Beach Trip -- Tuesday

For a quick overview of the trip, read this post.  The next few days are going to be the long drawn-out, millions-of-pictures versions.

Tuesday:
We were up, packed, and loaded into the car at 10:00.  I am thankful for summer vacation and being able to do a lot of pre-packing in the days prior.  Otherwise, 10am would have probably been more like 10pm!

Tyler did ok on the trip to Wilmington.  In previous road trips, he's slept the whole time.  He didn't this time, but distractions like a brief walk around a Dollar General parking lot or Mama/Daddy renditions of "Old McDonald had a Farm" (where Daddy provided the animal... or vehicle... or inanimate object... and Mama sang and provided the noises) seemed to keep him two notches below meltdown.  He was even giggling during Old McDonald.  What can I say, Mama is hilarious.  We had lunch at Smithfield's Chicken N BBQ.  Tyler is definitely a fan of hushpuppies.  Who can blame him?

Our first stop was Wilmington.  It was weird -- the wind was whipping (I look like Cousin Itt in Jason's pictures because I just couldn't keep my hair out of my face), but when it stopped, it was downright sticky.  We found relief in some air conditioned shops, and when we went back outside, we were greeted with black clouds and blowing sand stinging our faces.  A storm was brewing, and we booked it back to our car in the parking deck!  Once safely sheltered, we did stop to take some pictures.

wind chimes -- great way to keep a fussy kid preoccupied

storm's a-brewin'

"Mom, I'm not so sure about that thunder"

We stayed at the Shell Island Resort.  We chose to stay here for two main reasons: it was oceanfront and at the end of the island.  We knew we were going to be in the room more than we would have been previous years with a napping or sleeping baby, and we wanted to be able to at least enjoy the views.  Jason also liked being able to take pictures of the marshes as well as the ocean.

This blog isn't a Trip Advisor website, but I do want to talk a bit about the place we stayed.  It wasn't bad, but I would not stay there again.  When we got there at 3:00 (check-in time), our room wasn't ready, along with about 5 other families waiting for their rooms.  With the downpour outside, there wasn't anything for us to do but sit in the lobby and wait.  It was a bit chaotic, since several of the families had kids that had been cooped up in cars for several hours who weren't terribly happy about the wait.  The lobby is awesome and gorgeous, but the walkways and rooms are your typical beach rooms that you would expect at a must cheaper location.  Our room had a bedroom, 1.5 baths, a kitchenette, and a living room with the world's most pathetic couch.  Seriously, Jason and I wouldn't sit on it.  Tyler, however, was head over heels for the giant mirrored walls.  My kid's a little narcissistic and loves his reflection.  As in, tries to make out with it in any reflective surface he can find.

"Hey, that guy that looks like me is here at the beach, too!!!!"

Our other main problem with the resort was housekeeping.  We heard them next door on Wednesday, so we left our room (even said hello to the housekeeper in the breezeway) and went for a drive (because we couldn't think of anything else to do) to give her time to clean.  An hour and a half later, we returned and saw that they had not cleaned our room.  I called the front desk and they said housekeeping was still working on rooms for check-in.  This was at 5:00.  I guess later-than-promised check-in is a regular thing for them!

Other than that, it was fine.  There was a tv in the bedroom, so we did a lot of lounging in there to avoid the saggy couch in the living room.  The views were great, and we enjoyed the pool and excellent beach access.




Ok, enough resort review.  Let's get back to Tuesday...

After playing in the room for a while, we ventured out to buy groceries for the room.  A lot of groceries.  We had decided to buy stuff for PB&J sandwiches to cut down on restaurant expenses, but the Oreos, ice cream bars, and fudge rounds?  I have no idea how they got in our cart!  Oops!

Another band of the storm came through, so we broke open the PB&J and had dinner in the room.  Between exploring the new place and finding out that some of his favorite books and toys also made the trip, Tyler had a blast!

not promising for a beach vacation

Next up: Wednesday, cloudy day at the beach