Time for a beach vacation!

I grew up on the east coast. I can still remember the first time I saw the ocean. I don't remember how old I was, but I can remember the smell of the salt, the sound of the seagulls mixed with the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. I remember walking on the hot dry sand to the top of the dune and seeing nothing but miles and miles of sand and water. The ocean seemed to go on forever.

Our kids have never seen the ocean. Well, Morgan has but she was so little she says she can only remember sand. That's probably because she spent all her time building sand castles just out of the waters reach. In just a few days, we leave for our first family beach vacation to Ocean City, MD. I couldn't be more excited! The best part of the vacation....we are stopping on the way to pick up my mom who will be spending the week with us.

We have rented a "bare bones cabin" in Fort Whaley Campground. Last year, we bought a very large tent and spent a week roughing it in Indiana and Michigan in 100 degree temps. It was fun and we considered taking the tent again this year. However, we have had a very rainy summer season so far and the idea of spending the week soaked in a leaky tent just did not sound like vacation to me. So, the cabin we rented is just a step above our tent. It has electricity, but no water (bathroom). We will be using the bathhouse, which is a big issue for Baily. I'm not big on sharing a shower with a whole community of campers either, but the reviews for the campground on TripAdvisor are good, with clean bathhouses being mentioned several times.

I have decided to take our crock pot in case of rain for cooking some of our meals. I found some really cool crock pot liners at Wal-Mart. Those should come in handy as we do not have a kitchen to wash dishes in.

I have spent the week making lists and gathering some of our camping items out of storage. We will get Logan on Friday night, then Saturday we pack, drop off Daisy at the "Thomas Acres Pet Retreat" (thanks Lori), leave the fish at a friends (thanks Ashley) pick up the rental van, load up and try to get some sleep. Sunday morning before sunrise we are heading out. It will take us 12 hours to get to my parents house, then another hour to the campground. I see lots of family bonding time in my future next week (are we there yet? Stop looking at me! I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. I have to peeeeee. I feel sick)

Let the fun begin!!

Trina