Weekend Family Getaway to Virginia Beach

Its been such a busy year with so many changes and a lot of unplanned expenses that came with the move. We couldn't afford to do a big family vacation or go back to Arizona. It was just too expensive. But hey, it's September, summer is almost over and the chance to be outside in Virginia is going to end soon. The beach is only a couple hours away and it may not be Cancun but its the ocean. I'll take it. Especially some much needed time for all of us to be together.

Virginia Beach (the city area) is not that great. Pretty old and run down in my opinion. But we found a nice, new hotel right on the beach with a gorgeous view of the water. We brought three toddler cots that we got from Walmart and they were perfect size since now the triplets are too big for cribs and pack and plays but not big enough for regular beds where they can fall off.

 

The first thing we did was grab some lunch on the beach. Yum fish tacos!!!

We tried to get the kids to take a nap but that wasn't happening. We changed into our swim suits and headed to the beach. The water was pretty rough and the waves were pretty strong compared to what we were used to at the lake. Mickey wanted to jump right in like usual but he would have been carried away for sure, so Tommy stayed close to him and I sat with the girls by the shore where they played with the sand and buckets. They had no interest in the water. Eventually it got tough trying to keep them in one spot so we opted to move to the pool which was a nice indoor and outdoor pool.

 

We ended the day with a delicious dinner at a local seafood restaurant that supposedly is the founder of the soda drink "Orange Crush". The kids were not on their best behavior and kept having to go potty the whole time. Despite how cute they are in the pictures, it was probably the most challenging they have been in public at a restaurant but at least the food was good.

It was so nice the next morning to wake up and drink my coffee while watching the sunrise over the water! And we even saw dolphins right off our balcony. We took the kids to the Aquarium that morning. We thought they would love seeing all the fish...Nemo is one of their favorite movies, but we were so wrong. They were scared of everything. They wouldn't get near any of the tanks, they cried almost the whole way through. So...maybe next time?


After that we took them on a pirate ship boat tour and I made the mistake of telling them they could have ice cream. Another not so brilliant moment because I got push pops and they just melted everywhere, all over their clothes, all over the ship, and all over their faces. They were also a little young for some of the games the other kids were playing but they still liked to be out on the water and hanging out with pirates. Argh! We got off the ship just in time to miss the big storm that was headed right for us. It rained the rest of day so Tommy and I hung out in the hotel room while they napped and we just grabbed some lunch from the bar. Since going back to the beach or the pool was out the question, we decided to go to this old arcade and played some games. I felt like I was back in the 80's or the movie Tron. They had some really cool old games and Pink Floyd was playing on the juke box. I probably would have loved that place in high school. Tommy and I won them some tickets and prizes before we headed to another good dinner.

 

The next day we all took in one last look of the ocean before heading back towards home. It was such a short trip, but very worth it. Hopefully next year we can travel a little further for our vacation and the kids will be better behaved, but the most important thing is that they had fun and they got to try new things. Seeing them happy and being together as a family is all I need. I am looking forward to the next family adventure!