A weekend at the beach would top just about anybody’s idea of a great summer getaway. I know it does for those living in Fresno and Bakersfield California because as we headed into Pismo Beach, a central california coastal community, we found it to be packed and bustling with excitement.

There are many things to do in this beach town besides lay out and get a tan. There are shops, excellent dining choices, and of course surfing and boogie boarding opportunities. I do find California ocean water to be a little cold for my liking but Reid and his friend Kevin braved the cold for some body surfing. There are also some interesting tide pools and caves you can explore on the right side of the pier. We had some fun collecting sand dollars and observing sand crabs.

A trip to Pismo Beach should not exclude a visit to Splash Cafe which is world famous for their clam chowder served in nothing better than a sour dough bread bowl. It’s so popular that you will probably have to stand in quite the line and may end up eating your chowder on the sidewalk or in your car. We got there and ate at 10:30 am and there was still a line!

We were there for fourth of July weekend, but only stayed at the beach the day before. I do know they have an excellent fireworks show and we were a little sad to be skipping out, but were very glad for our time there!

It was all set up. We had a condo with our friends, they were going to pick us up from the airport and we were going to spend the day at the beach. Surfing, tanning and building sand castles. Then we were going to get some of the best clam chowder in the world at the Splash Café. Yes, I was very excited about our trip to Pismo Beach this past weekend. The only problem was- it never happened. My husband plays ice hockey for a local league. He grew up in northern Minnesota, and has been playing hockey since he could barely walk. Chasing after a puck, he bumped his opponent (it’s a non-checking league) and it set him off balance which caused him to fall and slide really hardly into the boards. As a last ditch effort to keep his head from hitting the boards, he turned and took the impact with his shoulder.

We spent the next few hours in the Emergency Room. The doctor knew by looking at his shoulder that he had definitely broken his collar bone. Apparently, the collar bone is the first or second most commonly broken bone. The X-Rays came back and we realized just how badly it had broken. It was in three pieces with the middle piece turned on its side, making a z. Following up with the orthopedic surgeon yesterday confirmed that he will indeed need surgery to fix that mess. The doctor also believed that he had broken a few ribs while he was at it. So…. basically what I am trying to get at- no beach for me.

I spent a few hours this weekend wallowing in self pity but tried to make the best of it by going to a movie with one of my best friends. It also helped knowing my husband was in a great deal of pain and discomfort and was also sad that we had missed our beach trip. I busied myself waiting on him and focusing on making him comfortable. I found this article yesterday on CNN. It lists stories of people who had the worst things happen to them on their vacations. Realizing it’s not the most upbeat post I have written but, I am writing about it because it makes me feel better about not going to the beach. Hey, it could have been worse right?

This is a good one from the article:
Bruce Bush’s vacation in Hawaii started off perfectly. His family loved the “sandy beaches, hot weather and a tropical paradise I had never seen,” he wrote in his iReport. But Bush, who had been sick for much of the vacation, was diagnosed with cancer in a Waikiki hospital three days before his family was scheduled to fly home.
“The doctors wanted to admit me right away but something didn’t feel right about the situation. So Bush’s parents (he was 17 at the time) declined treatment and decided to wait out the rest of the vacation and ask his regular physician about it when the family arrived home in Indiana.
“By the time we went home, I’d already started feeling better,” Bush said.
The cancer diagnosis? A terrifying mistake. Bush had thought his illness was mononucleosis the entire time, and his doctor at home confirmed the diagnosis.

Are you kidding me? Imagine you are on vacation in HAWAII nonetheless, find out you have cancer (talk about buzzkill) and then go home to find out they were mistaken and it’s just mono? Ok… feeling better already.

Anyone else have some nightmare vacation experiences they want to share?