Lovely

That's what the weekend was. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Too short, though. Could have used a couple more days, I must say.

The beach in the off-season is one of my favorite places. It's still warm enough to walk by the water (but too cold to swim!). The sun is still bright enough that you get a little tiny tan from it. Ah... it was awesome.

There was some drama, of sorts. Charlie forgot to request a king-sized bed when he made the reservation, so our room had two double beds and no room for the portable crib (we could have slept in different beds with Tori with one of us, but come on). I took this in stride by freaking the fuck out and pitching a major fucking fit. We tried twice to no avail to get them to change our room--I even attempted the "recreating the honeymoon" angle with no success. Finally, Charlie offered them an extra $100 a night to change our room and they did (but they did NOT charge us extra. Very sweet of them).

If you go to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, please stay at the Sand Castle Motel. They are very nice to hysterical new mothers.

We took a walk on the boardwalk (with the bugaboo! Wow, that thing turns heads) Friday night, enjoyed the sunset, and then went to dinner at our favorite restaurant. Tori saw the ocean for the first time! She was unimpressed.

The next morning after a hearty diner breakfast we drove over to Cape Henlopen State Park, a place we usually camp a couple of times a year. They have free bikes you can borrow for a couple of hours, so we reserved a couple along with one of these (yes, all for free!). Tori was probably a bit on the small side for one of these (I hear you all gasping in distress) but we bolstered her us with sweaters on either side, strapped her in tight, and off we went. We were biking on car-free paved trails within the park (a great place to bike, by the way) so I wasn't too worried about it.

She LOVED it. She was back there checking things out as happy as can be. We took her out on the beach and watched the waves for a while, then biked back to the car. We had lunch, then went back to the room for a nap, then off to walk the boardwalk and eat dinner out again. It was awesome.

That night we all slept hard. Tori actually slept from 9pm until 5am without a break! Other than my exploding boobs, it was wonderful. Sleeping the night through is on the horizon, me thinks.

Sunday we packed up and started home, stopping off at the Wilmington & Western Railroad for a ride on the train. Which Tori also adored. Her third train ride already! Charlie was also very happy because they were running a rare engine that day and he got some great photos.

All in all, a lovely weekend. We realized that we never really took a vacation last year at all, and we need one. We didn't camp at all last summer. Sigh. Ah well. Plenty of summers to look forward to camping with Tori...

Here are the photos *. Enjoy!
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*I didn't realize you couldn't leave comments on Flickr without an account; but you can all see the photos, right? Would you rather I posted them here? It's just much easier on Flickr than on Typepad...

Comments

[Catherine]

Cannot see the photos.

Sounds lovely! :) I lived in Rehoboth for 8 years and I loved it there.

[Whitney]

I can't see the photos either, will check back for them later!

We're taking our kids on their first train ride Sunday--I can't wait! And Disney on Ice Saturday--they might explode with happiness! LOL.

[Sarah]

People should still be able to see the photos on Flickr w/o an account unless they are marked private.
Do the two above realize there are no photos in this entry?
And you biked! With Tori!
Sooooo awesome. The photos are great...you look so happy.

[SandyC]

Ha! Tori had it easy -- I thought Joe was going to have a heart attack when he saw how they do it in Holland -- a 6 month old asleep in a little jump seat on the front handle bars (with a little windshield in front of him/her), a 2 year old in a seat on the back bumper, chewing on bread, a bag of groceries hanging off the handle bars. Fun!!

[Rachel S/F]

The pictire of Tori in the hat is my favorite. I just love it so much. I am glad you guys got away-you all deserve it. That little Tori is too cute for words.

[gillian]

I could see all the pictures and I dont have an account..love the one on the boardwalk Tori is gazing at you..you look sooooo joyful and content.

[Kirsten]

Glad you had a great time. Those pictures were so cute, thank you for sharing!

[Suz]

This is so cool! Especially the photos! I haven't been to Rehoboth since my second year in college and to Cape Henlopen since I was a little girl in Scouts. It was lovely to see these places through your lens.

[RainbowW]

ah for the days of having only one child. wouldn't trade my twins but three are so much LESS portable than one.

[Car]

How fabulous!!!! Had a nice weekend myself here, so I share your wavelength. Saturday we went on a drive around NE New York, and stopped to see Lake Ontario for the first time. The kids loved it. I loved it. So glad there was so much goodness!

[abbyhorton01@hotmail.com]

"Tori saw the ocean for the first time! She was unimpressed."

I loved that. So cute.

[SarahD]

Great pictures! The sunset ones looked so peaceful and lovely, and Tori has the BEST outfits :)

[jenny]

We had our honeymoon in Rehoboth and go back every year, its such a nice town. Looks like you had a great time.

[Beth in Michigan]

Yes, I can see the photos at Flicker without an account. Oh, sure, it would be more convenient for *me* if you posted them there but, um, my baby is 6 and he's in first grade so I don't really think my convenience is at all important here. You post photos where it is most convenient for you, I'll go look at them anyway! :)

Congratulations on your anniversary, that was the first time I read your story of how you and Charlie met. Very romantic!

Just FYI...the story that really did me in was the when you almost died of an overdose and Charlie couldn't bear to lose you, so you both went into recovery. Now that's some serious love and romance right there.

[Essie]

Adorable! Love that purple hat :)

[terri c]

Wonderful photos, looks like a great time. Baby simply adorable. Please send hated hair my way. Only too glad to take it off your hands(head). Mine is No Longer That Color if you take my meaning.

[Kathleen]

Oh, you are making me miss big, juicy baby cheeks, the shore in the fall and salt water taffy. I can't take it!

But I did enjoy the pictures.

[webhill]

I've actually stayed there before, I think, but it was about ten years ago so theoretically it could have been a different place with the same name. I love Rehobeth. A friend of mine used to have a place at Bethany beach actually and - well, anyway, I'm glad you got the right room and enjoyed yourself.

Next year we are SO going down the shore in the fall. We forgot to do that this year!

[Melissa in TN]

We love the beach in the off season too--not so crowded.

Miss Tori is just beautiful. I love the pictures of her on the train.

The hair is fine. Don't stress :o).

I am glad you all had a great time.

[Cat, Galloping]

Maybe they didn't *want* you to recreate the honeymoon, since you had Tori in tow. Heh.

[ladykuri]

Wow, it looks like you guys had a WONDERFUL time! Tori is adorable as always, and my daughter said to tell you she's "so cute" (insert high squeally little girl voice here), she hung on my shoulder and cooed over all the pics of her, but wasn't too impressed with the boardwalk ;)

[Mel]

Can't even tell you how much I love Rehoboth--and it's also one of our favourite places for our November anniversary. The Dolles sign in the photo brought back fond memories. We haven't been back for a year because we ended up in Ocean City this summer. Beggars can't be choosers and it was a free trip...

[Jenni]

Sounds like you had a super weekend! Glad you all enjoyed it, and it sounds like a wonderful place to visit!

Hopefully, I can view the pics sometime. I tried this morning...

[Julie]

I love Tori's outfit, that's one stylish baby : )

[wealhtheow]

Sounds like a lovely weekend, Cec. Now I'm wanting to go over to Rehobeth. When we're feeling beachy we usually head to Chincoteague, which has the added bonus of fulfilling my girlhood fantasies of seeing all the Assateague ponies!