Life is Better at the Beach

The first few days back to work after a lovely vacation in Corolla, OBX... 

Ouch, it's really hurt getting up in the morning. I'd rather be lounging at the beach. And by lounging I mean those few precious half-hour breaks when someone was sleeping... (see above.)

I miss the ocean air and the yes, the sand, even though it keeps showing up everywhere, including Rowan's diaper. That kid thought it was an all you can eat sand buffet. Forget the seafood, he was shoveling handfuls into his mouth faster than the tide washes away a deserted beach bucket.

Every little shop or restaurant you visit or beach house you stay in has these quaint little signs with thoughtful little sayings about how wonderful it is to be at the beach. They're all right, you know. Noah had the time of this life. We saw wild horses at dusk, Rowan felt the ocean water on his toes for the first time and we were able to just "be" for 7 whole days. Life is better at the beach.

Barring all the sand I'll be finding in my house for the next 6 months, for moms, the beach is a let your hair down soulful sigh. You can go without make up except for going out to dinner, your kids can live in their swim suits and you have two wonderful natural activities built right into your trip. The pool and the beach. Hallelujah! We reveled with a great group of friends and between us, there were 10 children in all ranging in age from 1 to 12 (including three six year-old boys with energy to burn!)  The kids had an absolute blast. They played and swam (and ate!) until they dropped. Around 9 p.m. every night, which was excellent, allowing us parents to have some much needed down time. Except for those of us with the smaller children, who just as easily passed out from exhaustion at 9:05 p.m. A day full of sun and salt air (and chasing toddlers down the beach) really helps you hit the pillow and snooze!

We so love going to the Outer Banks, that almost immediately, we start thinking about the next trip... identify houses that we want to look up on-line for next year and count the days until we can go back. 

Getting there and back home, now that's a different story all together. There are some who scoff at the thought of driving 10 hours with children in tow. I don't dismiss their looks and comments... they are not wrong, it's certainly not first class on Virgin Air. The SUV was packed to within an inch of its life and my back was sore. The trip down spoiled us because the mood was light, the kids were perfect and we stopped overnight half-way to our destination. We woke rested and excited to get to the beach so those few hours left to drive was no North Carolina sweat... easy peasy. The trip back was an alternate universe. We got up early, we were tired, we drove for 11 hours (that includes bathroom breaks and diaper changes, gas and lunch) and Rowan cried for about 8 of those 11 long hours in the car. His ears were popping and he's normally plagued with ear infections so he was not feeling the best. Thank the heavens above for my sweet, amazing sister-in-law who (along with our 12 year-old niece and Rowan's new fav) had the hot seat next to Rowan because, well, if I sat there, he'd want me to get him out, happy baby boy or not. 

We all but put on a dog and pony show in that vehicle, she and I.  She is a regular Mary Poppins... always has been and she was a live saver. She gave until all of her tricks and tactics were spent and then we sent in the artillery. Mama. I sang and stroked hair and she passed snacks and toys and we were able to glean two tiny naps out of our uncomfortable 'lil fella... and a few stretches of solace (thank you animal crackers). 

Now, don't let this anxiety-ridden car ride back paint a grim picture of our vacation. It was fantastic. We had a week off, we went to the beach with family and friends and we could not have asked for better weather or surroundings. We were at the ocean - what could be bad about that? The ride back was the only bummer. My husband and I played that game back home on Monday on our way to get groceries... what would we do differently? I would have packed this or left that at home... we should have done this or that would have made things easier with the baby... 

When I had a chance to recap the trip with my mother-in-law...  I mentioned the few things we wished we would have thought of or done differently. She said this, 'I think back to dozens of years ago when we were taking family vacations. Some of those times I thought I'd never been more uncomfortable or hot or inconvenienced and thought, this is supposed to be a vacation? But, when I looked at the pictures I realized that it was the only way to make those memories..." At that point, all of my babble about forgetting toys or not getting to do this or that slipped right out of my mind.

Cheers summer vacation 2011. It was everything we'd hoped for and we can't wait until next year.