Oct

Spring Break 2010

Hi all,

What an awesome week I’ve had on the North Coast for my Spring Break. As I mentioned last week, we arrived on Sunday and stayed a week, coming home mid afternoon yesterday.

Monday started off with Mom and Dad having a well deserved late lie-in. I obliged by heading off to Granny’s room. She fed me breakfast and afterward we went for a nice long walk together. It was great to start the holiday with some quality time with Granny. At the Cabanas in Umhlanga where we stayed there is a maze on the lawn which Granny and I played in, hiding from each other and playing peek-a-boo. Next we went for a brief walk on the promenade. By the time Granny and I got back to our room, Mom and Dad were up and ready to go.

Our next stop, with Mom and Dad, was the beach. There we found three large holes that someone had dug. These had filled up with sea water and I had a whale of a time playing in them. Before long I was sopping wet and my bathing suit was full of beach sand. I dived into the water, rolled it, and even tried drinking the water, but I soon realised it didn’t taste too good, and it was quite grainy with sand! It was time for my midday snooze so we headed back to our hotel. En route, at the showers, we found a tap that was the perfect height for me to shower under and try de-sand. A game of splashing ensued with maxed-out-giggles.

I had an awesome snooze, followed by a long walk on the promenade toward the Umhlanga Lighthouse. An ice-cream vendor supplied us with delicious refreshments during our walk – a perfect summer’s afternoon at the coast. In the evening we headed to the amphitheatre at the Cabanas for story-time with Pumba. Tonight’s story was The Gingerbread Man. We all chanted with Pumba as we ran through all the characters chasing after the Gingerbread Man, such as the farmer, the farmer’s wife, the pig, the cat, and so on. After the story, Pumba the Storyteller was replaced by a musician that sang really funny songs – I stood at the top of the amphitheatre dancing along.

At 4:30 on Tuesday morning I woke up ready to party and go beach-side. Dad managed to coax me back to sleep for another hour or so, and when we all finally surfaced we discovered it was raining and overcast outside. We played indoors for a while, and I achieved my first 3 piece puzzle completely unaided by selecting the correct pieces from 14 other pieces, lining them up correctly and coupling them. Mom, Dad and Granny were thrilled. Another milestone achieved.

Once the rain had stopped, we walked up the promenade to the Sands hotel, where we normally stay when we’re in Umhlanga. There I sipped on a baby-chino while Mom, Dad and Granny had cafe lattes. We lounged around for a while and then Granny took me to the Cartoon Factory where I played up a storm on cars and bikes. Walking back to our hotel I fell asleep on Dad’s shoulder while he carried me. I had a long snooze for the afternoon. Later, when I was up, the hotel entertainment included traditional Zulu dancers. I watched in awe and loved the deep loud drumming sounds. My little body bopped to the rhythm of the African drums and voices.

Wednesday morning we started the day on the beach. Mom and I explored the beach in detail and I was pretty intrigued with the surf-rescue boat on the beach. After the beach we headed to the Family Pool, and to our delight, discovered it was heated. Dad and I swam for a long while and then we had pizzas and drinks around the poolside.

After my midday snooze we drove down to uShaka Marine World. We looked at all the interesting varieties of fish. Next on the agenda was the dolphin show at the Dolphin Stadium. I was so excited as the dolphins appeared and started diving and splashing about. My favourite dolphin, Gambit, ended off the show with a solo performance. After jumping and breaching he even sang to us. I tried to sing back, but squeaking dolphin is not my strength. Gambit did however wink at me knowing that I tried.

Before we left uShaka Marine World we popped into a Wimpy for a quick meal. As we headed home it started to rain again. We arrived at the Cabanas in time for Pumba’s story time. This evening’s story was Snow White. We had to use a conference room, as the amphitheatre was wet with rain. It didn’t matter, as I was enthralled with the story telling.

We were greeted with howling winds and rain on Thursday morning when we awoke. The rain soon stopped and we took a stroll on the promenade. The wind was so strong though that soon my ears started hurting from the drumming and howling. We took refuge at the Sands and after some tea the wind seemed to have subsided a little. A brisk walk back to the Cabanas and we settled down around the Family Pool. Mom, Dad and I had a long swim. I then took part in the drawing event and one of the entertainers helped me make an ice-cream-cone man with my art work. We’d missed the vuvuzela blowing competition earlier in the morning, but I did spot the entertainment crew packing the vuvu’s away. I stormed over to them and had my own private vuvu blowing competition!

The Gateway was on the cards after my midday snooze. There I spent some time playing in the Fantasy Forest and Mom and Granny did some shopping. Dad and I discovered a Post Office that was empty so we went in to buy some long overdue Soccer World Cup stamps for my collection. While there Dad also bought a set of Big Five stamps for me. I roared upon seeing the lion on the first stamp. Just before we left we munched on some hotdogs and chips. Back home after my bath Granny put on a puppet show for me, using furniture from the hotel room as the stage. A front-row seat was reserved for me and I watched Granny perform Little Red Riding Hood for me with my finger puppets.

Our morning walk on Friday was once again windy so we turned off the promenade and into the little town of Umhlanga. We did a little shopping for some basics and at the local curio shop we bought some goodies and memorabilia for me. Mom and Dad are so awesome, they let me chose my own goodies – I decided on some fridge magnets, cut from tin and hand painted, as well as some African musical instruments. A small enamel cup, painted in animals, was also a hit for me.

As we were about to walk back to our hotel it started to rain, and I promptly fell asleep. Mom, Granny and I took refuge at the Cafe e Vida while Dad took a jog back to the hotel to collect the car and fetch us. After my snooze we took a stroll down to the poolside cafe for pizzas. It was so nice to sit on the pool deck and seeing the pool on one side and the sea on the other. Next we took a stroll through the ‘secret forest’ on the hotel’s grounds. There we spotted some monkeys and enormous snails.

In the evening a marshmallow braai was arranged for all the kiddies – personally I think it was more for the adults than us kids, as the adults braai’ed and noshed marshmallows while the littely’s played in the maze.

Saturday was packing day, as we had to head home later in the day. Dad had picked up a stomach bug and had a rough night; as a result we let him snooze a little longer while Mom, Granny and I headed down to the beach for our last play and to say goodbye to the sea. Before going back to our room to pack, we lounged around the poolside one last time sipping cafe lattes. Dad joined us, saying he was starting to feel better. Back at our room we hastily packed and called a porter to take everything to our car. Once the car was loaded we checked out.

The drive home was uneventful, with some intermitted rain. We didn’t stop for lunch on the homeward journey as we decided to press on. I snoozed twice during the trip. Back home mid-afternoon I was thrilled to see Roxy, Sonic and Shatzi again, and to be reunited with my toys. Our house-sitter had looked after the place really nicely and the pets seemed to not even have minded our absence.

Sunday Granny and I woke up with the same tummy bug that Dad was still suffering with. As a result we cancelled all our plans for the day and decided to take it easy. We were supposed to go to Delta Park for breakfast with Michelle, Daneel and little Emma, and to meet Birgitt and Wayne there, but that had to be put on hold too. Late in the afternoon, Granny felt well enough to travel home, so Mom and I took her. At her place I got to see Tammy, Ryan and Aunty Kim for a short while. I told them all about my wonderful holiday.

Well, that’s it for this stunning week.

Lots of love,

Jarrod