Beached in Bulgaria

Last weekend we took the brother and sister-in-law to Obzor, a small Black Sea beach town in Bulgaria, a five hour drive from Bucharest. We reasoned with the new highway leading from Bucharest to Constanta we could easily cut off 45 minutes of driving, thus making the drive feel oh so short. Sure, if you drive a sports car without children. With the VW filled with sticky children and luggage, Nettie and I hopped into the teeny rental car where we bonded: engaging in loud conversations over the roar of the engine at 55 mph and Romanian hip hop playing on the radio.

Black Sea in June: still cold.

Six hours later, everyone arrived relatively intact, excited to stretch our legs and get onto the beach. Wading into the Black Sea, I tried to ignore its chill and instead focused on the thousands of hermit crabs scrambling along the sea bed. Wait. Hmmm, no. The idea of pinchy crabs having access to my toes did not appeal to me so I scampered back onto the beach. I blew up my son's inner tubes, content to float and kick the waves but somehow I exceeded the recommended weight limit. One bob in the water and I went ass up. Back to the sand for me. I'm not much of a water person anyway.

All day in the SAME swim diaper. Whatever you imagine first is probably correct.

 We all just hung out relaxing, or at least faking it. There's only so much relaxation afforded to parents on vacation when kids are involved, right? All weekend the kids enjoyed digging and eating the sand, and splashing in the startling cold water. But I felt at peace even with knowing the nights would likely end with two sandy children sleeping in our beds. 

The sun-exposed pass-out sleep

I liked the idea of using this beach trip as a practice run for our upcoming R&R in Menorca and I thought I packed well: loads of beach towels, cheap beach toys, sunscreen, swim diapers and suits. I decided to go big and buy a hearty two piece bathing suit that would guarantee support and coverage of the essential tidbits.  I was so proud, giving myself a pat on my pasty white back. Then I realized I had a very hungry daughter.

Hangry babies and bounce proof bikini tops don't exactly go well together. Without any chance of discretion I ended up giving the beach and pool goers full on hard core show; I damn near ended up taking my whole top off just to gain access. Not that any of this mattered since boobs, cheeks and junk of all shapes and sizes strutted up and down the resort.

Taking a sun-rise schlep along the beach. Thanks Margo.

Aside from my impromptu brusque showing, we enjoyed a relatively uneventful and quick weekend. I didn't know this ahead of time, but I paid for an all inclusive stay involving another show of sorts: mass consumption of buffet-style food and drink. In a way I enjoyed the easy and continuous access of food that my insatiable children regularly require but after 24 hours, I saw enough gorging and wastefulness to cover me for at least ten more years. I think we all felt the same.

That bubbly could take off the rust on your car. No amount of free could make us drink it.