Wildwood Weekend 2012

This past weekend we took an unplanned trip down the shore.  Joe asked if I wanted to late Friday & I said sure.  Very spontaneous.

We told the girls that if the weather wasn't horrible we'd leave early in the morning, but made sure they knew it might not happen.  We packed our bags & crossed our fingers.  Joe has friends in Wildwood so he made some phone calls in the morning & we got the "ok" on the weather.  We left a bit later than anticipated but made it there around noon & got lucky finding a room. (Like I said totally un-planned)

We quickly got changed & headed to the beach!  The weather was BEAUTIFUL!  Not crazy hot but nice with the slight breeze.  It was a perfect day to sit on the beach & soak up the sun.  The girls had a blast!  I'm not sure what they enjoyed most, the waves or digging in the sand.  I brought my camera with me but left it in the room & mainly used my iPhone for the weekend.  Quick & easy. 

The girls loved hunting for shells.  Bringing me bits & pieces to hold onto & the biggest smiles.

The last time Gianna was at the beach she was tiny & was intimidated by the waves.  This time she took to it like a fish.  Once she mastered jumping with the waves she was fearless!

Marissa was thrilled to find this shell intact.  Her smile made my day.

Gianna was easy to please with the sand.  It didn't faze her a bit to make sand angels & be covered in sand from head to toe.  She's happy-go-lucky.

For dinner Joe took us to The Ravioli House.  All the pasta is handmade & delicious!!

I had the "Trip around Italy" that had a sampling of pastas & meats.  From what was on the plate I left the spaghetti for last since it is what it is, but this was fabulous!!  It was hard to stop eating even though I was so full!

After dinner, we headed to the boardwalk to walk it off.  The girls went on rides, while I took a gazillion pics, namely of the ferris wheel.

This was beautifully lit up & huge!  We didn't go on it, but I can imagine the view!

We tore the kids away from the rides after awhile to walk the boards some more.  Marissa had a snack, that was a twist between a french fry & a chip.  I may or may not have helped her finish it..... ;) 

We walked a good part of the boardwalk, according to Joe about 4 miles. By now it was late & we had been up since early, plus the 3 hour drive down, plus the day in the sun, WE WERE BEAT!! By the time we made it back to the hotel it was close to midnight & we crashed.

The next morning, despite setting our alarm, we slept late, but that shows how tired we were.  We headed out to grab breakfast then it was back to the beach.

The night before we bought the girls shovels & pails & that made the beach that more fun for them.  Joe helped them dig & before we knew it the talks of a sandcastle turned into seats for the girls to sit in.

Gianna would often run to the water to wet her sand pile & I would follow her, using it as an excuse to walk off more of last night's dinner.

That night we couldn't help ourselves & went to back to the Ravioli House for dinner.  Did I mention how good it was??  We also went back to the boardwalk to spend some time in the arcades & let the girls win prizes before heading home.

I talked them into a few pics as the sun was going down.  I probably should have used my real camera but I'm happy with these. 

It was a great, quick getaway that was much needed & much enjoyed.  Starting to plan a  l o n g e r  trip for next year. ;)