Fun-seekers at Bar Beach, Victoria Island, Lagos State
Vacations are trips or outings that allow individuals or families to take time off from their various jobs to indulge in recreational activities like camping, traveling to beautiful tourist destinations, or road trips. They typically serve as periods of relaxation and exploration of other areas of interest for individuals who embark on them. Many individuals have made it a custom to go on vacations as it exposes them to unique and memorable experiences.
Although I am conservative by nature, I find pleasure in activities such as road trips and sightseeing and have also gone on some interesting vacations. During my childhood, neighbours shared intimate relationships and regarded themselves as family. Consequently, it was common to see them visit each other often and go on special trips together. My family had this kind of relationship with our neighbours in our area of residence during this period. However, among all of our neighbours, we were closer to the Olujimi family.
The Olujimis were well known in our neighborhood because of their amazing restaurant. Mr. Jaiye Olujimi, AKA Chef J. J, a Master Chef and recipient of the prestigious "Maggi Cooking Award" in the late 1980s, ran the restaurant with his supportive wife, Mrs. Olujimi. Their son, Ola, was my closest friend at the time, and we both did a lot of fun activities together.
I was elated when Chef J. J came over to our house on a particular weekend during a long school holiday to seek my dad's permission so that I could accompany his family on a vacation to the renowned Bar Beach in Victoria Island. Before he came over to our house, I had expressed my desire to join the Olujimis on their trip to the beach to Ola, who had told me earlier about his family's planned vacation. My dad's approval of Chef J. J's request made me more excited as it would allow me to visit a beach for the first time in my life. Afterward, my dad and I expressed our gratitude to Chef J. J for the invitation as he took his leave from our house. I became overwhelmed with joy after his departure and keenly anticipated the scheduled day of the vacation.
The scheduled day for the vacation eventually arrived, and we set out on our trip to Bar Beach. During the drive to our destination in Chef J. J's minivan, I sat by the window looking at the surroundings of the areas we passed through. I was particularly fascinated by the scenery and network of roads and bridges at the Marina, in Lagos Island. It was a sight that I did not come across often.
After a few hours of driving, we finally arrived at Bar Beach. We parked the minivan after gaining entry to the beach and subsequently set up an open tent in a nice spot on its shore. The atmosphere of the beach was just incredible: clement weather, many fun-seekers including foreigners, horse riding tours, pleasant music playing at event centers, and irregular sea tides and currents sweeping the beach's coastline.
Ola, his siblings, and I took some cold drinks from the cooler after we had settled down, waiting to be served Jollof Rice by his mom. Meanwhile, his dad, Chef J. J, was also preparing some barbecue for everyone. The Jollof rice and barbecue we had at the beach were both exquisite in taste and a testament to the Olujimis' culinary expertise.
After we finished our meal, we decided to explore the beach. Everyone went for a swim except me, as they were all good swimmers. I chose to sit on the mat and enjoyed watching them demonstrate their skills while swimming. Later on, we took up the art of moulding different objects and figures with the beach's sand after everyone had finished swimming. We had so much fun during this activity and also got to cover Chef J. J in moulds of sand!
Horse riding was the next activity we engaged in after building moulded sand castles! This experience was thrilling for me as I had never ridden a horse before that time. We had horsemen accompany us on our rides because of our young age and inexperience riding horses. However, we took charge of the reins during the rides under the guidance of our respective horsemen. Although we were clumsy in our initial sets of rides, we eventually got a grasp of how to do it correctly. This particular experience was special to me.
Immediately after we finished horse riding, we went for a long walk along the coastline of the beach. We found this exercise refreshing and a great way to feel the cool breeze of the beach. After walking over a long distance and noticing the setting sun, we decided to head back to our tent and leave the beach for the lodge that was reserved for the trip. Chef J. J indulged us a bit more by getting us a large cup of ice cream as we made our way to the beautifully furnished lodge where we spent the night. We returned home the following day.
Although the vacation I spent with the Olujimis was a short one, it is the best I have ever had because of my incredible companions and the novel experiences the trip exposed me to.
The end.
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