August 7, 2025
Today was our first full day at the resort and we’re learning the rhythm of how everything works. We’ve all come to conclusion that it feels very cruise like– people throw towels on chairs all over the resort early morning to claim their spots, some of the lines at meal times are excessively long and we’ve witness a few tense moments between guests over pizza, and there are so many activities but we’ve continuously struggled with how to nail down a schedule or reservation. We’re grateful to be here with our friends so the boys have been constantly entertained despite any of our scheduling difficulties.
Our friend Jeff was up early and tried to claim our group 4 chairs in the shade by the water but by the time we arrived late morning, some other guests had consolidated our chairs down to 2. With the kids, its not like we spend much time sitting in the chairs anyway, but its helpful to have a home base. Red and I then took off to go into town for some supplies while Kyle took all 4 boys to the inflatable obstacle course again. Jeff tweaked his back at some point in Split and he oscillates between being able to walk along and join the group and needing to lay flat. We’re hopeful its just temporary and his family can continue on with their European trip after we part ways next week.
The closest market was on the outskirts of town so we didn’t get to check out Pakostane so we’re planning to go back in the coming days. We grabbed snacks and the best instant coffee we could find to have in our rooms before heading back to the resort to meet up with the crew for lunch. The kids and Kyle spent nearly 2 hours on the obstacle course before breaking to eat. We haven’t done any other activities yet, but its clear that this one will provide the most entertainment during our time at Pine Beach. Lunch was largely uneventful and afterward made our way back to the beach. The kids were keen for a change of scenery so spent some time at a playground and then at the kids’ club trampoline before proclaiming they were ready to return to the obstacle course.
Kyle took off to head to the gym and Brycen claimed he stepped on a sea urchin so I took over obstacle course supervision/ playing as the monster while Red took Brycen to chill so he could rest his foot. Previously, it had been a free for all at the obstacle course and we’d swim out whenever we were ready. This time, there were attendants blowing whistles and telling us we had to wait before we could go out. The waiting went as imagined with the kids digging for big rocks and then throwing them precariously close to swimmers before I intervened and informed them how stupid of an idea that was. Once we were given the go ahead to swim out to the course, I began my main duty of lifting and pushing the kids (mostly Lenny) up onto the course after falling off intentionally or by accident. I was soon waved in by the lifeguards to go put a life jacket on and by the time I returned, found Len had been stuck in an area the entire time. After pulling him out, he proclaimed “I’m not actually on your team anymore!!”, laughed maniacally and took off towards the other boys. What a snake! We all played for close to an hour before heading in to make sure the kids made it to the Semi-Submarine in time.
Kyle and Red took the boys on the submarine for an hour-ish long ride in the water. Even though it wasn’t a true submarine and only submerged about 75% in the water, I knew this activity wasn’t for me. Kyle said they saw a bunch of fish and a few statues and characters the resort had placed in the water for the kids to find. While standing on the top of the submarine, Kyle also had a glimpse of Pakoštane downtown and beach area and suggested we try and check it out tomorrow.
After the submarine ride, we all got showered and ready to head back to the restaurant. We’ve learned its better to go a bit later on to avoid the main rush of diners and hopefully avoid the intensity that comes with some of the longer lines. The kids were exhausted and clammoring for phone time most of the meal but we refused which only made them want it more. We had told them that if they all hold it together at dinner’ we’ll put on a movie back at one of our cottages for the kids afterward. Our Uno playing has gone out the window for this part of the trip.
As we walked back to our cottages, there was a kids’ “Mini Disco’ happening and in the judo hut there appeared to be a kids’ pool noodle free for all. The four boys all chose the pool noodle battle over a bit of dancing and we watched as they all leveraged what little energy they had left to try and whack one another. Shortly after this started, a little boy came up to us to ask what was happening in the hut. We told him it was an unsanctioned pool noodle battle and in what sounded like an Eastern European accent said, “OK, I take care of it.” He couldn’t have been older than 9, but gather our four boys and made them line up and told them he was going to teach them how to do Judo. He started with warm ups and said they were going to do 100 squats. Len played along for a bit but was soon wandering around while the rest of the boys did their best to keep up. After squats, he attempted to teach the group a Judo take down move which Ollie and Bradley were really into. It was remarkable to see this kid just step in and take control over our feral bunch. We later learned his name was Ian and he was from Switzerland (we think, it was hard to hear).
The boys were devastated to learn that the planned movie time back at our cottage had been cancelled as the pool noodle battle and Judo lesson took us close to 10pm. We walked four whiny boys home and it was straight to bed!
