The Jersey Shore

The kids at the Ocean City, New Jersey Boardwalk.

A rare photo of ME on the Lewes Ferry somewhere on the Delaware River...

The ferry just pulled in..almost time to board..oh wait is that a Port Authority Police Officer?


Dave with the girls on a ride. Jenna was so excited twirling around up and down on this one.




There's Dave and the girls in the train - high above Drew and "Wonderland".

Ava and Jenna manning the boat! LOOK OUT....

Amelia, Ava and Dave about to drop!

Liked this one of Amelia on the rides..

Well..the original Jersey Shore trip was meant for two nights...that was all until...

We did not sleep very well in our hotel room the first night of our two nights. Here's a brief recap of the good and the bad of our latest adventure...

Monday - the girls and I were cleaning out our gray van for the trip (Big Red is officially retired. Big Red has a gas leak that's too pricey to repair). We apparently left one two many doors, windows, etc. open. The battery was dead right there at that minute a day before our adventure. Dave recharged the battery, but apparently not completely because come to find out you cannot run the car, the headlights and the radio all at the same time. A bit reluctantly, we did get up and go Tuesday morning to our hotel in Somers Point, NJ - (a short drive from Atlantic City). And I am happy to report we made it quite easily without incident! We took a break and then set out to explore. We randomly headed to 6th Street and decided to check out the OC NJ boardwalk. Well, lucky for our kids that happened to be "Wonderland" (the kiddie amusement park and two ticket Tuesday). The girls went on a ton of rides. Amelia & Ava decided to use their last tickets on the log plume ride. A small water track with a very significant drop at the end. My brave girls (Ava up front and Amelia in the middle) loved it! Drew and I happily enjoyed the drizzly rain and all the hub bub. We then explored the boardwalk and had dinner. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped for milk at a gas station and our minivan was involved in a very minor fender bender (no fault of ours). We were back at the hotel by 7. Jenna crashed without her afternoon nap, so we all went to sleep. Dave and Drew shared a bed, and I slept with the girls on the pull out sofa. Ava and Amelia were so excited to have thier momma sleep with them. Ava asked me this..."Mom when we go to the beach tomorrow can Amelia & I use the surf board in that closet?" Sure I said, and sat there for a good 15 minutes until I figured out she was talking about the ironing board in the closet! Shows you that I don't do much ironing here at home, huh! I actually sat there pondering how in the world someone managed to leave their surf board there and not return for it!

Well, no one slept that night. Drew was up talking, and Dave and I were trying to shush him, Amelia and Ava had to deal with Dave and I switching beds and moving them in their little bed, and then Miss Jenna climbed out of her pack and play at 5:30am to say "hello dad" to me in the bed with Drew. We were all awake by 6am. The girls feasted on their hotel breakfast with their dad (a favorite on any trip). We decided to call it, and make our way home. We drove down the coast. We stopped at a few towns to check out the beach and ended at the Cape May/Lewes Ferry. We were a bit early, so we took the time to stretch out on the lawn. Drew was approached by a Delaware River And Bay Authority Police Officer and was given a hat, AND we were all given VIP treatment getting on the ferry. Employees did keep telling us "We just want your family to have a good time". Okay, then... We did have a great time riding on the ferry to DE. We stopped at our favorite crab house (Harris Crab House) and enjoyed an early dinner. Drew had his new favorite crab cakes. We made it home by 7pm...just in time for bed...in our own beds....in our own rooms....Ahhhhhhh.... sleep......