Our Five Ring Circus: Vacation Day 1: Assateague Island and Ocean City, Maryland

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Vacation Day 1: Assateague Island and Ocean City, Maryland

We recently went on a mini-vacation with our close friends.  It was Dylan, Lexie, and Lily's first time at the ocean!  Dylan and Lexie have been to lake beaches before, but the ocean beaches are much different, and much better!

I love the beach! I hadn't been to the ocean since I was pregnant with Dylan.  I was really looking forward to spending a lot of time on the beach.  Unfortunately, Lily chose the day we left for vacation to get really sick, so my time was spent holding her.  It was very stressful while we were gone.  She is so easy-going, but while she was sick, she only wanted me.  She would scream the moment I would sit her down or walk away.  So I held her.

While I could focus on how bad the timing was, and how stressful it was, I choose not to.  Instead, I will remember the excitement on Dylan and Lexie's faces when they saw the ocean for the first time.  I will remember how nice it felt to sit, with my baby girl curled up against my chest, while watching the ocean.  I will remember how relaxed I felt when I sat on the balcony at night, after the kids were in bed, listening to the waves.  I will remember the gorgeous sun rise I witnessed for the first time.  I will remember how much Dylan and Lexie loved the ocean, and the fun they had crashing through the waves.

Our vacation may not have been technically perfect, but it was pretty close! We've decided that a trip to the beach is going to be one of our yearly vacations!

So...moving on to day 1!

We woke up at 3 AM, and we were out the door by 3:25.  We met our friends at a nearby gas station to gas up our cars and get drinks.  Surprisingly, our 3 kidlets were wide awake, and ready to go!

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We got to watch the sun rise over the mountains as we drove.  We couldn't believe that it starts getting bright out at 4:15 in the morning!

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We made a pit stop at 6 AM (diaper explosion!!!), and later stopped in Annapolis for breakfast. Soon after breakfast, we went over Bay Bridge.  It's a several mile long bridge that stretches over the bay.  The kids were absolutely amazed at how big the bay was, and thought it was the ocean!

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It was actually a fun drive.  The kids were well behaved, despite a few are-we-there-yets, and enjoyed sight-seeing. We had noticed that Lily still had a low fever from the night before, but she was so well behaved in the car!   

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We couldn't check into our condo until 1:30, so our first destination was Assateague Island.  I am a horse lover, so it was a place I've always wanted to see.  I won't lie.  I actually teared up when I first spotted some horses on the beach.

Assateague Island is gorgeous!  We drove around looking at everything, and then parked the car and started to walk, so we could get closer to the horses.

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This picture?  Pretty much foreshadows how our vacation was going to go!

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After seeing the horses, we walked over to the beautiful beach, so the kids could see the ocean up close.  I will never forget the looks on their faces.  They were mesmerized.

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We decided to let the kids be kids, and play in the waves, even though they didn't have suits on.  They ended up soaked, but it was worth it!

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These pictures make me so happy!  I love this group of kids with all my heart!

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It was difficult getting the kids to leave the beach. As we were leaving, Dylan found exactly what he was looking for...

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I was sad to leave. Assateague was amazing.

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But...our condo in Ocean City was awesome.  We had an oceanfront condo on the 19th floor. The view was incredible!!!

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Each bedroom had a bay window with a view of the ocean to one side and a view of the bay to the other.  There was a big balcony that faced the ocean, and another on the side that we all avoided!

Once we got settled in and unpacked, we headed down to the beach for a swim!

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Watching my kids explore the ocean for the first time was wonderful.  Dylan and Lexie quickly fell in love with the beach!  The baby slept through all the fun, under the shade of a beach umbrella.  We stayed until the sun started to set, and we were reluctant to leave.

Waiting for us in the condo was a delicious spaghetti dinner!  We all ate together, and then put the kids to bed.

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At that point, the adults got to sit on the balcony to enjoy the view and the sound of the waves.  The moon was incredible that night!  It started out bright red, and then gradually changed until it was shining over the ocean.

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It was so beautiful!  It was the perfect end to our first day of vacation!

12 comments:

  1. Love the fun at the beach! Great pictures!

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  2. I love the ocean too!!! It looks like the bigger kids had a blast playing in the water!

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  3. It looks like day 1 was a success. Isn't it funny that when you think the kids will sleep (i.e. 3 a.m.), they are WIDE awake?? Our kids did that when we left to go to North Carolina.

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  4. What an awesome re-cap. I had no idea that's where you guys went - we are only about 3 hours from OC, MD (based in Baltimore!), so you were pretty close by!

    I still love that Lily will fall asleep anywhere - that girl is so cute!

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  5. I love that you went ahead and let the kids play in the water even though they weren't suited up!

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  6. What a fun trip to the beach! I hate that Lexie was sick...poor thing! But she sure did look cute in her swim suit:)

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  7. Great recap. Great pictures. Glad you had fun despite that Lily was sick. Poor thing.

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  8. I appreciate it when my friends can admit "It wasn't perfect, but we made the best of it and had fun anyway!" Your moon pic is just gorgeous!!

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  9. Sounds like so much fun! As always such great pics!!! I want to go there some day to see the horses!

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  10. Love Assateague! Looks like a wonderful day and especially love the sweet pic of baby sleeping :)

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  11. I am meeting my family for a few days during their beach vacation and am excited for my little guys to see the ocean! So glad Lexie and Dylan loved it so much! At least poor little Lily won't remember her rough first trip to the beach...

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  12. Gorgeous, too bad Lilly was sick :(

    Makes me miss the west coast, sigh.

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