A Surprise (Mini) Vacation

My happy place is Carolina Beach, North Carolina.

My family went there for the first time the summer before my senior year in high school and then it became a yearly tradition.

I’ve gone down there with my parents and my brother and then with my husband and the kids about 25 out of the past 31 (yikes) years.

This year, unfortunately, Carolina Beach is not in the cards.

It’s at least a 12 hour drive with the kids if we only stop twice to pee and hit no traffic. And it’s just too far for me to drive in one shot this year for the amount of time we’d be able to stay down there.

I had saved enough money up to take a mini trip somewhere closer. Like the Jersey Shore, which is anywhere between two and four hours from our house, depending on what beach we go to.

You might remember that last year I took a 36 hour trip to Long Branch Beach in New Jersey with the kids.

We all fell in love with that place, but it’s a little pricey to stay near the beach. And since I didn’t start looking at something until about four weeks ago and it’s still peak season right now, the options were limited.

My husband has to work, so he’s not coming with us, and the older two are doing work and college stuff, so it’s just me and the five younger ones.

But it’s tough to find a room that can fit six people in it that doesn’t cost a bazillion dollars with less than a month’s notice.

Because I was also looking for an efficiency type room that was on the beach that had a decent sized fridge and a stove.

But I did it.

I played Jersey Shore roulette on Hotels.com, and I found a fairly affordable place right on the ocean.

And we are staying there for three nights.

And we are leaving early tomorrow morning.

And I didn’t tell the kids until a couple hours ago.

And here was their reaction.

We are going to Wildwood Crest.

They are excited.

I am excited.

I still have to pack though, so I gotta go.

Stay tuned for pictures, videos, and updates on our trip.

I think it’s going to be awesome.

And I can’t wait until tomorrow.