Nine days and 2000 miles in a Camry. With two kids.
And we survived!
This was our first major road trip with two talking, walking kids. Sure, Anna hit the road at 4 weeks old, and by the time Libby was 3 months old she had visited 4 states - 7 by the time she turned half a year. But somehow, the thought of two demanding KIDS (which is different than a demanding infant) was scary.
Nevertheless, we persevered in our goal to get to the beach with the girls.
I'm so glad we did! Anna, a seasoned traveller, did fantastic. Libby was the cause of much anxiety for me before we left. Potty-training toddlers (is she still a toddler?) and many hours in the car don't really go together.
We left around 4am Saturday morning, hoping to reach the beach by suppertime. I had tracked down a McDonald's with a play yard in Charleston, WV - just in time for a quick breakfast and a romp around their jungle-themed room.
The girls happily hopped back into the car for another 3 hours, when we hit our next destination...
Humpback Bridge in Virginia.
We got out, stretched little (and long) legs, tossed rocks into the water, ran across the old bridge, then jumped back into the car, headed for....
Crabtree Falls!
Now, Google neglected to inform me that the road to the falls was a narrow, winding road with switchbacks that would put some mountain roads in Colorado to shame.
However, things got really quiet in the backseat with Libby asleep, so we enjoyed the forested view and arrived at the park just in time for our planned picnic lunch.
After we chowed down on road trip sammies, we took the short hike to see the falls.
And play with bugs.
By the time we herded the kids back to the car they had full bellies, and were ready for a break from the sticky heat.
I am amazed that we got from the falls to the beach without making another stop!
We arrived at our beachy vintage motel with plenty of time to stick our toes in the water before going out in search of supper.
We ate breakfast and one other meal in our room every day, saving the headache of subduing the terrortot at the nicer restaurants, and the bellyache of eating fat fast food all the time.
Our first full day at the beach (and by beach, I mean Chesapeake Bay) we went to the Virginia Living Museum so the girls could learn some history and see and touch some critters native to the area.
Anna found this little toad she shared with Libby.
The girls loved climbing on this giant turtle sculpture!
Libby had to touch everything in the touch tank!
The aquariums with local fish and other wildlife were amazing!
We spent the rest of the day lounging around on the beach and building sand castles. We chose to stay farther inland to avoid the blanket-to-blanket crowds we'd find at Virginia Beach, and also because the waves were gentler for the kids.
Anna isn't overly impressed by the beach - she doesn't like the water, and she tires of the sand. Toss her into the pool and she's a happy little mermaid. Libby, on the other hand, loved the sand, the water, and the wide open spaces. Visiting the pool to make big sister happy put Libby in a whiney mood.
Unfortunately, Anna's opinion of the great blue is not likely to change anytime soon. We noticed pretty quickly that the bay waters were full of jellyfish. Big ones, little ones, dead ones, living ones....
Far too many living ones.
Luckily, most often they swim at the surface, and since the waves were gentle we could easily avoid them.
Until.
I was in elbow-deep water holding Libby and felt something sting my arm. I took a step back and felt searing pain in my leg. Little (big?!?!) jelly fish bugger got me good.
As much as it hurt (and it HUUUURRRRRRRT!!!!!!!) I was so very thankful - albeit befuddled - that Libby wasn't touched by the obviously massive tentacles of that nasty sea creature.
Lesson learned - always bring a spray bottle of vinegar to the beach.
You may thank me for that some day. ;-)
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