July 22 - Time to go home
It was really raining while we packed up the cars but it stopped for a few minutes as we were leaving for a picture in front of the house.



The trip home was pretty much a full day affair. The drive back to Philadelphia was about 2 hours. We followed Amanda and Olivia and had lunch with them before we went to the airport. Because of the storms in Philadelphia, our flight was delayed a bit. Abby was wonderful the whole trip. She is such a great traveler. The only problem we had was that Abby is very afraid of bathrooms that are auto flush. Unfortunately every one we tried that day was auto flush. UGH!! I finally remembered a trick I read somewhere that if you put a little toilet tissue over the sensor thing, it won't flush. Fortunately this worked but it took a LOT of convincing Abby that it really wouldn't flush. We arrived home around 10:00 that night.

Our vacation was so much fun and we are already ready for the next one. :-)

July 21 - Ocean City Day 7
Our last full day in Ocean City. We started the day with breakfast out at a great little breakfast kind of place and then found ourselves at a pirate themed miniature golf course. Aside from making the mistake of paying for myself (I wound up just helping Abby) and not being able to get money back even though I realized the mistake about 22 seconds after I paid, we had a wonderful time.



Watch out Tiger Woods!



18 holes with 3 year olds goes pretty fast. :-) Step 1 - hit the ball. Step 2 - Keep hitting the ball. Step 3 - If necessary pick up the ball and drop it in the hole. Step 4 - Proceed to next hole. Special exception - if any holes have scary tunnels, just skip them.



They each got a pirate eye patch after the last hole. I bet the winner in Augusta would much prefer an eye patch to the green jacket.



After dinner out, we went to the beach for our last night. Amanda had brought kites for the kids and they were both dancing and singing about kites before we even got to the beach.



First time flying a kite!! She did great!



One last night of sand castle building and general sand playing.



I love the beach!!!!



Hey - where are our feet?



They are going to miss each other so much.

July 20 - Day 6 continued - Ocean City
After we left Atlantic City we returned to Ocean City and went to the boardwalk there for dinner and general hanging out.



By this point, Abby and Olivia were pretty good at the boardwalk scene. The weather had totally cleared and the evening was perfect for walking.



Yes, they were having so much fun!



It turned out Thursday nights are family nights and they had lots of bands playing/singing all up and down the boardwalk. These women were quite entertaining.



Abby watching another one of the bands. The bands crossed a wide range of music types. It was much cooler that night and we even pulled out the sweatshirts.



We went back to the amusement park after dinner. Amanda and Olivia rode the big ferris wheel. Abby was not interested so we rode the Dumbo ride again.

July 20 - Day 6 Atlantic City
So we woke up to rain. Time to figure out a plan B. The realtor had given me a packet of endless flyers of things to do around the Jersey shore. We found one that told of an aquarium in Atlantic City. Never having been to Atlantic City, I definitely wanted to check it out. So we packed up the kids and headed to the big AC. We decided to first go to the aquarium and then find the boardwalk.

Now Abby and I live in Atlanta which is now home to the world's second largest aquarium so when we arrived at the Atlantic City aquarium, I did smile. It was a very small building with free parking right next to it. Can't beat that. It was also just what we needed that day as the rain only lasted about an hour after we arrived in Atlantic City.



The aquarium was very cute. It was the perfect place to go while it was raining.



They had a tank where you could touch and after the boat touch tank, the girls were pros!



Being one with the fish.



"Do you see any fish in there?"



After the aquarium we headed to the boardwalk. One of the first places we found was the Trump Taj Mahal. It was pretty much how I had pictured it. Lots of gold decorations, lots of slot machines, and lots of very interesting people to watch. It also seemed to be a good place for lunch (and it was).



In front of the Trump Taj Mahal.



After lunch we walked the boardwalk. Abby was pretty fascinated with this Mr. Peanut. She does not like characters that are dressed up and walk around but since Mr. Peanut was a permanent fixture, she kind of dug him.



As we walked down the boardwalk, it got nicer and nicer (and newer and newer). Abby stayed awake the whole time (and walked a lot of the way too) but Olivia crashed and slept through most of it. :-)

July 19 - Day 5 Ocean City
We decided to try a different day today. We found a flyer for a whale and dolphin boat tour in the little town 30 minutes away. The tour was a 3 hour one. Insert your own Gilligan's Island jokes here. We found a fantastic place to eat breakfast (pancakes and fruit!) and then made the drive to Wildwood. This little town also had its own boardwalk so we checked it out. It was also fun though incredibly hot!



Abby and Olivia hanging out in Wildwood.



Abby on the boat as we headed out to sea in search of whales and dolphins. Sadly we never saw any whales but we saw lots of dolphins (including several very cute baby dolphins). Both Abby and Olivia fell asleep for about an hour of the trip. Abby fell asleep on my lap while we were sitting on the front of the boat. It was one of the most peaceful feelings I ever remember having. My sleeping child, the sun, and a great breeze.





Both girls woke up very happy from their boat naps!



One very cool part of the boat was the touch tank. They had a large tank filled with sea animals that were fine for kids (of all ages) to touch. The captain that explained about each animal was really good and both Abby and Olivia listened intently as he told about each animal and demonstrated the correct way to hold them. Then he let anyone who wanted to hold them. We were the last ones to leave once the boat docked! In the picture above Abby is learning how to hold the hermet crab.



Look mommy!!



After the boat docked, we stopped by the Wildwood beach for awhile.



They were so cute running around the beach holding hands.





On the way back to the house. She had put stickers on her lips. :-)

July 18 - Day 4 Ocean City
Another wonderful day at the beach! More sand castles and swimming around jellyfish. Somehow I didn't get any pictures from the beach but suffice it to say we had a blast.



After baths and before naps, Olivia "read" a book to Abby.



After lunch at the house and a nice long nap (and some great reading time for me!), we ate dinner at a well-established place. The kids menu even had turkey, applesauce, and mashed potatoes. We found a nice (and very large) playground and let the kids play until it was time to head back for bed.



My little monkey.



Two sweet girls!



Tickle and a hug combined.

July 17 - Day 3 Ocean City - part 2
After nap time, we went to the boardwalk in Ocean City. We loved it!! There was so much for the girls to watch and do (and eat!). We started out eating pizza that was just delicious. I can't remember the name of the place now but it was clearly a landmark.



After pizza we went to one of the amusement parks on the boardwalk. Both girls loved riding the rides!



The Ocean City amusement park we visited (there was another one too but this one seemed to be the biggest).



We started out with the little cars and worked our way up. Abby was grinning and waving the whole ride.



This was the view from the Thomas the Train ride. It was a little train that was elevated (so parents rode with the kids). Right when we were next in line to ride, we were told the ride had to shut down because "something was broken". Fortunately, whatever it was must not have been major. We only had to wait 5 minutes.



Another view from the Thomas the Train ride. We also rode the kid's roller coaster and Abby LOVED it!! I couldn't take pictures on it but she even held her hands up when she saw other kids doing it.



Abby and Olivia posing on one of the many boardwalk benches. Later in the evening it was hard to find a bench that was not occupied.



Posing behind the Ocean City flip flops. :-)



Ocean City boardwalk. It is a truly family oriented place. By the end of the week Abby would say "can we please go to the boardwalk". It was one of her vacation highlights.



No trip to the boardwalk would be complete without ice cream. The funny thing is I found out AFTER buying what I thought was a small ice cream cone that they actually sold much smaller kid cones. Let's just say the birds got about half of this one. :-)

July 17 - Day 3 Ocean City
We went to the beach early again. This time we had a much shorter walk (about 2 blocks) since we didn't need to make the store detour. Abby LOVED the water and was fearless. The water was pretty cool (even though the day was very hot). Unfortunately, we saw a lot of jellyfish so we didn't get to do a lot of swimming. I have been stung several times by jellyfish and I did not want Abby to get stung. Jellyfish hurt sooooo bad.



Like mommy, like daughter. She loves the beach!!



Covered in sand just as she should be.



We built a lot of sand castles. And also packed a lot of heavy sand in one small bucket.



Partners in crime.



I know my dad would be so proud of her. He loved building sand castles.