Virginia Beach Getaway

We got back yesterday from a quick getaway to Virginia Beach. We had such a good time! It was a much needed break for all of us :) We left Sunday morning and stayed Sunday and Monday nights. Our hotel was all taken care of, thanks to Mimi and Grandpa! They shared some of their American Express points with us as an anniversary present! We stayed at the Holiday Inn Oceanside, and it was great! The hotel was right on the beach and had a great pool area too. The room was set up really well and we had a nice little spot to settle the Pack 'n Play in near the door. Jackson napped pretty well and slept great at night! What a blessing :) We had a balcony with a great view of the boardwalk and the ocean. Ahhh... I definitely could get used to that :)We had an uneventful drive down to the beach and were able to check into our room nice and early! This was great because we had lunch, a walk on the boardwalk, and then Jackson went down for a nap. We headed to the beach once he woke up and hung out there until dinner time. Jackson definitely didn't want to go in the water on his own, but he LOVED Josh holding him and having the waves wash up to them! He even joined in in the "Whooo-ing!" I had gotten a fun looking toy for the boys to play with, but it didn't work quite like we thought it would. Jackson still seemed to make it fun :)


I thought bubbles would be a fun diversion, and they were, but not in the way I had planned. Usually, Jackson likes having us blow the bubbles, and he enjoys chasing them. This time he wanted to blow on the wand. He made the cutest little face as he tried to coordinate holding the bubble wand and blowing through his adorable lips!

Enjoying a snack on day 1 at the beach :)

Jackson started playing a hilarious game with himself all of a sudden. He would lay down on a pillow, close his eyes, and make a snoring sound! It was so funny! We have no idea where he got all that from--we haven't gone out of our way to teach him how to fake snore! LOL

We revisited a restaurant from last year, Johnny Mananas, and it was just as yummy! Even though it was super hot out, we ate outside to enjoy the view. As we wound down back at the hotel, Josh and I were both reminded pretty fast of how much the sun takes out of you!Jackson and I were up around 6 and we went out for a run and then a walk. It was definitely a different crowd on the boardwalk, and it was so nice to just walk and look around. The highlights of being out in the morning for Jackson were watching the trucks comb the sand, seeing the garbage get picked up, and pointing out all the doggies being walked :) We headed down to the beach a little later in the morning, and Jackson made himself nice and comfy in a chair! What a goof! There was a group of teenage girls settled next to us. Perhaps he was planning his move?

I would be thrilled to have a beach buddy who likes to just relax and soak up the sun at the beach!

Hanging out in the beach chair got even better when the snack came out!

The Smith boys enjoy the view.

We took a break from the beach to go up to the room and have lunch. Josh hung out in the room with Jackson while I headed back down to the beach to relax with my book. I plunked my chair right at the edge of the water and really did relax. I kept having to move my chair so I could get the waves over my feet--the tide kept moving further and further out! I'm so glad I got some extra time at the beach because Jackson had a huge meltdown shortly after he and Josh joined me post-nap. We think it was a perfect storm of teething acting up, sand/saltwater/sunscreen in the eye, and a little cut already on his eye. He was so sad and was whimpering so we took him in to the pool. Jackson didn't think that was any better of a plan and let us know it! We finally went up to the room and I put him in the bath. He usually LOVES baths, but he screamed through the whole thing. I felt bad, but I wanted to wash away everything that might be adding to the irritation. Finally, I got him settled in front of a TV show and he started to calm down. His eyes were SO swollen! They teared like crazy and his nose ran just as badly for a while. By the time we were ready to do dinner, he seemed to have worked out the majority of his problem. It was so sad to see him so sad! We weren't sure what kind of mood Jackson was really in at that point, so we fed him dinner in the room and then took a walk. Once he was settled in bed, Josh and I ordered pizza and sat out on the balcony to eat it. That was a nice way to end the day! I could get used to that too...

The plan was to spend time at the beach early Tuesday morning, but Jackson actually woke up a touch later than we had planned for and it seemed silly to get all sunscreened up to play for a little and then shower before getting in the car. We took another walk (we just love the boardwalk at Virginia Beach) and then got in the car just in time for Jackson to have a little snooze.

We had such a good time and are really hoping we can plan another (longer!) trip late summer/early fall.

Boardwalk on Dwellable