As the mother of seven and the grandmother of eleven I  think I’ve heard  the phrase, “What’s for dinner?”  at least a million times.    Yet, it’s the last thing I want to hear during a trip to Oceanside, California.  Most people go on vacation to get away from the day-in-and-day-out drudgery of their lives.   Moms need that break too.   When I’m spending time at our beach house I don’t want to be tied to the kitchen but I also love my  family and really want to make them happy.  Porters love to eat.   It’s a big part of all our social events.  We love to sit around a big table with lots of good food, visiting, talking and sharing the goodies.  I’ve had to learn, over time, how to compromise between my desire for a vacation and my family’s desire to have great food.

This is how I do it:

I MAKE BREAKFAST.  Anyway everyone thinks I make breakfast.  What I really do is prepare all the fixings and then I let my family make their own breakfast.  For example:  We love waffles.  Not just ordinary waffles.  We love waffles with every kind of topping you can think of.  We call it a Waffle Bar.  What I do is make the batter.  I also set out all the toppings my family likes.  It is usually the grandchildren that come down first.  My children know that this is ok with me so they like to have a “sleep in” and send their children down to eat with Nana & Papa.  When a young child arrives I just say with a happy face, “Would you like to make yourself a waffle?”  I hand them a paper cup full of waffle batter and they add spoonfuls of toppings, like nuts, bacon bits, chocolate chips, blueberries, marshmallows or shredded coconut.   Papa helps them pour it all into our double waffle iron.  Two at a time watch excitedly until the blue light comes on to tell them their waffle is done.  Papa helps them carry it to the table where again they find more toppings like butter, syrup, whipping cream, strawberries, etc.  Some like it loaded up and some like it simple but everyone enjoys.  It doesn’t matter what time people come down to breakfast they will find a happy face offering them some waffle batter.  Then I clean it all up and go for a walk on the BEACH.   I repeat this same pattern each day with a different breakfast menu.      Some other ideal vacation “Breakfast Bar” ideas are Omelette Bars, Oatmeal Bars, Yogurt, Granola & Fruit Bars, Bagels & Cream Cheese Bars.  Don’t worry about left over toppings.  It is amazing how Waffle toppings can turn into Oatmeal toppings the next day.

I DO NOT MAKE LUNCH.  Our beach house is surrounded by lots of quaint Mom & Pop style restaurants within walking distance.  What is a vacation anyway without eating some of the local foods.    I always leave lunch open for this purpose.   I do keep sandwich materials and a few frozen pizzas in the house for a quick lunch on the beach.

SNACK ARE A MUST!!!  We try to always keep easy snacks available: Fruit, microwave popcorn,  yogurt push-ups,  pop cycles, fishy crackers,  etc.   If it’s not in the house there’s always PAPPY’S,  our local convenience market just one block away or the grandchildren’s  favorite THE RED CUP,  a local frozen yogurt shop.   Craving ice cream?  Stop in at the DAIRY QUEEN or get an amazing shake or malt at the end of the Oceanside Pier in RUBY’S.

DINNER IS A GROUP EFFORT.   I’m a very lucky woman because I’m married to a man that likes to cook.   He has set this example so my children, all adults now,  and their spouses have the ability to cook.   For dinner we all make the meal together.  Clean up is done the same way.  No one is upset if someone goes out to dinner.   We always try to remember we are on vacation by keeping things simple  and remembering that nothing has to be set in stone.   The purpose  of a family vacation is to have a good time together.   I usually try to reward them by doing a little babysitting so they can head out to the movies at the Royal Theaters just a short walk away.

I have just one last suggestion for the Oceanside vacationing Mom.  Close the Kitchen on Thursdays and have everyone eat at the two local Farmers Markets.  For times and details visit http://mainstreetoceanside.com/Events/FarmersMarket/FarmersMarket.html and  http://www.localharvest.org/oceanside-sunset-market-M19313 .  ENJOY!

Gary and I married in 1975 and spent our Honeymoon in San Diego, California.  That was the beginning of not only our life together but also our joint love of the BEACH.  Although we live and work in Arizona we have returned over and over to vacation in the San Diego area. We’ve visited family, stayed in hotels, rented vacation homes, and even purchase a time share.  To us it wasn’t a real vacation unless in contained sun, sand, and water.

In 2004 Joseph and Gerry McLarney invited a youth group, which included some of our children, to Oceanside, California, to stay in the McLarney Beach House, a short 1 block from the beach, and learn to sail.  Gary &  I were lucky enough to go along as chaperones.  During this trip we both felt such a draw to the ocean, the beach and the surrounding area that we purchased our dream vacation home in the very same complex the following year.  That’s how the Porter Beach House became our favorite place to go with family and friends.

From 2005 to the present we have visited Oceanside as often as we possibly could but it seemed such a terrible waste to ever let the house sit vacant.   I’m married to a very generous man and  Gary encouraged me to share  the house as often as I could with family, friends and co-workers.  I started keeping calendars, writing house instructions and organized the house for people to come and enjoy with as little hassle as possible.  I still get teased about how much labeling I do but I wanted people to spend all their time enjoying and very little time trying to figure out where to find or put things.  I really loved sharing and then hearing what a good time people had.  Soon our family and friends were telling their family and friends about the house.  They wanted to go too.  As word traveled we were approached repeated with offers to rent our home.   In 2008 we finally made the jump and listed the Porter Beach House on  www.homeaway.com and also on  www.vrbo.com .   I prepared our first website later that year.    The McLarneys learned of our success and decided to follow our example and asked if I would be their property manager in 2010.  That gave birth to PORTER VACATION RENTALS, a company dedicated to helping families, friends, or associates spend quality time together near the BEACH.

I’ve learned an amazing amount over the years. I keep the books, answer the inquiries, complete everything required for a booking, do most of the technical upkeep of website and rental listings, while keeping  the Houses in good repair.   I love what I do but of course I could never do it alone.   I receive great support from Gary, my 7 children, their spouses, and my 11 grandchildren.  Suze Loeffler, a fellow property manager, gave me pointer and direction during my first year.  Amy Swain, the director of our cleaning service has become a beloved friend and I could not accomplish what I do with out her.  She is my eyes and ears when I can not be in Oceanside.  My daughter, Hillary Porter, is our photographer and her work can be seen both at our website and decorating the wall of the Porter Beach House.   David Nuttall, my son-in-law, is our media specialist–creating our logo and video tours.  Jonathan and Tana McNiven recently put together our new website, which greatly improved our “google search ability”.  Last but not least, I need to thank all the past and future guests of the Porter and McLarney Beach Houses.  Thank you for choosing to stay with us.  Thank you for letting me learn while I do the best I can to make your stay a pleasant experience.

Although being a Vacation Property Manager is a lot of work there is nothing better than helping families and friends come together, to have a great time, in a great place.  It’s why I always love to say, “We’ve saved you a spot on the BEACH.  Come visit us soon!”