Last weekend we kicked off our summer 2017 travel with a short (too short!) weekend on Virginia Beach.  Longtime readers may recall that my best friend, Rebecca, lives in VB (although it looks like she may be moving soon – sniff).  We visited her and her fiancé, Eric, for a week last summer, but hadn’t been back since.  So a visit was long overdue.  (I hope we make it there at least one more time before they move.)

We arrived on Friday around 5:00 p.m., and the first order of business was dinner.  After dinner, clearly, we had to hit the beach.  That first toes-in-the-sand moment was totally worth the four-and-a-half hour drive from D.C.

Since it was basically sunset, I took a walk on the wild side and let Nugget go without his rash guard.  He was delighted.  He’s recently obsessed with his belly button, and all he wants to do is stick his finger in it.  So strange.

 

The sun was already starting to go down, but the water felt perfect and obviously we were going to take full advantage of every sandy and salty moment we could get.  Nugget is a total fish (Pisces!) and all he wanted to do was splash.

Aunt Rebecca taught Peanut to play “Baywatch.”  Um, you’re going the wrong way, Yasmin.

That’s better.

Riddle me this: how many Virginians does it take to keep a toddler afloat?  Answer: at least two.  He’s a slippery little fella.

After the sun dipped below the horizon, we packed up and headed home.  The boys took the wagon…

While the girls went screaming down the road in the golf cart.  We blew past the boys – yesssssss!  Steve said that after we passed them, Nugget kept up a steady stream of “Mommy?  Mommy?  Come back, Mommy!  Can I ride the golf cart?  Can I ride the golf cart?  Mommy, where are you?  Come back, Mommy!” until we all reunited back at the house.  Awwwww.  Break my heart.

On Saturday, we were out the door early and headed for the beach again.  Nugget had to wear his rash guard this time!  Rebecca walked Brandy the dog to the beach, while our family took the golf cart.  Nugget got to drive, and his little baby brain almost couldn’t handle the excitement.

Loaded him up with floaties, because it was a windy day and the waves were rolling.  Not as bad as the Outer Banks, but still – not quite the peaceful cove it had been just the night before.

That kid – I’ll tell you.  I just can’t get enough of him.  He’s my joy.

Back at the house, the golf cart continued to be the hit attraction.  I’m pleased to report that no one was injured in the arguments over whose turn it was to “drive” the (parked) cart.

On Saturday afternoon, Rebecca and Brandy and I treated ourselves to a gorgeous hike in First Landing State Park – but I already told you all about it, so we’ll go straight to our evening plans.  First up, Steve and I took the kids for a too-brief trip over to our friend Elissa’s house to celebrate her son’s second birthday party.  We weren’t able to stay long, because we’d promised to attend another party…

Eric entered the annual Virginia Beach Tuna Tournament for the first time this year, and he, a friend, and his son brought home a 40-pound tuna as their catch.  The tournament is a multi-day extravaganza, with multiple fishing days and multiple parties.  Saturday night was the closing party, at which the tournament winners would be announced.  We all knew that 40 pounds wasn’t going to win the tournament, but you simply don’t miss the last night of the VBTT.  So we cleaned up and headed to the marina for the fun.

Nugget was excited to check out the boats.  He picked out all of the ones he wanted me to get for him.

This one, too, Mommy!

Peanut enjoyed checking out the local artists’ work for sale.  She and Aunt Rebecca found a surfboard painted with a mermaid skeleton and I narrowly avoided bringing it home – I won “mean mom” credentials for life by refusing to buy it for Peanut’s room.  (I also learned that after we left, Rebecca had a couple more drinks and almost bought it for Peanut; it seems that had she gotten any encouragement at all – or even neutrality – she would have come home with a gift for my precious weird little girl.  Thanks very much to Eric for staying strong, even after a few drinks himself, and insisting that buying the mermaid skeleton surfboard for my four-year-old was A Very Bad Idea.)

Nugget got loopier and loopier over the course of the evening.  After a skinned knee and a massive tantrum because I wouldn’t buy him a $400 tuna statue (are you sensing a theme here?) we called it quits for the evening and headed back to put the kids in bed while Eric and Rebecca enjoyed being unencumbered grownups.

Early Sunday morning, we were up and at the beach again!

Nugget and I spent some time looking for “treasures” on both Saturday and Sunday.  We brought home a handful of pretty shells; now I have to find a way to show them off.

Everyone relaxed in their own ways…

And the floatie giraffe came out to play!  I don’t think he actually made it into the water, though.

This kid is a total beach bum.  I know that pretty much every kid loves the beach – but seriously, I’ve never seen a kid come alive the way Nugget does when he’s around water.  He’s a Pisces through and through.

I’m so grateful to have had a weekend to escape the city with my crew, and to spend time with people we love in a place that is already so dear to us.  I do hope we make it here at least one more time before Rebecca and Eric move away.

After the beach, we cleaned up and headed out for one last weekend treat – brunch at Commune, a restaurant Rebecca had been dying to try.  I started with the lavender latte.

My breakfast – a skillet bowl with vegetables, tomato jam, and a sunny-side-up egg, and a side of cheddar grits that I shared with Nugget (he also had scrambled eggs).  The food was amazing but we were really frustrated by the slow service.  Normally, we don’t mind waiting awhile for our food – but when we have two little ones (a.k.a. ticking time-bombs in any restaurant) and are staring down the barrel of a long and stressful drive back to reality, waiting an hour for our food was not the best.  Good thing it was so delicious!

(Wait notwithstanding, we had to get dessert.  “Milk and honey” buckwheat crepe with pastry cream, local honey drizzle, peaches and edible flowers – WUT.)

Goodbye, and thanks for another wonderful weekend of salty air, sandy toes and good company, Virginia Beach!  Hopefully we won’t wait ten months before coming back for our next visit.

Did you squeeze in a weekend getaway recently, too?