Vacation Has Changed

We got back from our week in the O.C. NJ late Saturday night. It was a most interesting week, and while I can't say the batteries are recharged, as it were, I can say that it was a huge learning experience.

The first lesson learned this past week is that vacations with young children are not relaxing. The first part of the week was rough. Kim and I were at each others' throats the first few days as we adjusted to life at the shore with an 11-month-old. Tension levels were already high as we weren't sure how we would be received after the whole blow-up over the neighbor's tree, and we did very little to minimize them upon arriving at the beach. Good relations with our neighbor were re-established quickly, but it took us a few days to settle into a routine with the baby, the beach, etc. We didn't do al ot of what we normally do when we are shore-bound, and a lot of that was due to having to work around the baby's schedule. We will be more prepared next time, for sure.

We had near-perfect weather for the week, with a spectacular thunderstorm thrown in on Monday night that was incredible to watch. I took my neighbor to another house where his family from out-of-town were staying and got to watch the lightning out over the ocean - which was as impressive as any fireworks show I can remember. Temperatures were down all week from the nasty heat wave of the previous week, and we just missed the green fly invasion that made life miserable for beach-goers that week as well. The wind was an issue, and we had more trouble with beach umbrellas than two college-educated people should. We ended up buying two during the vacation. #$&*! flimsy pieces of crap...

We got down to the boardwalk a few times, and that is always fun. We entered Zachary in the "Pamper Scamper" on Tuesday, and it was quite the event. His age group (12 months and under) had the most entrants, and it was split up into 6 heats. He was in the first, and could have won it. In the Ocean City version of the crawling race, babies are placed by their parents in the middle of a big parachute, then goaded by said parents to crawl to the edge - with the first to touch the sand declared the winner. The Man Zachary's race was one of the cutest things I have ever seen. At the start, none of the babies paid attention to their Moms who dangled various sundry items about in (most futile) efforts to lure their offspring to the edge of the parachute. At the start of Zachary's heat, not one of the babies moved towards their parents. They all sat and looked at one another. It was awesome. Zachary just sat there staring at one of the female babies he was sitting next to. Once she started crawling, he followed her. He ended up darting past her and two other kids who ended up heading in the same direction. Zachary beat all of the other kids to the edge, then stopped. He sat down and looked back for the little girl he had been following. Her mother had thrown a cell phone onto the 'chute and Zachary realized it wasn't his, so he just sat there for about 10 seconds. The little girl touched the sand and Zachary touched a second or two after she did. He got a very nice 2nd Place ribbon and had his name published in the local paper (I bought two copies!). It was very cool. If the excitement I felt watching him participate in an event in which he clearly had no idea what was going on, I am going to need a pacemaker once he starts playing sports.

Wednesday afternoon we took Zach to the Cape May Zoo. It was much better than I expected. I recommend it to anyone looking for something non-beachy to do on a family vacation at the Jersey Shore. Thursday night Kim's cousin Jena came down and we all went to the boardwalk, where it was Family Night. They had various live bands playing, and Zachary loved that. We danced to a most-cheesy "reggae" band and had a good time. Jena and Kim took him on his first amusement park ride (some bear-themed cup-and-saucer monstrosity) and seemed more concerned than entertained.

The second half of the week was much better to us than the first, and all-in-all it was an alright first family vacation. Vacations will be different now, with the onus shifting from relaxation and enjoyment to survival. That being said, I am glad to be back - and now its time to catch up on a week's worth of work and fixing all of the things people did wrong in my absence. I return to the office today to the steady pounding of hammer drills coming through the wall from the office next door. Ah, Monday...

[Currently Listening: Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose - It's Too Late To Turn Back"]