Steven and I were invited a while back to go to Atlantic Beach with Bridget's family. Mrs. Marietta and Mr. Rodney, Bridget's parents, are two of the nicest and funniest people I have ever met. I mean it. Steven and I refer to them as the "sitcom couple" because they need their own show. Anyway every year, Mr. Rodney and Mrs. Marietta rent a huge house on the Atlantic Beach sound with her brother, Charles, and his wife, Sweet (she was the youngest of eight kids, so they all gave her this nickname--she really is sweet, though). They all like being on the sound because Mr. Rodney and Mr. Charles both have boats. The kids love to tube, and the older men like to go out into the big water to fish.
Steven and I drove up with Bridget and Bryan on Saturday morning. I love her family. It is huge; there were people everywhere (I guess, I felt at home a little). Bridget has one sister, Ginger, who is married to Patrick. They have twelve-year-old twin girls. Uncle Charles and Aunt Sweet had two boys, who are both married and each have two girls. Throughout the week the young girls (ages ranging from 4-17) invited friends to come and visit and even boyfrinds, too.
Steven and I were given our own room when we got to the house. Can you believe their hospitality? We sometimes don't even get our own room when we go home to visit!We told them over and over again that we could sleep on the couch, but they wouldn't hear of it. After putting our things away, a few of us went on a boat ride, and by the time we got back to the dock, the girls had pulled out THE TUBE (cue dramatic music...dun dun dun). I honestly don't mind tubing in the lake, it's not my favorite thing, but I will do it; however, tubing in the ocean with sharks (on Shark Week, no less) is not my idea of a good time. I've seen Jaws one too many times...However, after much coaxing, I , Ashley Meadows, tubed in the ocean. It was so much fun...until I fell off the tube and was hanging out in open water waiting for the boat to turn around and get me. I started to totally panic in my mind. I tried to imagine anything other than sharks coming up from below and pulling me under, nada. I swiftly got back in the boat. I was done with the tube. Of course, Steven loved the tube and stayed out there for as long as he could. He's an all-star at water sports, for sure.
We filled the rest of our time by going to the beach, playing ladder ball and corn hole in the yard, sitting around talking, or playing the game Just Dance on the Wii (even the older guys danced, which was hysterical). While we were there, Steven learned how to catch crabs off of the dock, which he became quickly addicted to doing. Apparently, you need what they called a turkey neck, but what looked more like a ham bone, to tie on a string and throw down into the water. Steven and Mallory (one of the twins) caught almost a dozen crabs, which was a great success for a first timer.
My favorite part of the whole weekend was, of course, all of the delicious food. These people know how to eat, and they expect you to eat as well. Every morning, we had a country breakfast with all the fixins'. Lunch was usually a smorgasbord of things for sandwiches (i.e. chicken salad, pimento cheese, ham, turkey, relishes), fruit, and sides. Suppertime was always the best, though. One night we had Mrs. Marietta's homemade spaghetti. I know what you're thinking, "Oh, just speghetti," but her speghetti is something to write home about. I think it has a lot of sugar in it...It is sweet sauce--totally addictive. Another night we had a Mexican fiesta, consisting of tacos, chicken enchilada casserole, refried beans, a vegetarian casserole, Mexican grits, and homemade salsas. Delicioso! The best night was crab night. The ladies made fried crabs, crab soup, boiled crab, crab legs, crab claws, slaw, and bread. It was a feast! Neither Steven nor I had ever eaten crab, so figuring out how to eat was a little bit of a challenge. Anyway, it was a really fun meal.
Bridget's family are all wonderful people. They are all really funny and love to laugh. I had the greatest time just relaxing and getting to know them. It was a great extended weekend!
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