Summer Vacation

Patar, Summer, 2001
Sazo is 42, Sandy is 39, S'Ahmisa is 14 , Si'Enya is 8


The Warwicks have decided to try something new. Usually, they retreat Schatazweitzier Mountains for vacations, but this year, they decide to surprise the girls. Even when Si'Enya volunteered to research the best brand of tents, they remained mum.
It was still chilly when the shuttle for the ferry picked them up. It was as if summer didn't realize that it was supposed to be here and the temperatures were supposed to be warm. The family didn't think much of the weather during thier forty minute ferry ride and five hour plane ride.
Instead, Sandy and Sazo fielded questions from thier daughters.
"If we're not going camping, then where are we going?"
"Will there be snow there? I didn't pack many sweaters?"
"I hope there are exotic bugs where ever it is. I want to add to my bug collection." This last statement coming from bug loving Si'Enya.

Finally they arrived at thier first stop. The girls gasped as they took in the exotic sight of Jah Sal Bazaar. The noise of the merchants, the smell of the spicy food, the ocean breeze and the dusty sand in thier toes. It was love at first sight.
As soon as thier feet hit the sand, the girls took off running. It had been hours since they were allowed to move thier cramped joints and it felt so good to run about the bazaar. Finally Sandy and Sazo were able to get S'Ahmisa to stop swinging Si'Enya around long enough for a family photo.
They found a merchant willing to let them pose with the exotic rugs and pottery, in exchange for a significant purchase of a hand woven rug and few pieces of pottery. Sandy didn't mind, she knew that the items would look great in thier living room, after all they were a traveling family and collected so many items from each place.

One more photo of just the parents.

While Sazo finalized the details on thier sleeping tents, Sandy took the girls to a clothing stand to find more weather appropiate clothing. Most of the things in thier suitcase were for the chilly mountains, not the heated environment of Jah Sal.

After showering and changing the family met for an exotic lunch of Keema Naans, and Punj ratani dal. Over the lunch they discussed the tour that Sazo signed them up for. A helicopter tour to see the city from above. The girls had never been in a helicopter before, but they had a blast...except when S'Ahmisa spotted a bee inside the cockpit. Si'Enya wanted to catch it and save it for her collection, but S'Ahmisa only wanted to squish it. Thankfully the pilot opened a window and the bee flew out, much to the disappointment of the girls, but for different reasons.
After the tour, the family split into thier own activities. Sazo found the wonderful server from lunch and gave him a substantial tip in hopes that they would get a better table for dinner and faster service. He was rewarded. Not only did the family get the best table, but had two servers at thier beck and call and the chef even made a point to see the 'wonderful big spending foreign family'.
Si'Enya didn't really know how to spend her afternoon. She really wanted to find some exotic bugs, but it seemed like bugs didn't like the dry heat of Jah Sal.
"In the mountains, you often found the bugs near water." Her mother told her, "Why don't you try that?"
Si'Enya found that trying to find open water in the desert was harder than looking for the bugs. Finally she resorted to badgering the merchants. Many of which simply stared at the strange foriegn girl looking for bugs. Finally the DJ gave her some advice.
"Bugs do not like the heat, try looking near the trees once the sun goes down."
S'Ahmisa was badgering the DJ for another reason. She wanted to know what there was to do in the bazaar, besides shop.
"There's a dance contest in one hour." He said. "Foreigners and locals participate for prize money."
Money? S'Ahmisa would do just about anything for money and slight fame. The money would be good once she decided to open her chain of businesses in Apple Valley, but until then, she only had one hour to prepare.
An hour later, S'Ahmisa tried not to lose her confidence when she saw Chad Vanderburg, the Chad Vanderburg of Pahala Shore, join the competition.
"He's only a famous actor that's super cute and has great dance moves, you can beat him." She tried to tell herself.
Thankfully, the pep talk worked and S'Ahmisa gave it her all only to discover that she did indeed win the contest! Dancing was so much fun, not quite as fun as soccer, but definately a second choice if she couldn't play soccer anymore...maybe she could become a professional dancer. There are job openings for those slots as opposed to female soccer stars. Unfortunately all the professional soccer teams were male only at the moment...maybe she could start her own pro team...is that considered a business?
How wise the DJ is, Si'Enya thought, as she happily captured bugs later that evening. True to his word, millions upon millions of bugs descended on the bazaar once dusk settled and Si'Enya found plenty of exotic insects for her collection.

S'Ahmisa sneaked off a few moments of texting her boyfriend, Verde, about her trip. Well, he wasn't her boyfriend to be honest. Her parents still said she was too young to go steady and commit herself to one guy. She was headed to the eighth grade once school started this fall and she couldn't wait. She was one year closer to being 16 and being able to have a steady boyfriend.

Soon, the fireflies indicated that it was time to go to sleep and the family watched as merchants packed up and shops closed. The tents they rented were very comfortable. Fluffy pillows lined the floor and the exotic tent walls allowed plenty of air to circulate.

Two days later, the family found themselves in Tiki Island. Early that morning, S'Ahmisa left the hotel for her morning jog and found a small beach. After changing into her swimsuit, she found a small kiosk where she ate a breakfast of spiced pickled fruit. It had the oddest flavor, but gave her energy for her early morning swim.

The swim made her muscles want to scream with joy. The feel of the warm salt water, the strength of the waves and seeing all the sea life beneath her was almost too much for S'Ahmisa to bear. She was grinning like a lottery winner when she laid her towel down on the beach for quick nap afterwards.

Perhaps the nap was a little too long or perhaps she should have used sunscreen, for S'Ahmisa was awaken from her nap with burning pain through her skin. Ouch! So this is what a sunburn is like!

Sandy and Sazo signed thier family up for an all day excursion to The Ruins of Ti'Japki. The guided tour was more than a bit boring for the two lovebirds, so instead they snuck off to steal a few kisses by the ancient wall of the city. No doubt that these bricks have seen thier fair share of stolen kisses.

Only Sandy and Si'Enya had the courage to hike to the top of the crumbling temple to pay homage to the monkey god, Hanuman. Sandy thought it would be funny to roast marshmallows in the flames placed at the top of the tourist attraction.

After the climb to the temple, the family did some souvenior shopping in the tourist gift shop. S'Ahmisa finally found the pair of coral earrings she saw in the brochure and not a moment too soon, since it was time for the Glass Bottom Boat portion of the tour. The tour was a big hit for the family, especially since they survived! After an encounter with some jagged rocks, the scratched glass started to leak and the tourists were a bit scared until thier feet were on dry ground again.

Once back at The Ruins of Ti'Japki, the tour allowed from some freetime. Si'Enya in her quest for exotic insects ran into some none exotic bees. Poor little girl, she always tends to find bees when she's hunting for bugs. Sandy and Sazo decided to do a bit of illegal digging to see if they could uncover some of the gold rumored to be buried under the temple. Meanwhile, S'Ahmisa snuck in a phone call.

"I miss you, too...it's really cool here...we need to come back one day...maybe for our honeymoon."

So much for not being committed.

The final surprise was Pirate Night at The Sur Boardwalk. Unfortunately, it really was a surprise as Pirate Night had been cancelled due to flight of Captain Peg Leg's parrot. Everyone knows you can't have a pirate without a parrot. So the family managed to get tickets on the abandoned ship, but it was so dark and it's not much fun playing pirates with your little sister.

To avoid the trek to Sur Boardwalk being a total waste, the family decided some night swimming was in order. However, after the sighting of several sharks and recalling the fact that sharks are night hunters, they promptly left the waters for the safer sandy shore.

A family castle building tradition was started that night. Sandy and Si'Enya were in charge of the castle's sandy base and architecture, while Sazo and S'Ahmisa were in charge of finding shells and other trinkets to decorate the castle.

As S'Ahmisa dug through the sand, looking for shells, she vowed that she would return to this beach.

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How do your simmies spend thier summer vacation?