As a high-ranking member of the logistics committee, I recognize that when all 15 of us descend on a location in our uniforms of matching T-shirts, crazy hair and road-weariness, it takes a few minutes for onlookers to figure out exactly what or whom they’re seeing. Is it a poorly-run summer camp or a rogue family reunion gone terribly wrong? I’ve seen the look of confusion wash over the faces of Publix cashiers, ticket-takers at baseball games and now ferry-boat captains as they try to comprehend our little army; \u00a0a mix of wonder and distaste as they try to match up the very skewed child:adult ratio. Then they might hear Louise start praying aloud or me yelling across aisle 9, “I swear to all that’s good and holy, if there’s not BOGO Pinot Grigio in my cart in the next 38 seconds, there will be hell to pay!” and they logically and sadly conclude that we are some sort of cult.<\/p>\n
I believe this is how we were regarded upon entering the island.<\/p>\n
We’ve been to this particular island destination many times over the years. It’s truly one of our favorite spots on the planet. But there is definitely a science to the preparation of an isolated destination such as this, and for years our goal has been to pack so that we never have to leave for any of our supplies. In other words, to be a group of people living semi off-grid, self-sufficient, and cut-off from the rest of society while mumbling nonsensical secret codes to one another like, “Where’s the bug spray? You remembered to pack 3 different kinds of gourmet stuffed olives for your martinis but you couldn’t manage room in the bag for some OFF?” Or when Louise tells the woman at the check-in counter that it doesn’t matter which charges go on which credit card because it’s all the same anyway and the woman looks horrified and says “Sister wives,” as she goes to the back to call the authorities.<\/p>\n
Cult probably isn’t too off-base.<\/p>\n
But at least we are an inclusive cult, always seeking new members. We met up with old friends here and now all of the kids are calling one another, “Brothers,” which doesn’t exactly dispel the cult myth, but it’s heart-warming nonethless. The strangers fighting for grill space with us probably aren’t quite ready to join, but I’d bet they’d accept a pamphlet to learn more about the program later.<\/p>\n
So all is well as long as you know the secret handshake and tythe in margaritas.<\/p>\n
See you on the mainland, Brother Reader.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a high-ranking member of the logistics committee, I recognize that when all 15 of us descend on a location in our uniforms of matching T-shirts, crazy hair and road-weariness, it takes a few minutes for onlookers to figure out exactly what or whom they’re seeing. Is it a poorly-run summer camp or a rogue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3NIOM-ea","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":357,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/01\/31\/2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":0},"title":"2014","date":"January 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"My one and only post for January, 2014 is a revision of my New Year\u2019s resolutions since the year is off to a shaky start. 1.) Post daily. Post weekly. Turn on the computer. 2.) Be the best Room Mom ever. Try not to piss off the whole class. Try\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":611,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/08\/15\/college-countdown\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":1},"title":"College Countdown","date":"August 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Our oldest is off to college in a few days, and I thought I\u2019d share this handy timeline on how to prepare for this upcoming event. 3 months out: Rent a storage unit to house and hoard your billboard-sized Bed, Bath and Beyond coupons for dorm shopping later. 2 months\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/IMG_3088-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":993,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2021\/07\/23\/new-mexico\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":2},"title":"New Mexico","date":"July 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Exploring New Mexico has been an adventure in itself. We spent the day in beautiful Santa Fe visiting the quaint shops and restaurants, the state capital, the Loretto Chapel with the Miraculous Staircase, the Basilica, and San Miguel Mission. We ate a local hotspot and had some wonderful local food--everyone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":688,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2016\/07\/14\/day-6-the-dads-land-in-the-badlands\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":3},"title":"Day 6–The Dads Land in the Badlands","date":"July 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We are almost to the one week mark of our adventure and today we met up with the Dads in the Badlands of South Dakota! This amazing landscape will be thoroughly explored and enjoyed all day tomorrow. Yay! However, we weren't all together an hour before the kids started to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":641,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/10\/14\/if-warehouse-stores-had-mouths-and-took-myers-briggs-tests\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":4},"title":"If warehouse stores had mouths and took Myers-Briggs tests","date":"October 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As the primary procurer of goods and services for our household, I\u2019ve noticed that stores\u2014both local and national chains\u2014have certain personalities that emerge. I realize this is probably a personal observation and completely subjective, but it helps explain how and where we shop. Depending on the type and the message\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":368,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/02\/11\/dulce-de-leche-and-strawberry-ice-cream-cake\/","url_meta":{"origin":878,"position":5},"title":"Dulce de leche and strawberry ice cream cake","date":"February 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"You could really use this technique with any combination of ice creams and cookies, but try this one\u2014it is very refreshing and unique. Dulce de leche and Strawberry Ice Cream cake Crust: 12-15 dulce de leche cookies 6-8 shortbread cookies 3 T. butter, melted Pie: 2 pints strawberry sorbet (Haagen-Daz\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recipe"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_2562-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":879,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/878\/revisions\/879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}