The snow is long melted and with it, the delusional thinking that comes with thoughts of warmer weather and longer days. Right now, it’s easy to have idealistic pictures in our heads of lazy summer days at the beach, kids frolicking in the sand. And so, we are contemplating resuming our family trip to the beach this year.
It had been a yearly tradition since Thing 1 was born seven years ago. But we skipped the last two years because one year we had two family weddings to travel to, and then last year with the arrival of Thing 4 it just seemed too much to take on while sleep deprived.
Luckily I have this website to remind me of the true nature of family beach vacations. There was this trip to Virginia Beach just months after Thing 3 was born. The following year we went to Bethany Beach, which turned out to be the tale of two trips. It was both the best of times and the “why the hell did I do this” times.
This year we’re looking at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It is just at the edge of the important 6 hour drive radius. That is the maximum amount of time that is possible to drive in a car with four kids without going insane. We have outgrown the ability to stay in hotels or condos, so the extra space and relative quiet away from boardwalks that is the Outer Banks seems like a good way to go. If nothing else, I should have some great blog material in a few months.