A Vacation is a Shore Thing

The blog’s been quiet for the last week or so. That is mostly due to a self-imposed moritorium on all things computer and a much needed getaway to Virginia Beach with my sister, her family and my parents.

Beach getaways were a staple in my family when I was growing up. In fact, living in Baku, my mom would pack supper and we would head to the shores of the Caspian on a daily basis in the spring, early summer and fall. In the summertime, we headed either back to visit my maternal grandparents or to the shores (e.g., Batumi) of the Black Sea in Georgia. There is something magical about the sound of the waves, the breeze, the clean, salty air that refreshes even the most tired souls.

Sometime during the cold, dark days of last winter, we all all decided that a getaway was a must and picked our dates for mid-July to hopefully make sure that the Atlantic water had a chance to warm up. We also decided to deviate from our usual Ocean City, NJ/MD, Sea Isle City, NJ destinations and head further down south to Virginia Beach, VA. There was a certain risk involved driving 4.5 hrs with a 9 month old and I can now say that we persevered.

My parents drove down from Delaware on Saturday (7/14) morning and we all piled into my little C-RV and drove down to the shore. The drive that was to take 4.5 hrs took almost six hours due to heavy traffic and a mandatory, must feed hungry Sophia stop. I must also admit that our car (as was my sister’s) was packed to the brim. I drove, my mom sat in the front passenger’s seat as she gets motion sick easily and my dad and hubby were the entertainers du jour for Sophia. She took a 1.5 hr nap and spent the rest of the car playing with an occasional outburst that could only mean “ARE WE THERE YET???” in her own little language.

We rented in a small beach community that was blessed with a family-friendly atmosphere which meant no restaurants, no supermarkets, no cafe’s, no … no nothing but the surf, sun and relaxation. We cooked and prepped all our meals, snacks and everything ahead of time and planned to spend very little time in the kitchen. In addition to our meals, I also prepped and cooked all of Sophia’s meals.

Once we got there, we quickly discovered how peacefull Sandbridge, VA was and how calm, clean and warm the ocean was. We spent the days in the water and playing with Sophia. I must admit, she is not a fan of the heat or humidity. She is also not a fan of bright sunlight but by the end of the trip was happily sploshing in her little ducky tub filled with ocean water. In the evenings, I practiced knitting and was able to knit a few things for Sophia. I’ll post a few pictures soon.

This vacation is a steep departure from our previous vacations where hubby and I happily galavanted all over the world. It was, however, especially meaninful and marvelous because we got to spend time as a family, disconnected from all the troubles and cares in the world and unwound in our little cacoon of the quiet shusshing sound of the ocean. Relax, refreshed (well… as one can be with a child who doesn’t sleep longer than 3 hr at a time at night), we are back to reality and pining for out next getaway.