Life: Idiotropic

My plan:  Girls arrive home at 5:30.  We leave by 6.

Reality:  I have 4 girls.  What was I thinking?  I hate to propagate negative stereotypes, but I can say with near certainty that there is absolutely no way that any boy will take as long to pack as my bunch of ladies.  They took eons changing from school uniforms to something comfy for the car, another eon to decide what snack to eat and to eat it, and a couple more eons to figure out which one toy they'd take on this short 4 day excursion. 

I had packed everything for my three littles except for three things:  PJs, a toothbrush, and a second pair of shoes.  They were told to grab these three items and throw them into their bags already sitting ready by the front door.  We arrived later to find that one packed toothbrushes for all three (thank you, Elise), and only one packed a second pair of shoes and PJs.

And, not to leave out my teenage slowpoke who had been assuring me for days that she only needed a few minutes to pack, a few minutes in teen time apparently means an hour. 


So, instead of leaving at 6, we left at 7:15. 

Our 90 minute drive turned longer due to a 10 minute stretch of road near the Madrid turn-off that took us 40 minutes to get through, which didn't bother me, except that I had really hoped to see where we were going.

My GPS finally said "arriving at destination on right," yet all I saw was a Masymas grocery and I was pretty sure that they didn't have vacation apartments available.  Plus, were were up high on a hill and we were supposed to be a bit closer to the beach.  It turned out that we were very close to our "destination on right" - just nearly literally on top of it.  I turned around and looped back, following the signs to the Puerto Deportivo that took us down a very steep, narrow, windy, dark stretch of road that was a bit scary.  I felt like I was driving though a forest and Big Foot was going to jump out and crush my car.


But then, all of the sudden, there was the sea.  We rounded a tight corner to the left and the road stretched out straight towards the port in front of us with the sea to our right just meters away and our apartment to our left.


Kirk arrived before us and when I'd asked him on the phone if it was nice, he just said, "You'll see."


I hate those kind of answers.  Just tell me already and alleviate the stress that I always feel as the planner/booker who feels the weight of the entire trip on her shoulders.


We unloaded our things including the dog and took two elevators up to the eight floor because we couldn't all fit into one with our luggage.  Ours was number 40, the first apartment on the right.


There's a little gate with a tiny courtyard area, then the front door.  On the right there's a bedroom with a trundle bed and a bathroom with a fancy shower with a normal head, one overhead, and six jets that will massage your back if you're brave enough to try.  The master bedroom has a sliding glass door to the spacious balcony set with two lounge chairs, a small table and 4 chairs.  The view is stunning even at night.


Living room/dining area is clean and set up nicely with the Disney channel in Spanish, so the girls are happy.  Large sliding doors lead from this area to the patio as well... views of the sea from almost all points in our apartment.  What's not to love? 

I do love my tiny well-equipped kitchen and though I didn't need to do laundry, it's so cool to see my separate laundry area larger than the kitchen with a washer, sink, and tons of space for drying racks.


Is it nice?  YES!  Just try to get me out.  I may just stay here forever.  Really.  Do squatter's rights apply?
So this place has changed the way I travel because for the first time in forever I am so absolutely relaxed that I could happily spend the next four days napping and reading on my balcony and I'm already looking ahead for another weekend we could come here.


To book "the pad," click on the links in this LiGK post.