After two weeks of vacation, our sweet little old house never looked and felt so good.
Though I enjoy a vacation, and especially love one to the beach, nothing makes you appreciate home more than being away from it.
We headed out at the end of June for a weeks vacation with Ben’s family to Bald Head Island, North Carolina. And let me tell you something…if you’ve never been to Bald Head Island, put it on your bucket list.
It’s a small island on the southern coast of North Carolina. Only accessible by ferry, cars aren’t permitted and you travel around the island only by feet, bikes, or golf carts. This is our second trip back to the island, and I loved it just as much this year as I did last.
This year was a major change compared to last year because PB could walk run. I’m not quite sure we sat still the entire trip. He was in to everything. He loved the pool.
He wouldn’t touch the ocean that first week. I think it was partially because the water was cooler there. By the end of the week, he was trying to swim and running and jumping in the water like a maniac.
We had a marsh out back from the house we stayed in. I’ll go ahead and add ‘marsh’ to the top 5 irrational things I’m scared of. I mean seriously, could you imagine falling off of the boardwalk into a snake/crab/alligator pit? I cringe just thinking about it.
We had a wonderful time getting to see Ben’s family and catching up with everyone. PB loved all of the attention and extra playmates.
Oh, and you’ve totally got to see this house. Ben’s dad and stepmom have two dear friends who own a house on the island. We first went to their house last year, and I was totally blown away. Lisa, a designer, and her husband Ron, have totally transformed their digs into a magazine worthy abode. Here’s a link to their BHI home, featured in Lonny magazine. That’s Lisa and the house on the cover, and the article starts on page 198. I’m now convinced we need a bubble chair in our house.
On Saturday, we got on the ferry and headed back to the mainland. Southport, North Carolina is the town where the ferry docks and loads, so we decided to grab a quick bite to eat at Fishy Fish Cafe before heading back on the road.
After lunch, I was convinced I needed an ice cream sandwich for dessert, so Ben and PB walked down the street and found what they thought to be a little market.
It turns out, they had stumbled onto the set of ‘Safe Haven’, the new Nicolas Sparks movie featuring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough. I’m not big into love movies, but I guess I’ll have to watch this one now.
After our 2.3 seconds of fame, we headed down to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to meet my family for our second week.
This week, PB loved the ocean. I think it was because the water was warmer. His zeal for the ocean led to a small sand rash on his thighs, so he then refused to wear swimming trunks the rest of the week. I ended up letting him wear a small pair of pajama shorts the rest of the time. We resisted the man thong, and let him wear the booty shorts instead.
We spent the week laying by the beach, butts planted in beach chairs, reading books and drifting off into spontaneous naps.
Yea.
Right.
PB was wild. In between running up and down the beach, and picking up babes, he wore us out.
We also discovered that PB likes carnival rides. We spent our weight riding the carnival horses.
By the end of the week, we were exhausted. We managed to head out on the beach the last night and snag a few family pictures. Can I tell you how much bribing goes in to trying to get a toddler to smile?
That was the closest thing to a smile we could get. He was more interested in the sand and ocean than taking silly pictures. Both PB and Ben complained the whole time. I’m outnumbered.
I’ll be back with more vacation stories, including my tips for traveling with a toddler, or better yet, lessons learned the hard way 🙂
Have a blessed Tuesday 🙂
