A Day at the Beach

We have found that we are a little slow to get to the beach.  Which I don't really mind.  But we haven't gotten to the beach before 2 either day we've gone.  And we lug a bunch of stuff out for a couple hours.  I like the beach.  But I kind of like the air conditioning too :).  John LOVES the beach.  He would stay in the water all day if you would let him. With no rest.  And he has no fear.  Highlights of the day:
--Ann caught a fish with a net for John.  You would think he just won the lottery!
--John boogie boarding.  The adults were boogie boarding in the big waves.  John was boogie boarding in the tiny waves just before they hit the beach (in ankle deep water).  But it was the equivalent for all of us, I think.  John was definitely having as much fun as we were.

Tomorrow the goal is to get to the beach earlier.  Teresa (not me speaking in 3rd person but Aunt Teresa) and Chris are going to go paddle boarding.  Surprisingly, I opted out.  I really couldn't decide, but the ultimate decision was that I don't want to work hard enough to learn something new :)!

Travel Log

We are at the beach.  Well, technically, in a beach house, but close enough.  The getting to the beach has been quite the adventure.  But we are on vacation so we're taking it in stride.  Thursday afternoon I packed up my car and drove to mom's house for the night.  Saturday morning we drove to my grandma's house (just a few miles away) to get my aunt and head to the airport.  We arrived at the airport at about 11:30 and got through security without a problem.  We were a little late boarding the plane.  For a time reference, we were supposed to take off at 1:15.

And then the fun began.  We sat on the plane at the gate because it had started raining and lightning and they couldn't put our bags on the plane while it was raining.  Then we had to wait to take off because of more lightning.  Really?  It hasn't rained in weeks.  Oh well.  We finally got into the air between 30 minutes and an hour later (all of my time frames are a little iffy because a- I was trying not to pay attention and b- the pilot LIED a lot about how long things were going to take).  Into the air we go. Yippee!  We arrived in the Atlanta airspace only to circle the airport because of weather in Atlanta.  We circled long enough that they had to reroute us to Knoxville, TN because we were getting low on fuel.  We landed and sat on the runway for another hour or so.  They kept debating whether we should park at the gate or not.  At one point in time we saw the pilot running across the tarmac to the fuel cart because we were supposed to be first in line for fuel but other planes were getting fueled.  Then we finally got back in the air and finally landed at 8:20 in Atlanta.  Only 4 hours later then anticipated.  Then we had to get the rental car. Long story short about that, our indecisiveness got us an upgrade! :)  We finally arrived at my brother's house around 10ish.

Saturday morning we left around 8:40'sh in our two car caravan.  I was driving the rental car which was a fun experience for me.  I don't normally drive on road trips and my two passengers were my brother and my aunt.I'm not sure I've ever driven my brother around before.  He is usually the driver.  Lunch at Chick-fil-a :) (although it was a little bit of a process to get to it).  And then we hit a little bit of traffic.  But overall, it was not a bad trip to the beach.

The house we are staying at is AMAZING!  Three bedroom, three bath, living room, family room, dining room, huge kitchen, and breakfast nook.  Really nice and spacious.  John just keeps wandering the house.  We got unloaded and then walked down to the beach.  Sort of.  We got to the end of the road and found out that our beach access is technically just a bunch of rocks.  A little disappointing.  We're still talking logistics of how we are getting to an actual beach.  A few blocks up there is walking access to the beach, but not great for getting all of our stuff.  Then we went in desperate search for dinner.  And then we went to the grocery store at 9:30 at night.  And bought the store out.  Almost literally.  We will not starve this week.  And then off to bed.

This morning we are taking our time to get to the beach .  But we are enjoying our first official day of vacation!

More travel stories to come! :)

The Longest Journey to the Beach Ever

I am officially on vacation.  But getting to my vacation destination has become quite the process.  This afternoon I am driving up to Chicago and staying the night with my mom.  Tomorrow afternoon we fly to Georgia, rent a car, and drive to my brother's house.  Then Saturday morning we will get up, pack two cars and drive to the beach!  I'm not complaining, it's just kind of funny to me that it is such a process.  But all that really matters is this--I don't have to go to work tomorrow.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day!

33--It's the same forward and backward!

I have been remiss in letting everyone know what has been going on with my birthday.  Life has gotten away from me. And I haven't been motivated to blog.  So, here is bullet points of my birthday week-ish.

--The week before my birthday, Emily and I went to see Nunsense at a dinner theater.  I enjoyed it so much.  Emily bought tickets the day before and we're pretty sure she might have bought the last two tickets.  When they took us to our seats, we were surprised that they were taking us to the floor and not the upstairs.  We literally sat right in front of the stage.  As in, our table butted up against the stage.  I could have reached out during the show and unplugged the five mikes.  We definitely had not trouble seeing!  The play was a lot like I remember from high school.  I laughed a lot.  Cringed in a few inappropriate places.  Overall, it was a great night.

--The fourth, while not having anything to do with my birthday, in my mind is always a part of my birthday week.  As has become tradition, I went to Kari's for dinner and then down to the fireworks.  Although it was OBNOXIOUSLY hot, I went with almost no complaint (which is saying a lot for me!).  After all, I couldn't very well miss the fireworks, they're for my birthday!  Another great display on the Peoria riverfront.  Anyone who wants to come next year, let me know, you'd be more than welcome!

--Most of you know, I took Thursday and Friday off because who should have to work on their birthday?!

--Thursday, I would like to say I slept in, but I had some trouble with that while I was off.  I think I woke up at 6:40 and had too much running through my mind, so I got up at about 7:30.  I went to the grocery store to buy food for my party on Friday.  I watched some TV.  I had decided I wanted Wing Stop for lunch, so I went to pick that up and called Ginger to see if I could eat it at her house.  So I spent the afternoon with Ginger, Taylor, and Hudson.  I got my annual birthday picture with Hudson (I'll post it as soon as I get it from Ginger!).  I went home and watched some more TV.  Then I met Emily and Kari at Chilis for dinner.  As you can see, my birthday kind of centered around food! :)  I also got lots of texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages.

--Friday, I finally began to sleep in a little (meaning I slept past 7).  I got up and made my birthday dessert--banana split cake.  Then I met an old coworker for lunch and was able to catch up with her (I don't think we had seen each other in over 6 months).  Then I had people over to Kari's house for dessert (her house is bigger than my apartment).  It was fun to just hang out with people and eat more food! :)

--Then today we had my birthday lunch at work.  We were supposed to go to Chick-fil-a, but unfortunately its not open yet.  And neither is Chipotle.  So we went to QDoba instead.

I think I might be done with actual birthday celebrations.  It was a great week and I had a relaxing and fun time off from work.  Thanks everyone for the fun birthday messages and for helping me celebrate!