Shore was a Beauty!
What an excellent week we had last week as we spent the whole week down the Jersey Shore with our friends the Durham's (Jennifer, John and Paige) and Jennifer's brother, Steve (AKA Uncle Beek), and the family dogs, Duff, Max and Ruby!
Vacation started nice and early on Saturday morning, finalized the packing of the car and all three humans and one dog loaded up and off we went in hopes to make it down to Avalon by about 9 am to do the grocery shopping and get to the house by 10 am. We didn't do too bad, we made it to the house by 10:30 am. We got our unpacking done and putting the groceries away and by the time we were done, the Durham's arrived. We got them unpacked, the tent up in the backyard (where Uncle Beek got to sleep so he could be unmolested by the three dogs in the living room!) and after a quick bite for lunch (and off to Kohler's to put in our donut order for Sunday morning), we were off to the beach! Wow, we NEVER get to the beach on Saturday!
The beach was beautiful. And the water was WARM! I swear it only got warmer throughout the week. It was glorious! And Leda, man, is she her mother's daughter...walked right into that ocean and let the waves knock her around, but got herself right back up and walked right back in. I swear she was body surfing before we headed back to the house on that first day!
And basically, except for a few deviations, that was our week! We had great weather...when it rained, it rained at night and though it was hot, the breeze felt good and the water was so nice! We made it to the beach most every day (except 2, I think!)
On Sunday, after picking up our lot of Kohler's donuts for the week (Yum!) Uncle Beek, John and Paige and Leda and I walked across the street and went to Church. Now, it's been quite some time since I had been in a Catholic Church for a Sunday service but John and Paige were going and Leda wanted to go with Paige. I figured what the heck, right...We got seated and Leda looked all around, checked out all the stain glass windows, the missals, the people coming in and as soon as the processional started, she leaned over to me and said, "Mommy, I don't like Church, it's boring!" Oh, boy, was this going well! Well, we somehow made it through the mass and Leda even said hello and shook the hand of the Priest as we left the building. And I wasn't struck down by the hand of God! It was a good morning all in all!
Later that night, after a bike ride, a trip down to the beach again, a great seafood dinner, we were treated to an awesome thunderstorm...nature's fireworks. The sunset that occured during the storm that seemed to pass just to our south, but showed some awesome lightening strikes was beautiful...like the sky was on fire. And yes, I got pictures!
On Monday, Paige came down with a stomach bug which kept her and Jennifer in bed and back at the house for the day. Brock and I took Leda down to the beach and John joined us for a few minutes while Uncle Beek took a bike ride to Cape May and back (he's nuts! ;-) By Tuesday, Paige was feeling better, so we headed out for a boat ride out into the ocean. It was a sunny and hot day, but it felt nice on the boat. The ocean was an experience! We'd been out there once before, but only for a brief ride up and back when Leda was but a baby. This time, the guys were going to attempt a little fishing and we were thinking about having a little lunch out there!
As we motored down the coast, just off the beaches of Avalon, we noticed schools of fish jumping out of the water, making it look as if it were boiling. We were wondering what was making them do that when all of a sudden, just off the boat toward the shoreline, we saw them...a pod of dolphins! There must have been 6 or 7 or maybe even 8 of them, swimming around out there! It was just so awesome! And, heck yes, I got pictures!
Click on this one and then click on All Sizes and select Large or Original...you can see the dolphin's faces!
After the dolphins swam off, the boat was turned off and the guys got to fishing. The kids were down in the cabin watching videos and I was about to break open my book when Leda came up and announced she wasn't feeling well. Oh boy, we thought that now she had come down with what Paige had had the day before. And not in a great place either! She said she was hungry, and that was probably why her tummy hurt, so Jennifer got her some applesauce and she seemed better. It was about that time that we see the dolphins again, a little closer, but off the bow of the boat out toward the ocean. And yes, we got more pictures (Jennifer was on the bow of the boat and got these, as she was closer!)
Better yet, I got video! Not the best, but it's still video! (and ignore the yelling a screaming...we were all a little amazed by the whole thing!)
Not a few minutes after that, Leda came back up on deck and announced she really didn't feel well. Lucky for us we had a bucket, and after a few false alarms, she let go...turns out our little sailor gets a little seasick when out on the rolling ocean! Poor thing. She ended up falling asleep in my arms while I tried to fight the seasick feeling myself. The boys, after failing to catch anything, decided to pack it in and motor back into the bay. After we made it back into the bay, there were some munchies pulled out and the kid, who had slept for about a half hour, woke up and had a few chips...yep, thank goodness it wasn't the stomach bug, just seasickness, but she got over it quick!
After we made it back to the house, had a late lunch, we headed back down to the beach for some fun in the sun and sand and surf! It was another beautiful beach day.
Wednesday was a little overcast. There were threats of storms, so we decided, after a late big breakfast to head off to Wildwood and walk the boardwalk and ride the rides for the afternoon before heading home for a late dinner. Boy did we have fun. Leda rode a bunch of rides, the penultimate being the Log Flume (twice!) and the Ferris Wheel (while her mother will ride the log flume without much issue, she was firmly planted on the boardwalk during the ride on the Ferris Wheel!) There was game playing in the arcade and some french fries were eaten and some boardwalk games were played! We visited all three amusement piers (there were a lot of 'barking dogs' that night!) and Uncle Beek was the bravest of us all and rode two Xtreme bungee type rides! (yep, told you he was nuts! ;-)
It threatened to rain all day, but, despite a few rain drops here and there, it was another good day. Hot, but good. Thursday was another beauty, when the wind was back off the ocean (meaning no biting flies!) and so we made it down the beach again! Leda and I came back a little early because she got sand in the eye (it was a bit windy on the beach!) and later that evening, Clamfest 2009 commenced...the boys bought 75 little neck and larger clams for appetizer and Uncle Beek made linguine in clam sauce for dinner. Leda joined the boys in the devouring of the little clams (she likes those best!) and we have video to prove that you are never too young to love eating clams!
Friday was another beach day, our last in fact. We spent a good portion of the day on the beach and in the surf. Even Jennifer made it out into the warm water! Wow! Uncle Beek went for another bike ride (shorter this time, probably due to getting a nail in the tire and having to have the bike repaired!) and didn't join us on the beach, but we think he tired himself out the day before when he spent like 4 hours in the water boogie boarding! Yes, 4 hours, non-stop!!!! Again, nuts! But we love him! ;-)
Saturday we packed up the cars, cleaned the house and headed home. And somehow took a different way home and missed all the going home traffic! Yes, we will be taking that route home again! We had a blast at the beach again this year, due to the great weather, but mostly due to the wonderful vacation companions we have! Even Ruby the crazy-chew-everything-wake-me-up-every-morning dog! ;-) Can't wait until next year!!
Click here to view pictures from the week!
Vacation started nice and early on Saturday morning, finalized the packing of the car and all three humans and one dog loaded up and off we went in hopes to make it down to Avalon by about 9 am to do the grocery shopping and get to the house by 10 am. We didn't do too bad, we made it to the house by 10:30 am. We got our unpacking done and putting the groceries away and by the time we were done, the Durham's arrived. We got them unpacked, the tent up in the backyard (where Uncle Beek got to sleep so he could be unmolested by the three dogs in the living room!) and after a quick bite for lunch (and off to Kohler's to put in our donut order for Sunday morning), we were off to the beach! Wow, we NEVER get to the beach on Saturday!
The beach was beautiful. And the water was WARM! I swear it only got warmer throughout the week. It was glorious! And Leda, man, is she her mother's daughter...walked right into that ocean and let the waves knock her around, but got herself right back up and walked right back in. I swear she was body surfing before we headed back to the house on that first day!
And basically, except for a few deviations, that was our week! We had great weather...when it rained, it rained at night and though it was hot, the breeze felt good and the water was so nice! We made it to the beach most every day (except 2, I think!)
On Sunday, after picking up our lot of Kohler's donuts for the week (Yum!) Uncle Beek, John and Paige and Leda and I walked across the street and went to Church. Now, it's been quite some time since I had been in a Catholic Church for a Sunday service but John and Paige were going and Leda wanted to go with Paige. I figured what the heck, right...We got seated and Leda looked all around, checked out all the stain glass windows, the missals, the people coming in and as soon as the processional started, she leaned over to me and said, "Mommy, I don't like Church, it's boring!" Oh, boy, was this going well! Well, we somehow made it through the mass and Leda even said hello and shook the hand of the Priest as we left the building. And I wasn't struck down by the hand of God! It was a good morning all in all!
Later that night, after a bike ride, a trip down to the beach again, a great seafood dinner, we were treated to an awesome thunderstorm...nature's fireworks. The sunset that occured during the storm that seemed to pass just to our south, but showed some awesome lightening strikes was beautiful...like the sky was on fire. And yes, I got pictures!
On Monday, Paige came down with a stomach bug which kept her and Jennifer in bed and back at the house for the day. Brock and I took Leda down to the beach and John joined us for a few minutes while Uncle Beek took a bike ride to Cape May and back (he's nuts! ;-) By Tuesday, Paige was feeling better, so we headed out for a boat ride out into the ocean. It was a sunny and hot day, but it felt nice on the boat. The ocean was an experience! We'd been out there once before, but only for a brief ride up and back when Leda was but a baby. This time, the guys were going to attempt a little fishing and we were thinking about having a little lunch out there!
As we motored down the coast, just off the beaches of Avalon, we noticed schools of fish jumping out of the water, making it look as if it were boiling. We were wondering what was making them do that when all of a sudden, just off the boat toward the shoreline, we saw them...a pod of dolphins! There must have been 6 or 7 or maybe even 8 of them, swimming around out there! It was just so awesome! And, heck yes, I got pictures!
Click on this one and then click on All Sizes and select Large or Original...you can see the dolphin's faces!
After the dolphins swam off, the boat was turned off and the guys got to fishing. The kids were down in the cabin watching videos and I was about to break open my book when Leda came up and announced she wasn't feeling well. Oh boy, we thought that now she had come down with what Paige had had the day before. And not in a great place either! She said she was hungry, and that was probably why her tummy hurt, so Jennifer got her some applesauce and she seemed better. It was about that time that we see the dolphins again, a little closer, but off the bow of the boat out toward the ocean. And yes, we got more pictures (Jennifer was on the bow of the boat and got these, as she was closer!)
Better yet, I got video! Not the best, but it's still video! (and ignore the yelling a screaming...we were all a little amazed by the whole thing!)
Not a few minutes after that, Leda came back up on deck and announced she really didn't feel well. Lucky for us we had a bucket, and after a few false alarms, she let go...turns out our little sailor gets a little seasick when out on the rolling ocean! Poor thing. She ended up falling asleep in my arms while I tried to fight the seasick feeling myself. The boys, after failing to catch anything, decided to pack it in and motor back into the bay. After we made it back into the bay, there were some munchies pulled out and the kid, who had slept for about a half hour, woke up and had a few chips...yep, thank goodness it wasn't the stomach bug, just seasickness, but she got over it quick!
After we made it back to the house, had a late lunch, we headed back down to the beach for some fun in the sun and sand and surf! It was another beautiful beach day.
Wednesday was a little overcast. There were threats of storms, so we decided, after a late big breakfast to head off to Wildwood and walk the boardwalk and ride the rides for the afternoon before heading home for a late dinner. Boy did we have fun. Leda rode a bunch of rides, the penultimate being the Log Flume (twice!) and the Ferris Wheel (while her mother will ride the log flume without much issue, she was firmly planted on the boardwalk during the ride on the Ferris Wheel!) There was game playing in the arcade and some french fries were eaten and some boardwalk games were played! We visited all three amusement piers (there were a lot of 'barking dogs' that night!) and Uncle Beek was the bravest of us all and rode two Xtreme bungee type rides! (yep, told you he was nuts! ;-)
It threatened to rain all day, but, despite a few rain drops here and there, it was another good day. Hot, but good. Thursday was another beauty, when the wind was back off the ocean (meaning no biting flies!) and so we made it down the beach again! Leda and I came back a little early because she got sand in the eye (it was a bit windy on the beach!) and later that evening, Clamfest 2009 commenced...the boys bought 75 little neck and larger clams for appetizer and Uncle Beek made linguine in clam sauce for dinner. Leda joined the boys in the devouring of the little clams (she likes those best!) and we have video to prove that you are never too young to love eating clams!
Friday was another beach day, our last in fact. We spent a good portion of the day on the beach and in the surf. Even Jennifer made it out into the warm water! Wow! Uncle Beek went for another bike ride (shorter this time, probably due to getting a nail in the tire and having to have the bike repaired!) and didn't join us on the beach, but we think he tired himself out the day before when he spent like 4 hours in the water boogie boarding! Yes, 4 hours, non-stop!!!! Again, nuts! But we love him! ;-)
Saturday we packed up the cars, cleaned the house and headed home. And somehow took a different way home and missed all the going home traffic! Yes, we will be taking that route home again! We had a blast at the beach again this year, due to the great weather, but mostly due to the wonderful vacation companions we have! Even Ruby the crazy-chew-everything-wake-me-up-every-morning dog! ;-) Can't wait until next year!!
Click here to view pictures from the week!
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