Beach Trip

Since the weather has been so nice recently we decided to go to Wilmington for the day. We had not been to the beach since October, which is a pretty long time for us. We like to take advantage of the convenience of the "short" drive to the beach whenever we can. Aidan has definitely grown to love it. When he was younger he hated to get sand on his hands or feet, but now it doesn't bother him (thank goodness!!!). We almost didn't go down because the weather forecast said there was a possibility of rain, and we were afraid it would be a wash out. Fortunately, we didn't listen and the weather could not have been better. We started out at Wrightsville Beach, and it was warm and comfortable. It was breezy but nothing too bad. Aidan loved walking along the beach and finding shells. I had just cleaned out my car a couple weeks before, so we had nothing to put them in. So, Andy cut the top off a water bottle and Aidan thought that was a pretty neat way to carry them. And dump them over and over again!

After walking along the beach for a little while we went to Bluewater for lunch. Aidan enjoyed sitting by the big window and watching the boats go by. We have learned in recent weeks that he really likes fish, and that day was no exception. He ate quite a bit, and tried shrimp for the first time as well. He even liked it! That is fine, he can have my share! Someone had recommended we go to the Hugh McRae park in Wilmington, so we headed over there next. I think it was probably the biggest and prettiest park I had ever gone to. They had two play areas for kids. One for the younger group and one for the bigger kids. This worked out perfectly for Aidan because it was just the right size for him, and he was around kids close to his own age. He had a ball!!!

After leaving the beach the first time, Aidan just kept asking if we were going back to the beach, so we decided to drive down to Carolina Beach. I am not a fan of this beach at all, but it made Aidan happy so that was all that mattered. We walked along their boardwalk for the first time, and it was neat but it didn't take long to see which crowd this beach caters to "in season". There were bars everywhere (closed at this time fortunately). Let's just say I will not be planning our family vacation here! Not exactly a family oriented beach! The weather had started to cool a bit and the wind had really picked up, so we didn't stick around long.

I was really hoping to get to go to downtown Wilmington because I love walking on the boardwalk along the river, going to some of the shops, and seeing all the beautiful houses and tree lined streets. I could live there very easily! Aidan was absolutely worn slam out, so he fell asleep as soon as we started heading over there. We went ahead and drove through but weren't able to get out. Next time we will start our trip there! Since they are a little warmer than us lots of trees had started blooming, and Aidan's allergies kicked in, so we needed to head back anyway. We ate at Cracker Barrel on the way home which is one of my favorite places to eat, so that was a nice end to the day (even though the service was terrible!!!). Aidan had a ball, and we enjoyed getting to spend a day of letting him run and do whatever he wanted. Days that are focused on him seem to always be the most enjoyable!