A VACATION IN TAHITA

Well, not really, but the title sounds great, huh? It is Friday night and 10:54pm. I can't sleep. Scott is laying next to me softly snoring. I'm just glad he isn't breathing and then "puffing" like he does sometimes. Of course, I snore like a freight train according to him but that can't be helped. I'm just tired when I go to sleep!! You are wondering about the title ... well, over our Spring Break, we booked three nights at a place called "Tahitian Beach Cove." It is this cute little place on the internet that I found but it isn't in Tahita and it isn't on the beach! It is actually a small lake house in Interlachen, Florida. You might ask yourself where is Interlachen? We wondered as well but we found it east of Gainesville about 25 miles or so and we actually passed up the one red light in the town. So we had to turn around and go back. No joke. We thought when we were going we would get directions to the key for the house but there was no need for that. The owners lived two doors down. His nickname is Bubba and he personally decorated the little lake house in his Tahitian Noni Juice decor; lamps, magnets, awards and all! He is a rep of the company. We met him and his wife in the driveway on their golf cart. They were expecting our arrival. He showed us the place and how to operate all the lights. Even the red light over the towel rack to warm our towels when we got out of the shower! Erica thought it was a dream come true. The dock and lake was beautiful. Bubba gave us plenty of bread to feed the fish. Our first evening, I drove to the one red light and went to the grocery store. I had forgotten what it was like to shop with men half dressed. No shirts and that was pretty weird but the weather was a little warm so well, go figure. Scott heated up the charcoal and we grilled hamburgers and sat outside on the deck picnic table and had dinner and fruit. It was very cool and we enjoyed it. The kids went down and fed the fish and then Scott and the kids did a little fishing. They decided it would be fun to get in the pedal boat with the poles and pedal out farther to catch some fish. Jack was fine until he felt like the boat was sinking on his and Scott's side .... they pedaled back not long after they got out there.
The next morning, we got up, had some breakfast and went down to play in the water. We fished some more and fed them more bread. Bubba woke up and hollered over to see if we wanted to go for a boat ride. He drove his ski boat down to our dock and picked up Scott and the kids. Off they went around the lake a time or two. That wasn't enough fun so they got the tube out. The kids got in and off they went. I don't think they stopped smiling the whole time. When they finished, we watched Bubba pull up his four fish traps he has by his dock. They were full of fresh catfish and brim. He also showed us "death row" where he keeps his fresh fish he has caught in the traps. Fresh fish any time you want it. Why not tonight? We were invited for a fish fry. We went back to the lake house for lunch and chilled for the afternoon. I made a mac n cheese casserole thinking the kids won't eat fish. I could not find a dish the right size so I ended up pouring it into a cast iron skillet and baking it. That was a first for me. We walked down to Bubba's for dinner at 6pm. Bubba was deep frying catfish, gill and brim, chicken strips, green tomatoes and onions. He forgot about the green pepper and corn on the cob in the fridge but we told him it was okay and not to worry about it. He also made his famous "Bubba's Baked Beans" with sausage and his wife, Darlene, made great potato salad. Bubba and Darlene also invited some friends they had met last year. By the end of the first hour, my kids were calling them Uncle Dave and Sarah. Uncle Dave beat Jack in checkers to which Jack had a good cry. No mercy even to the little ones!!! We had a wonderful dinner hanging out and eating until we were stuffed. We watched the sun start to set. Scott and Bubba went down and helped the kids try to fish at dusk but it ended up being to windy. So we ended up inside having dessert. Bubba and Darlene wanted to know if we had time for Karoake. We said we had about 15 minutes which turned into 1 1/2 hours ... my kids could not stop singing or dancing. I can't remember the last time Scott and I laughed until we almost wet our pants ...... it was a surreal moment ... it felt like a National Lampoon Vacation moment! Bubba's 92 year old mom even was in the mix. Bubba makes her fish special --- chops the head off and deep fries it. She ate the tail and all. We walked home in a daze, full and memories we can laugh over for years!!
Tuesday, we had a family day. We went to Alexander Springs and went canoeing. We saw turtles, fish and an otter. When we got back, the kids wanted to swim. So they got in the springs and played and chased crawfish and minnows with cups. We had to convince them to let them go. We had a picnic and headed back toward Interlachen. We thought we better drive through Palatka to see what we could find for dinner. Chili's .. kids said no .... Pizza .... kids said no ... Sonic ... parents said NO Sonic tonight ...... but wait ... like a brilliant yellow glow the kids could see it in the distance. Oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! GOLDEN CORRAL! Scott and I looked at eachother with the look of "you've got to be kidding..." We drove back to rest and "anticipate" a full buffet. When the kids got back, they ran to Bubba's to see if he would take them on the boat. Once again, we ended up at the lake zipping around in a tube to which I ended up in. I still can't hold my head up straight and turn my neck to the left!!! I am getting TOO old for this kind of stuff. But we had a great time, checked the traps again with Bubba, fed the fish and returned to shower and get ready for the "Corral." We drove their with the kids singing Achy Breaky Heart which they had learned from the karoake night. We arrived and got our trays. We found a table and about three feet from the table, Spencer's drink fell of the tray and hit the floor. His lid flew off and the Coke went everywhere. He was furious. We turned to Jack and as we did, in slow motion, Scott and I watched his drink slide off the tray and into the floor about two inches from where Spencer's fell. Scott and I looked at eachother and we just busted out laughing. What can you do? NOTHING. So we laughed. Scott almost threw his drink down just for fun but decided not to :) We had the works at Golden Corral ... ice cream with gummi bears and all. We got home and watched American Idol. We were done for the day.
We drove home Wednesday morning .... we were beat. Bubba even checked on us to be sure we got home safely. He said, "Ya'll are like family!" It was probably the most bizarre encounter we have had in a while but yet will be the most memorable vacation for a long time! One of our friends told us yesterday, "only you and Scott would have a vacation like that and end up at someone's house for a fish fry and singing karoake!" YEP .... our kids will have great material to write about one day ... just think ... we might make them famous yet! :) And Bubba and Darlene will not be forgotten anytime soon. Their hospitality, warmth and love for the backwoods of Florida and fishing will be remembered for a long time to come!!