First Visit to Virginia Beach, First Landing State Park/Research Trip

We've been pretty housebound since the move a few months ago, and I've been getting antsy.  After thinking about the fact that we really haven't explored much of Virginia at all, we decided to hit the beach.  In typical family fashion we decided this about 24 hours before our trip-spontaneity is kind of a family trait for us.  So we started South for what the map says is a three hour drive without traffic (haha!).

There is no such things as "without traffic" around here, but eventually we made it to the boardwalk.  On first impression, it immediately reminded me of other East coast beach towns (especially with the plains flying advertisements over the water).  We found some street parking and made it to the sand, which was extremely hot as it was probably over 90 degrees-perfect beach weather.  The heat drove us straight into the waves. The kids had a great time chasing the waves, Brian played marine biologist (which, to be fair, is one of his degrees) by rescuing a shark egg case, and I enjoyed the shade from the umbrella we rented on the beach.

After a few hours, we headed to our hotel (we love using priceline to find hotels now) and changed and rested a bit before heading back to the boardwalk for the evening.  After hearing the wait times at a few restaurants (I don't do more than five minutes now-a-days) we finally found a place that had some pretty good pizza, and gelato!  We then rented a family bicycle which was kind of perfect for getting around the board walk without our children dictating a slow pace.  We weren't sure we'd fit in the smallest size bike (but didn't want the weight of a large one with only two peddlers), but we did.  Elijah and Thomas sat in the basket the first half, until Thomas started wiggling and we traded him with Theo.  It was great to see all the street entertainment and we even stopped for a bit to watch a one-man play about the Dictator ship wreck that had my boys all captivated.

The next morning, we decided to go for an early hike at First Landing State Park, as we wanted to check out some of the swamps the area is famous for.  Like the nearby Great Dismal Swamp, this state park is come to a very unique bald Cypress swamp.  (Who ever thought I'd want to go to a swamp on vacation... I think I've officially come to terms with being a boy mom.)  We picked up a $0.50 trail guide (the older boys earned a quarter each for playing the quiet game earlier on the road), and enjoyed the very easy hike through this beautiful ecosystem.  Bald Cypress Nature Trail is located right behind the visitors' center, and is less than two miles making it great for the kids.  We tried to carry Thomas in his carrier, but he ended up just being carried in our arms most of the hike.  A good jogging stroller may be able to make it through most of the trail, but we didn't want to try that.  For families worried about the distance of the trail, at least walk back through the boardwalk and check out the beautiful swamp.  It is something.  The Spanish moss, and bald cypress trees with their knees was exactly what you think of when you hear the word swamp.  The boys claimed it was a little scary, but I thought it was perfectly mystical.

We headed back to the beach, this time traveling a little farther away from the crowds down past the oceanfront to Sandbridge beach.  Unlike the West Coast which is a rocky coast with lots of cliffs and tide pools, I remembered the East coast has many more sand bars with bay and ocean sides.  The coastline consists of marshes, swamps, and islands connected by bridges.  I had hoped we could just keep on going down the coast line and venture into North Carolina just a bit (I've never been to this border state of ours), but alas there is a Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in the way that is the end of the road.  If any of our boys ever get really into airplanes though, we can take them to Kitty Hawk because we were so close to it, but needed to take a different route to get into North Carolina.  Nonetheless, Sandbridge was nice, with less crowds (but also less amenities, no bathrooms, umbrellas for rent, restaurants, or shops).  We had a hoard of ghost crabs that were torturing me (though no else seemed to be scared of them) and enjoyed our time, especially making a castle/playpen for the babe.

My husband, ever the scientist, actually brought some glassware down so he could collect some of the ocean water to use in his lab (and good news, he was able to make a marinobacter virus after working late all week after our trip).

(Written July 21, photos added a month later.)

Cape May/Wildwoods

We wanted to head for the beach a few days ago while my little sister was here, and instead of going the usual route to Rehoboth, we wanted a change of scenery.  So we headed across the bridge to New Jersey for a nice day in the sun.

We picked Wildwoods, because they are one of the free beaches in Jersey.  Apparently you have to buy "beach badges" to go to a lot of the other ones.  We had a quick lunch at Marvis Diner before heading on to find the board walk.  The sand was hotttt, causing us to immediately run in and find the waves.  Theodore loved it, and we spent a lot of time keeping him from eating the fine grained particles.

After enough time for Brian to get thoroughly pink (he spent so much time putting sun screen on T he apparently forgot to do himself), we headed on over to see the quaint little town of Cape May.  The town is fairly equivalent to Lewes in Delaware (a ferry connects the two), and is full of bed & breakfasts, beautiful homes, and lots of beautiful blooming hydrangeas in a variety of colors.  We stopped by the lighthouse here.

Next, we stopped at the Cape May Winery and did a quick tasting while Erin and Theo napped in the car.  I enjoyed their Isaac Smith apple wine.  The vineyards and facilities were quite beautiful, and a nice end cap to the day.

On the drive back, we stopped at an ice cream stop that had truly unique flavors and mixes of ice cream.  Erin enjoyed her black raspberry, while my monster cookie was slightly outdone by Brian's scoops of funfetti cake-both were delicious.  It was definitely worth the stop, but I can't remember the name of the place.  I guess we will just have to go back... :)

In Lewes

So back in June, we spent a few nights in Lewes while I had a training down there and Brian didn't want to stay in Newark alone with the baby. Here are a few pics:

Brian and the baby spent a lot of time admiring the "Cannonball House."


And spent some time planning for their future boating adventures.

We went back to Cape Henlopen, where Theodore became the cutest little beach baby ever.

We also enjoyed a fancy, delicious meal at Kindle. And of course, as is our tradition, found the best ice cream in town at King's Ice Cream Shoppe. Otherwise, we just enjoyed spending time strolling the streets and admiring all the beach front houses, and chatting with the very friendly locals.

Day Trip: Summer Lovin'

When I checked the weather report for Saturday morning (something I almost never do) I automatically decided that "80 degrees, Abundant Sunshine" was code for get-to-the-beach. Brian and I packed up and headed down to Rehoboth Beach for a few relaxing hours in the sun.

It's about an hour and a half drive, so we we got there a little after noon we were already a little hungry. We conveniently parked near this restaurant, and decided it was about time that we finally try it out. The burgers were okay (a little overdone for our taste), and the brews were really good. We ate outside on the patio under the umbrella.

After feeding the meter again (note-they only take quarters, and cost about $1.50 an hour), we then found some empty sand on the beach and commenced reading and relaxing. I finished "The Stranger" by Albert Camus (not at all a beach read, I only read it b/c Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize, I wouldn't recommend the book). We spent just a few minutes in the chilly water, and got a kick out of the retro airplane advertisements that occasionally passed through the sky.
Once we had enough sun, we grabbed some popcorn from this stand (nothing special) and then headed back up to Newark.
On the way, we stopped at this stand just south of Dover. I think it was the 3rd or 4th time we've been there now. It always has pretty good looking produce. We got some asparagus, cherries, and strawberries among other things.