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1.15.2015

there's a beach in Delaware?

I sit here on this dreary January day, sipping hot tea and thinking back to fun times last summer to help warm me up.

The last day of July we overloaded the Swagger Wagon and headed north to visit with Ian's Dad at his new vacation house near Rehoboth Beach.  

Time wasn't exactly our friend that Thursday as we traveled.  Funny thing is the kids just couldn't understand how it could possibly take so long to get to the beach.  We kept telling them that we were going to Delaware and they were blown away by the fact that people went to the beach outside of North Carolina.  (Bless their "we're from central NC where the beach is only a two hour drive" little hearts)  Between rush-hour traffic in Norfolk and my personal nightmare that is the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (seriously, long tunnels underwater AND long, low expanses of bridge over open water? I still shiver when I think about it...) we arrived several hours after we had intended.  

And while it was well past bedtime for our munchkins, there was the excitement of checking out a new pad.  Every door had to be opened, every cabinet inspected, and the fridge simply had to be raided...it had been at least two hours since dinner after all.  Despite how sidetracked they got, it didn't take long for our five to determine that the bonus room (next to the bedroom Ian and I were assigned) would be a great place for them to claim as their own.  
who needs a bed when you've got your camping mat and a sleeping bag?
Friday morning we had a slow start to the day, complete with some freshly made goodies from a local bakery.  We adults had a bit of relaxing on the brain, but it didn't take long for the kids to start asking about going to play in the sand...after all, we were at Grandpa's beach house.  So despite the grey skies and the much cooler weather than we're accustomed to in August at the beach, we headed off to Cape Henlopen State Park.

At first they insisted they were going to swim.


About that...

Let's just say the water was a bit cooler than my southern gang is used to.  They charged full force toward the water and when it covered their ankles, they came running back even faster than they had run in.  Squeals of shock were mixed with the pounding of the surf.  Swimming was no longer on the list of the day's events, but thankfully the rocks provided endless entertainment.


The combination of the cold, lots of play and our late hours the previous night caught up with my little guy.  I knew when he asked me to hold him where it was headed.  And I savored every minute of him sleeping in my arms as I'm smart enough to realize these moments won't last forever.


While Daniel slept, the others explored the beach.  Among other interests, there were a WWII bunker to investigate, a dog to run, and shells to collect.


And there was sand.  Glorious sand.

i can't believe how much his face has changed from those baby cheeks last summer!
We played a bit of beach soccer and tossed around a football and then finally decided it was time to head back to Grandpa's house to warm up a bit.  Showers and dinner were on the list, and then we got to head to the famed Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk.


We enjoyed boardwalk fries from Thrasher's, frozen custard from Kohr's, and ~ taking a step into Ian's past ~ Funland.  Having grown up at the quiet, family style Sunset Beach, I was anxious to see the place he so fondly remembered from his childhood.


And I certainly wanted to watch him play Frog Bog.

Because in his mind his performance at the game was legendary.


40 years old and he still had the Midas touch.


And we have plenty of cheap, carnie prizes to show for it.

Thank goodness it was stuffed monkeys and not hermit crabs though!


The rest of the trip was filled with a visit to a shipwreck museum, more time on the beach, and more eating than should have been done over a three day span.

The good news is that we learned Rehoboth isn't quite as far as we had feared.  And we're looking forward to our next trip!

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