Vacation. Vacation. Sweet Vacation.

We were blessed with the good fortune to travel to Fort Fisher AP Recreation Area in Kure Beach, North Carolina this past week on vacation. We received a bit of rainfall thanks to Ms. Fay blowing north, but overall the week was beautiful. We spend lots of time enjoying the sun and sand on the beach.
Sophia enjoyed the surf this trip (as opposed to the screaming and tear filled moments in Florida earlier this year). She really enjoyed eating Veggie Booty and sand while lounging on the beach. The wind blowing softly against her bald head while she used all 10 of her teeth to grind down the sand to a find dust. The combination seemed to speed up the teething process as while we were there she cut two molars!!
During the week we visited my sister and her husband, who live just a few miles North near Wilmington. Amy runs a fancy, fancy boutique in the Historic Downtown District. Elixir (the fancy, fancy part of the description applies here. The jeans can cost as much as a car payment!) and Return Passage (where you can find some great bags and jewelry at consignment store prices!) If you're ever in the area Downtown Wilmington is a nice place to jaunt around for a while. I guess if you like history (and your wife will allow you, unlike Geo's lovely wife) you could spend endless hours looking at "old stuff."


Another adventure was visiting the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher. I haven't gone to many aquariums in my life but this is my very favorite and a place that we'll return to on every Kure Beach vacation. The exhibits are magnificent. We especially enjoy the large tank at the beginning of the tour. The glass stands over 6 feet tall and you can smoosh your kiddy face against the glass to kiss the fish as long long as your are tall. During our last visit there was a scuba show in a breathtaking two story tall tank (pictured with the beautiful bride in front of it). The scuba guy, we'll call him Scuba Steve, came out to greet everyone in full gear. He swam with a magic note pad and communicated with the audience by writing notes and putting them up to the glass. The tank is filled with small sharks and other interesting sea creatures. Ohh...fun!


Our trip home was longer than the one down. We decided to stay at a hotel in Virgina to make the trip a bit easier for Sophia. She didn't seem to appreciate the long drive down as evidenced by her staying up most of the night to "talk" with us about how disappointed she was in our decision to prepare her for bed and then pack her and the luggage into the car at 9pm and start our vacation travels early. The trip home was MUCH nicer.