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. :-)