we went on vacation with several friends and stayed in the house of someone we had never met before!!! Very 'out of the box' for us. But you know what? we had a GREAT time! I am so glad we took a chance and did something different and new that we were a little wary about, because it turned out to be a really great time, AND we made some great new friends (the strangers we stayed with ha ha). The story behind the story, is that some of our friends were heading down to Houston for 4th of July to stay with his sister and her husband. They were bringing another couple, and in talking to them they invited us along (or I might have jokingly invited myself along lol, but after several discussions it became serious and we really were invited to join them). We all got on the same flight and flew down there for one fun filled weekend. I have never met a more gracious host and hostess in my life! Jesse's sister, Lisa, and her husband, Dave, not only gave us three couples (and my kids) their bedroom and house (they moved out to a living area in the 'barn' and their son and grandma stayed in the 'pool house'), but they fed us NON-STOP! Now here is where the story gets really yummy... I love to eat out (especially fancy restaurants), and don't really like eating at people's houses (because quite honestly I am very picky), so we had full intentions of going out every night and treating our hosts to dinner to thank them for allowing us to stay there. But from the moment we got there (about 10am Thurs) the food just started coming out! They whipped up bacon on the outdoor griddle with eggs and toast and sausage (yum!) and juice and fruit (the sweetest most amazing cantaloupe was available to eat every second of the day-their garden was overflowing with ripe cantaloupe. My daughter took full advantage of this and turned into a cantaloupe there!). Plus there were always M&M's, mixed nuts, and choc covered almonds on the counter (hmmm). After that, every single meal was a full on onslaught of culinary greatness! From real homemade bisquits and gravy, gargantuan steak, chicken, delectable cheesy noodle mixture, grilled veggies, spice bread, blondies, homemade ice cream (twice!), homemade blackberry cobbler (with berries from their garden/my favorite/also made twice because I loved it so much), homemade burritos(awesome!), pancakes, breakfast pizza, cheesy potato casserole(yum), to one of my favorites (although it was all so good I think it was ALL my favorite!), a Mediterranean spaghetti squash salad made with tomatoes and feta cheese (yum!). Plus, beyond all the 'normal' (if u can call it that) food, they guys had gone deep sea fishing Friday, so Friday night we ate their 'catch'! We ate grilled shark(!) steaks, Hawaiian marinated red sea bass(might be wrong name), and fried catfish! Oh my word it was so good! I have never had shark before, so it was fun to eat that and really neat since the guys had caught it. I was amazed at how they constantly just whipped up food and it was all so good and scrumptious. Honestly, except for a restaurant, I have never had food that tasted so good! It was great!
Besides the guys going on a deep sea fishing trip, the girls shopped (every day!) so I was super happy. I got lots of fun stuff (Coach purses and sunglasses, flip flops, swimsuits, tshirts, shorts, a cute sundress, school clothes for my kids, and even a couple Christmas presents for T). We had a ball and a really great time shopping (me especially!)
Their house sits on 5 manicured acres with a pond, huge shade trees, a garden, 'barn', as well as a nice pool, hot tub, patio, and outdoor kitchen area. So while we were at the house (which was all day unless we were shopping) we had plenty to entertain ourselves with in the yard, like impromptu games of wiffle ball, golf Frisbee, catch, basketball, or even fishing in the pond. I enjoyed reading by the pond or on my balcony off my bedroom overlooking the pool at night. It was incredibly peaceful.
They also own seven huge white german shepards (plus they had one large brown dog they were babysitting). These dogs rule the roost and it was amazing that they all got along so well. I had hoped to get a picture of all of them together, but that was just not possible ha ha.
All in all, we had a really great time. Lots of fun with friends. We were welcomed into and treated like family by his sister and husband, who also by the way didn't just play hostess to us, but also about 5-15 of their friends every day. So it was a crowd every day, the more the merrier, and it was certainly fun meeting all these people and hanging out with them.
What a great vacation. Something definitely different from my 'hotel/resort vacations' of past, but awesome just the same!
They said we are invited back every year, and you know what, I really hope it happens! I completely enjoyed being in their company and would look forward to hanging out with them anytime!!!
