This past weekend was the third annual Dunn Family Vacation,
hence the reason this blog is being posted at a later date. Our venue for the
past two years has been Crystal Beach, where we all spend the weekend on the
beach, standing in the breeze and breathing in the salty sea air. This year,
due to the high frequency of people wanting to rent out ginormous beach cabins,
we were unable to grace the Bolivar Peninsula with our overwhelming presence.
(Their loss!) Instead, a new location was selected at The Retreat at Artesian
Lakes.
Picture this: You’re winding down a long gravelly road,
through moss-covered trees, in some heavily wooded area in Texas. You look to
your right, you see a small body of water and oh! what do we have here but an
alligator swimming around, minding its own business. Continue down said path
and look to your right and yes, you guessed it deer and there goes a raccoon
the size of a badger trotting across the road. Oohh, look a bunny! Let me just
swat this bug out of my face and then proceed to wipe the sweat accumulating on
my brow.
This was just a small taste of my experience this weekend at
the Artesian Lakes. Now, those of you who know me know why this is funny. Those
of you who don’t, allow me to enlighten you. My name is Alex and I am a
wildneress-phobe. Yes, I hate the wilderness. Okay, so maybe I wouldn’t go so
far as to say hate because I do enjoy the tranquility of moss covered trees and
still lakes but throw in some bugs and animals and we have got a panicked Alex
trying to figure out what to do with herself. On the drive in I looked at my
Dad, eyes wide and said, “There’s so much wilderness!” It just sort of
terrifies me to be in the deep woods somewhere, with no cell service (though we
received excellent cell service on this trip), sweating your butt of, being
constantly attacked by bugs, surrounded by forest creatures and no way of
contacting other human beings when someone tries to come and murder you! I
watch a few too many episodes of Criminal Minds, but still. I have just never
been an outdoorsy girl. Throw on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and let’s go
hike! Heck no!!! How about throw on some 3-inch platform heels and a sequined
skirt and let’s go to the movies! It’s a nice indoors-y place!
So after explaining my dislike of the great outdoors, you
will be happy to know that I allowed myself to have a few outdoors-y
experiences while vacationing with my big, extended family. First, let’s face
it, staying in a cabin on a lake in the middle of the woods was a big
experience! Our cabin was not your typical cabin but instead a pretty good
sized house on stilts referred to as ‘The Big Easy’. There were several
bedrooms and around 23 of us stayed in the house, several others stayed at another
cabin down the road. Lots of comfy beds, warm hot showers, a big kitchen…we
definitely weren’t roughing it!
Experience number two would have to be…the alligator. Now
when I say ‘the alligator’ I’m talking a giant, close to 6-foot long, full
grown gator just chilling…right next to the deck of the cabin…waiting to munch
on one of us as a midnight snack. When I first encountered the gator, I was
immediately spooked. That thing was enormous! And it was only a few feet away!
My cousins decided prodding at it with a fishing pole would make it like us
more so after a few gentle taps on the nose, the gator proceeded to open its
giant mouth and hiss at us! Yes, hiss!! I screamed and ran!
The third experience
would be canoeing. My brother and I, being amateurs, sought out assistance from
a few cousins who coached us on how to get into the canoe without tipping it
over and landing in the water, as two of my cousins found out the hard way
earlier that day. We began paddling and talking to each other, good teamwork
and all. The thoughts running through my mind were ‘Paddle, Paddle, Paddle’, ‘Where
is that damn alligator?!’, ‘That alligator is going to bite my paddle at any
moment!’, ‘Please don’t make us tip!’, and finally, ‘This is so badass! I
totally feel like Pocahontas right now!’. We made it safely back to shore with
no mishaps.
Later I went swimming in the pool with some of my cousins.
When they decided to go swim in the “swimming” lake I declined their offer to
join. No way was I setting foot in water that could have gators in it! No one
got bitten… in case you were concerned… which I’m sure at this point you really,
really were. My Mother and I walked back
to the cabin, in the wilderness, and relaxed until the Washer Tournament. My Pepaw
and I ended up being partners and lost our first game, thus kicking us out of
the tournament…not a fun experience…I hate losing. Then we had delicious
barbeque and all sat around watching home videos.
Our nights consisted of cousins playing charades which was
extremely hilarious, telling funny stories, interviewing family members for
next year’s video and just hanging out with each other. The last morning we had
breakfast together followed by the 2nd annual Dunn ‘D’ Awards. After
that, everyone started packing up, saying their goodbyes, and heading home.
All in all, it may sound like just a typical family get
together, but for us Dunns, it is something so much more than that. It is
tradition. It is fellowship. It is the chance to all come together and make
memories that we will talk about at the next gathering and the one after that.
The fact that a big extended family like ours can come together for a vacation
is something so rare. I really had no idea how blessed I was until my
great-grandmother’s funeral. Someone said they thought it was so great that a
big family like ours managed to stay so close to one another. I had never
thought about it before. I just assumed everybody got together with their 5
great aunts and uncles and 30 sum-odd cousins for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and
summer vacations like we do, but evidently that isn’t always the case. What we
have is so special and I thank God each day for the bond that we share. We owe
our strong foundation to my great-grandparents, King and Eloide. Though this
was our first big gathering without either of them, their presence was still
felt and though they are gone from this world and onto the next, I know they
would be proud of us for continuing the traditions they started.
My family has always been an enormous part of my life and I
cannot imagine how different my life would be without each and every single one
of them. We laugh together, we cry together. We joke around with each other and
poke fun at each other’s mishaps. But most importantly, we love each other.
Because that’s what families do. They love unconditionally, forever.
Despite all of the bug swatting, sweat, alligators, and wilderness,
roughing it in the wild, figuratively speaking, with my amazing Dunn family was
a memory I will hold in my heart forever.
Never take for granted the wonderful people in your life,
especially your family. Through thick and thin, they will be there to support
you and love you no matter what. If I am fortunate enough to have children
someday, the biggest lesson I hope to teach them is the importance of family
and love.
Until next time,
Alex
No comments:
Post a Comment