The Nelson Family: 2018 Beach Vaca with Gaga and Grandpa

My mom and dad came down this summer (instead of their usual spring visit) and they timed it so they could watch the girls' dance recital and go to the beach with us! It was a hot visit, but we were mostly inside for dance and it is always a little cooler next to the water. We stayed at the same house in Rockport as last year and my parents booked the tiny bungalow out back. We weren't really sure what it would be like this year after Hurricane Harvey which made landfall in Rockport. The residents have been working hard to clean up the damage and rebuild. There were definitely blocks that were completely empty or with just a cement foundation where we remembered buildings standing, but most of the shops, restaurants, and resorts were up and running. Our beach house had some damage, mostly the yard was destroyed which is sad because it was beautiful and full of fruit trees, but the house was as cute as we remembered it!

We packed everything and everyone into our van. #ilovemyvan

First stop: the beach

Checking out the warm water

and playing in the sand

We love "our" beach house

Gaga and Grandpa's bungalow out back

We spent two days at the Rockport beach and drove over to Port Aransas one day too. Rockport is great because it's a giant sandbar and never gets deeper than your waist.

Lots of sunscreen!

Baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo

Lots of time in the sun, sand, and sea

Steve and my dad went out fishing one morning with a guide and caught a bunch of fish (and I can't remember what kind!). We brought some home to put in the freezer, but also took a few filets to a restaurant that night and had them cook them up a bunch of different ways for us. The food was SO good this summer. Steve and I even got a date night (thanks Gaga and Grandpa!) right on the water.

Thanks for dinner guys!

Watching fish jump in the bay while the boys are out fishing

Can you see what Ruby's "holding"?

There it goes! So many birds around Rockport.

Ruby playing us some sounds on a cute street piano

We hit the jackpot on food this year. Every meal was SO good and great views right on the water

Date night!

We took our traditional (3 years in a row!) dolphin boat tour and saw tons of dolphins. They highlight for the girls is always when they pull up the shrimp trawl and put the sea critters in the water table on the boat.

There they are! Saw lots of dolphins again this year!

After our boat ride we headed to the Port A beach where the waves were huge compared to Rockport. Ruby and Steve played in the water a bunch and Ada spent a lot of time building a sand castle and collecting shells. The water was pretty weedy in Port A in some spots. Ada came marching back up the sand after wading in shouting "That's disgusting! How can you go in that!" Ruby wasn't fazed.