Virginia Beach!

On our way out Sunday evening.


We spent Sunday night at my parents' so we could be on the Virginia side of the beltway when we left Monday morning for Virginia Beach!  The boys love staying there and our Kindergartner(!) demanded to stay there after the beach too and was very disappointed to not get his way.

On the way down we stopped in Richmond and went to For the Love of Chocolate while my mom was at the office of vital records (it took her about 5 minutes so we maybe should have just waited for her there).  I love the little shop that is stuffed with any chocolate you could want.


Before leaving Richmond we had lunch.  Our baby enjoyed french fries and some applesauce.  He would enjoy tasting a few new foods like this on our trip.


We played mini-golf when we first arrived in Virginia Beach.  The boys hadn't played before and both enjoyed it.  Our Preschooler(!) would use his club to push the ball all the way down the green and into the hole.  Then when it went in he'd exclaim "I win!"



After checking into the hotel we went for pizza and then back for FHE and bedtime.  While at dinner our oldest had asked to go to bed but they stayed awake (in bed) super late talking and being silly.

The next morning we made it to the Rudee Inlet by 8:30 for the 9AM dolphin tour.  We went all the way up the beach to the bay before finding dolphins but it was an enjoyable ride and there were a lot of dolphins to see up there!  We sat by another family and our preschooler had lots to say to the little boy (6 years old, maybe) who was sitting next to him on the way up.  The boy wasn't sure what to think but it was pretty cute.


Some of the sites: the south end of the beach - from the inlet to our hotel; the oldest (and probably nicest) hotel on the beach, being refurbished; the lighthouses on the north end by the bay.


On the boat having snacks (thanks Grandma H!) and a nap. Our poor baby didn't have amazing nap situations during the trip.


Our preschooler had his dad's help seeing the dolphins, he held him and pointed them out to him.  He said that he laughed when a couple dolphins slapped/splashed the water.  I watched them with our kindergartner and he enjoyed it too.  They came out of the water further than I caught on camera, but most often it was just the fin.


On the way back their dad took them to the inside part of the boat and bought them little stuffed dolphins, which they love, and this photo, which I love.  Our preschooler sat and played with his dolphin imaginatively and the big brother of that neighboring family (10 years old?) talked with him some about it so that was sweet.


Next we went to a playground there at the southern end of the beach and they both loved it.


Our kindergartner was partial to the sand play and loved the dolphin statue.


Our preschooler was partial to climbing and laughing with a little girl (6 maybe?) and loved the "rockets" (surf boards).



Then we walked to a cafe near our hotel for lunch before going out to the beach! 

Baby was very tired and managed to take a short nap.


Our kids helped their dad dig a tunnel in the sand. The kindergartner helped with sand removal and the preschooler smoothed it out with his "steamroller".


Here's my mom on a boogie board! I went out to join her and my oldest demanded I come back. I guess he saw me head toward the water and wanted to come with me, but not actually into the water. So after I caught a wave back in I sat with him on the beach and we dug in the sand and covered our feet while sitting just close enough for the waves to get us a little wet. We were there a while and I had so much fun with him! When Grandma was done on the boogie board, my husband took a turn and then went to fly a kite. When our oldest was done spending time with me he joined his dad for some kite flying.


Our preschooler bulldozing a little town.


Baby being sung to by Grandma.


They collapsed the tunnel before we left.


After a few hours on the beach we packed up and went to find somewhere to eat dinner.  We drove and our preschooler fell asleep in the van before we got there.  He woke up to get out of the van but not for long and I held him while he slept through dinner.  After dinner we took him to the hotel and he stayed asleep til 7 am, over 12 hours!  Baby was tired too, but our kindergartner went out to the boardwalk with his dad and grandma for some shaved ice.

In the morning we wanted to let them play in the sand again without the clean-up required of the beach since we needed to be ready for checkout soon, so we went to the playground again. Even after our good nights' rest everyone was still a little worn out from the full day we'd had before (maybe it was just me), but it was still a lot of fun. As we were leaving a truck dropped off a bulldozer so that was rather exciting, we followed it up the beach toward our hotel and it stopped at a big pile of sand.

After checkout we wanted to do some of the amusement/carnival rides. We'd assumed they'd be opening by lunchtime but the gate said 3PM so that was scratched from our plans. We had a little lunch and then walked back to the van and headed home!

Eating ice cream sandwiches. Our oldest: "If you wanted a picture of me eating it you should have taken it earlier." Truth.


It would be an unforgivable oversight to not mention the trolleys as the boys loved them. Our oldest, who loves pretending to be a bus, pretended to be a trolley bus the whole time.


I loved our beach vacation! When we got to my parents my mom made us a quick dinner and we got to tell Grandpa all about our trip!