eighteen YEARS before they’re ready to go off
into the world.
If I’m ever a parent, I’m gonna be like the
BEARS. First of all, I’m not gonna spend a lot
of time teaching my kids useless information, like
the ABCs and colors and shapes.
The second my kid is old enough to cross the
street safely and place an order at a fast-food
restaurant, he’s gonna be out of the house.
After Mom lathered Rodrick up, she told him he
should go to the Teen Zone and try to connect
with some kids his age.
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I didn’t think Rodrick would be interested, but he
went to check it out. That got Mom all excited,
and she said I should hang out with the tweens,
who were on the beach doing a scavenger hunt.
But it was pretty obvious to me that the “scavenger
hunt” was really just a beach cleanup in disguise, and
I didn’t want any PART in that.
When Rodrick left I was glad, because that
meant more room in the cabana for ME. But a
minute later Dad showed up looking really pale.
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I thought he might still be dealing with stomach
issues, but it wasn’t that. He said when he went
to use the toilet in our room, there was a giant
SPIDER underneath the seat. So I guess we
didn’t get rid of it after all.
I asked Dad what happened NEXT, and he said
he whacked the spider with a bathrobe that was
on the floor. So there goes any chance I’m gonna
wear THAT thing again.
I asked him if he KILLED the spider, and he
said he wasn’t sure. He said the spider VANISHED
after he hit it.
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Well, Dad’s story pretty much guaranteed that I
wouldn’t be using our BATHROOM again, either.
Luckily, there was an outdoor shower by the pool.
Dad seemed pretty shaken up by what happened
with the spider, and Mom said he should lie
down and take a few deep breaths. That’s when
Manny came back with his beach pail, and he
showed Mom what he had collected.
I think Mom was expecting there to be a bunch
of seashells in the bucket, but it was filled to the
brim with hermit crabs, snails, and all sorts of
OTHER living things.
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And now these creatures were crawling all over our
MATTRESS.
Mom scooped up the critters into the bucket
and told Manny he couldn’t keep these things as
PETS, but he didn’t seem to understand. Then
she took the bucket down to the water to let
them go.
Mom needed a way to distract Manny, so she took
him down to the Activities Hut to see what kind
of stuff they had for little kids. I wanted to do
more than just lie around in a cabana all day, so
I tagged along with Mom.
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The one activity I really had my heart set on was
swimming with dolphins. And the main reason I
wanted to do THAT was so I’d have something to
rub in Rowley’s face when I got back home.
But the guy at the Activities Hut said that
swimming with dolphins was really popular and it
was totally booked. Mom asked if we could sign up
for the NEXT day, but the guy told her it was
sold out for the whole WEEK.
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That wasn’t the worst part, either. All the really
FUN stuff, like jet skiing and parasailing, was
only available on the Wild Side. And all the LAME
activities were on the Mild Side.
But Mom didn’t seem bothered. She signed us up
for TWO activities, the banana boat and the
turtle hatching.
Mom was ESPECIALLY excited about the banana
boat. She said we could use the picture as our
family Christmas card and send it out to everyone
when we got back home.
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It seemed like a pretty corny idea to ME, but I
guess nothing could be as bad as the Christmas
card Rowley’s family sent this year.
Mom told me I needed to go get Rodrick, so I
used the map to find my way to the Teen Zone.
But I probably could’ve found it WITHOUT a map.
Some of the teens were playing volleyball in the
pool, and Rodrick was one of them. But the game
was paused because one of the girls got her lip
ring stuck in the net, and Rodrick was helping
her get untangled.
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I told Rodrick we needed to go, but he didn’t
seem to be in any hurry to leave. I finally got him
to come with me, but I practically had to DRAG
him away from his volleyball game.
We met everyone else down by the water, where
they were getting fitted for life jackets. Mom
gave her camera to the guy who was helping
them and asked him to snap a picture when we
passed by.
We got in the water and climbed aboard the
banana boat, which was attached to a speedboat
by a rope. We gave the driver the thumbs-up
signal, and we took off.
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Once we left the shallow water, we started to pick
up speed. The water was kind of choppy, so it was
hard holding on. Then we hit a big wave, and all
three of us boys went flying off. The driver had
to circle around so we could get back on.
When we got moving again, we went through the
area where they had a water trampoline, and kids
started using our banana boat as a TARGET.
135
Then one stupid kid landed smack in the middle of
our boat and PUNCTURED it.
The banana boat was losing air fast, and the driver
had to tow us back to shore. The guy that Mom
gave her camera to took a picture, but I kind of
doubt we’re gonna use it for our Christmas card.
136
After we dried off, Mom said we should get some
lunch. But the couple from the plane had already
taken our cabana, and eating outdoors again
didn’t seem like such a good idea anyway.
I realized we hadn’t eaten a real meal for two
DAYS, and I didn’t wanna eat anywhere that I
had to worry about animals attacking my food.
Dad said we should go to the golf clubhouse,
because it was the only indoor restaurant on the
resort. Everyone seemed to like that idea, so
that’s where we went.
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But when we got to the clubhouse, the manager
said they couldn’t serve us. He said the clubhouse
had a dress code and that guys had to wear
collared shirts and women had to wear dresses.
Dad told the manager we didn’t HAVE those
things, and the manager said that we could
purchase them at the gift shop. But Dad said
collared shirts cost fifty dollars each and there
was no WAY he was gonna buy four of them just
so we could have lunch.
So we had to find another place to eat. Rodrick
wanted to just have some hot dogs in the Teen
Zone, but Mom said she wanted t
o eat lunch as
a FAMILY.
138
I was pretty sure they served burgers and fries
at the swim-up bar at the pool, so we went there
to check it out. But I had second thoughts about
eating at the pool once we ordered. It was like
having a meal in a bathtub with a bunch of people
you don’t know.
And it wasn’t just PEOPLE, either. There was
actually a MONKEY sitting at the other end of
the bar.
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Dad asked the bartender about the monkey, and
she told us the whole sad story. She said this
monkey used to live in a big tree on the resort with
a bunch of OTHER monkeys, and he was kind
of like their leader. But then this YOUNGER
monkey came along and kicked him out.
The monkey didn’t have any place to go, so one day
he came to the bar, and people started buying him
drinks. And he’s been coming back every day since.
I really didn’t know WHAT to think after
hearing a story like that.
140
All I knew for sure was that I didn’t feel great
about eating lunch while sitting in monkey water.
There was some sort of big sports game on the
TV, and everyone at the bar seemed really into
it. But somehow Manny ended up with the remote
control, and he changed the channel to a show
for little kids.
Everyone wanted Manny to change the channel
BACK, but when Manny wants to watch one of
his shows, trust me, there’s nothing ANYONE
can do about it.
141
The people at the bar were ready to RIOT, so
Mom scooped Manny up and we got out of there
before I even finished my burger.
Rodrick went back to the Teen Zone, and Mom
and Dad took Manny to the suite so he could take
a nap.
142
I really didn’t want to go back to the room and
risk running into that SPIDER again, so I decided
to spend the rest of the afternoon in the arcade.
I had to make the coins I’d collected in the
Treasure Dive last two and a half hours. But
there were some kids in the arcade who could’ve
their money.
When it started to get dark, I figured I
should head back to the room. But I ran into
Mom, Dad, and Manny on the footpath halfway
between the arcade and our building.
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Mom said we were all gonna go down to a bonfire
on the beach, and after that, we were gonna
watch the turtle hatching. But first we needed
to find RODRICK.
This time we ALL went into the Teen Zone to
look for him. By now it was pretty dark, though,
so it wasn’t easy to spot him. But when we DID,
I don’t think he was too thrilled to see us.
On the way to the beach, Mom told Rodrick this
was a FAMILY vacation, and it wasn’t the time or
place for “teenage romance.”
144
Rodrick said this thing with the girl was
SERIOUS and they planned to spend as much
time as they could together.
I was kind of surprised, because I thought
Rodrick would be turned off by the whole idea of
romance after spending a few days at the resort.
Who knows? Maybe one day he’ll be back to this
place with HIS family.
We got down to the beach, where a bunch of
families had gathered around a bonfire. But the
experience wasn’t fun because of the BUGS. At
first it was the gnats, which flew in our eyes
and mouths.
Then it was the sand fleas, which bit our ankles.
And then it was the MOSQUITOES, which
were the size of hummingbirds.
Whoever came up with the idea of calling this place
“paradise” must’ve had a good sense of humor.
Back home, human beings are at the top of the
food chain. But at Isla de Corales, everything
eats PEOPLE.
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I was definitely ready to go back to the room,
because at least THERE I only had to deal
with ONE bug. But then the nature guide came
through and said anyone who signed up to see the
turtle hatching needed to follow her to the dunes.
The nature guide explained what we were about to
see. She said that a mother turtle digs a hole in
the sand dunes and then lays eggs in it, and a few
months later, the eggs HATCH. Then the baby
turtles head to the ocean.
She showed us a little pile of white eggs buried in
the dunes and said there were LOTS of piles just
like this one. She said the problem was that we
don’t know exactly WHEN the eggs will hatch.
147
It was DARK out, and I was afraid I was
gonna accidentally step on an egg. So I took a
few steps back to get out of the way, and when
I did, something crunched under my foot.
Luckily, it was just a seashell. But still, my
stomach was in KNOTS.
I’m not a fan of reptiles in general, but I
decided I would make an exception for turtles.
Let’s face it: The only reason we were out there