Jersey Shore

Kip and Ivy still have a half day of school today (with class parties) and a half day tomorrow before they are out for summer break. 

BUT

We kicked it off early this past weekend to our sorta-maybe-tradition trip to Cape May and Villas beach. 

Before we planned this trip (a bit last minute) we considered trying a different beach town. Maybe closer, maybe cheaper? But ultimately we settled on what we knew we all loved. Everybody has "their" Jersey Shore beach and this one is ours. Cape May is classy and cute and not kitschy or like a seedy boardwalk headache. We have memories here and that counts! This trip was pretty copy paste from last year and we all enjoyed it just as much.

We drove down to the shore on Thursday and grabbed brunch at Uncle Bill's.

Hit-up the two little arcades. Hard.

Grabbed some lemonade from a lemonade stand. And took a break in the shade.

And bopped around town getting souvenirs and treats.

We went to our favorite dock-side restaurant for dinner and played at the fun playground afterwards.

We stayed in a hotel at the end of town which was one Dan and I had stayed at for our 5th wedding anniversary trip. The suite room was SO much nicer than the room we had last year. It fit us perfectly and we had a lovely balcony with ocean view. 

A storm rolled through that night which was pretty cool to see off the ocean.

On Friday we grabbed breakfast and immediately went to Villas beach which is on the bay side and we all really love it here. It is never crowded and the beach has tons of little pebbles and shells. We learned from last year and brought our beach chairs and umbrella so we cloud last a little longer. We made a big sand castle and enjoyed playing and exploring for several hours.

The only bad part about it was Mandy and I got fried. Super sunburned on our legs and feet. It was deceiving since it wasn't hot and not super sunny. We learned our lesson. It was a painful evening. But, we powered through.

We all enjoyed the pool a the hotel for a bit.

And went back to the arcades to rack-up tickets so the kids could splurge on junk toys. They both really loved this part and for once got to get some of the higher ticket items. 

That evening we had a nice stroll on the Cape May beach at sunset. 

The next morning we packed up and we went to Uncle Bill's again on our way out of town. 

But, the fun weekend wasn't over since we stopped at Storybook Land on the way home! Check that post tomorrow.   

It was a really amazing couple of days. As the kids get older all of this gets a bit easier and more enjoyable and it's something we look forward to every year. I love this little family we've made and it's weekends like this that really bring it all into focus.