We had a great time over the past holiday weekend. We were able to head down to Point Pleasant Beach early, and that made a big differance in the pace of the weekend and the happiness of everyone!
Friday morning we wrangled up the tykes and headed out the door by 9am and did our now 'normal' stop by Dunkin Donuts on our way South on any road trip. This time we opted for donuts rather than just holes, Andrew has really become a Donut connoisseur, whether that is a good thing or not!
We had no traffic at all (for those outside the NY/NJ area, that means very heavy traffic, but no places that came to a halt or below 20 MPH for more than a few minutes!) and made it to 'our' beach house just in time to unload and head right back out to the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk.
We had some difficulty finding parking in any of the close lots, so had a 5 block walk to get there, but with double stroller in tow, we all made it there without incident. We lubed everyone up prior to heading out, and other than the standard complaints from the peanut gallery, we were set to go wnjoy some boardwalk food prior to hitting the rides.
This year we managed to order some ticket books (secret 1/2 off sale over Easter weekend) so had everything we needed. Momma found a picnic table under an awning and out of the sun while I ordered some yummy pizza, cheese fries, and a chilli dog. Yum! (It was vacation after all)
After lunch we strolled on over to the rides and Andrew had a hard time taking it all in and deciding which ride he wanted to go on first. He would look at them and point around saying he wanted to do them all. So cute! So we decided to just work our way around the rides, and started out with the safari truck ride where Andrew wanted, and fortunately got, the first car to drive.
After the safari ride, we took our turn on the alligator, the carousel, and the helicopter rides. Angela and I laughed at the stoic look on Andrew's face during each of the rides. He is so serious, hardly cracking a smile the whole ride! Of course he had a great time, and smiled both before and after getting on, but during his ride, he always has such a serious face on!
We worked our way around the amusement park with Madeline being a perfect little trooper watching Andrew with each ride and sharing some water with Momma. She will be going on them soon enough, and I realized that I should have taken her on at least the carosel while we were there, but she was just laying back and enjoying seeing all of the people and kids running this way and that way.
We finished our boardwalk excursion with a ride on some motorcycles, fish, biplane, and elephants and decided that it was time to head back for an afternoon nap for Andrew and Madeline.
Andrew twisted Momma's arm and got some cotton candy while she enjoyed a funnel cake as we walked back on the boardwalk to the car.
Once we got back to the truck, Madeline was out like a light, and Andrew was close, so Angela drove the truck around to the grocery store and ran an errand or two while I walked back to the Walsh's house and tried to talk Andrew into taking a snooze while we walked. About two blocks short of their house, Andrew finally gave in and started snoozing. So I walked to the end of their dead end street and parked the stoller under a shady tree (right next to the very active train tracks!). They slept peacefully and I posted a few snapshots from my phone to the blog while I waited for Angela to come back from the store.
Once she returned we swaped spots and I took in some groceries and prepped the room a little for our stay.
That afternoon, the kids enjoyed playing in the yard, and yummy snacks while the adults caught up chatting and had fun chasing the little ones around. Madeline discovered that not all stairs are as soft and smooth as the ones at home, and took a nose dive from the stair onto the cement pavement just as Angela was catching her. We shed some tears, but wasn't hurt too badly, though her scraped up nose looked like a skinned up knee!
After dinner, the Dad's took Andrew and Lindsay over to the local minor league baseball game and had lots of fun. It is my first minor league game as well as Andrew's so we weren't sure what to expect, but it was perfect for the little kids.
Cheap tickets, kids got a coupon for free hot dog, chips, and drink and we all had fun playing in their inflatable bouncy houses and obstacle courses.
Cap off the evening with a Sponge Bob ice cream (sorry Andrew they were out of Spiderman) and we had a great day!
The kids were pooped (as were the parents) by the time we got home, but they both remembered that there was some cotton candy left over from our visit to the boardwalk, so each had a handful before heading off to bed.
Great first day to the weekend, and a fun filled way to start out the summer!
