they live too far away for frequent visits. And two – when you do visit, you have to make it awesome.
The trick? An itinerary. I’m a fan of the itinerary. Mostly because it gets me off my ass and actually making an effort into getting the most out of my stay. Otherwise...well, I do like television alot. As do the boys.
So here’s what we did...I want to tell you about all of it and I probably should do it in less than 1000 words or you’ll get bored and head to another blog (please don’t).
First week was spent in the San Jose area. We picked this area for a couple of reasons...first off, my dad had to work and it wasn’t too difficult for my mom and I to navigate (thanks to my mother’s trusty gps). Secondly...it’s fairly central. You can hit up Monterey and Santa Cruz within about an hour. We stayed at the orgasmic (can I say that?) Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose (http://www.dolce-hayes-mansion-hotel.com/). The tough part about travelling with six or seven people – apart from the ominous smells coming from the back seat – is trying to fit us into rooms. The Dolce Hayes has gorgeous suites overlooking the gardens and pool with three seperate rooms and, most importantly, two bathrooms. Perfect.
The boys loved the hotel. In their words ‘Awesome pool, cool little fridge with free drinks. Comfy robes.’
I loved the history....Mary Hayes was a wealthy faith healer who had the mansion rebuilt after a fire detroyed the original structure in 1898. The spanish-style buildings are kept in perfect condition. The staff is ridiculously friendly (even when dealing with monstrous little children who were thankfully not mine) and the spa...oh my heart breaks when I think about the spa. I didn’t discover it until my last day. How much would I have loved that spa?
From there we visited Monterey and, most importantly, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Monterey is where I am going to live someday. When I grow up, maybe. It’s just so hip and evolved. There’s something about the sea air, the little town built into the side of a cliff, the sounds of sea lions barking...magic.
Monterey Bay Aquarium (http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/) is like Marineland but not depressing. It’s for the newly evolved generation who doesn’t expect the animals to do flips or prance around to their own theme songs. The boys just sat back and observed. They watched sharks swimming in the Outer Bay Exhibit and were mesmerised by jelly fish floating in front of their eyes and laughed at the smooth sea otters playing. Jack and Ben even did a little scub diving with the Underwater Explorers. The Aquarium has a small reef just off the sea where kids can paddle about in their dry suits, looking for critters.
When I asked them how they liked it, they just grinned, speechless. That night the Aquarium invited us for a sail on the Bay. Two things. Cute captain. Who I assumed was flirting with me when he was nice to my kids. Even cuter dolphins swimming along beside us. The boys and I almost cried like babies when we saw them.
I have to say, the sail was a highlight – though I doubt my poor mom would agree. Sailing isn’t really Mama’s cup o tea. But for us – it was the smell of the dark, wild ocean, tasting salt air on our tongues, the feel of the sails pulling us through the waves. Even Cal and Ben, those impossible-to-please teenaged sons of mine, were hanging over the sides of the boat, pointing out milky white and purple jelly fish.
That night they all went to sleep soothed by the deep blue sea and the world beyond.
I dreamt of the sea salty captain. And just so you know, he liked me in my dream.
So how the hell do you top that, eh? Take the kids somewhere educational of course. But I’m no fool. We went to the Winchester Mystery House because it’s spooky, creepy cool history.
Sarah Winchester was a world class nut job...I mean, eccentric. She believed spirits spoke to her and told her to keep building on to her house , never stopping construction for a second or she would die. As atonement, I guess...her husband was in the gun business.
The Winchester Mystery House (http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/) is a mournful, magical, beautiful place. There are stairs to nowhere, trick rooms and hidden doors. The number thirteen is repeated in almost every detail – right down to thirteen candlesticks in the chandelier. I identified with Sarah. I could easily become a world class eccentric myself, holing up in my crazy house all alone. Building rooms I know i’ll never use.
We were all surprisingly captivated. Even the boys – it helped that the tour was phenomonally eerie.
We ate lunch that day at Peggy Sue’s Diner (http://www.peggysues.com/). Which is just like you imagine it. Awesome food (try the garlic fries and banana milkshake). Fun easygoing atmosphere. A great pick me up after Sarah Winchester’s House of Weird.
So – I’m almost at 1000 words and I haven’t even gotten to my second week. Looks like I’ll write about the rest tomorrow. Stay tuned...Disney, surfing, Sea World and San Diego are on their way...