On the road again. I can't wait to get on the road again.

Ok, not really, but it wasn't bad at all! I speak of our long haul to Hilton Head, SC where we vacationed last week with Hank's parents.

Anyway, hi! We've missed you! This year was a whole different game than last year. This year I had a toddler. This year she could walk. This year she only took one nap a day. This year actually felt like a vacation!

Here goes... Part I-getting there.

I wasn't sure how the long ride would go. I had a few tricks up my sleeve. We still stopped every few hours so that The Boss could get out and run around and our first true destination was Charlotte, NC for an overnight visit with Hank's extended family. We took a nice picnic and stopped first at the New River Gorge. This kept The Boss on her regular after lunch nap schedule and provided a few hours of silent drive time:)I came to learn that every time she protested about being in the car, it was helpful to whip out some new little toy that she had never seen before and this pacified her just fine. I found this little number at Costco. It was a little music player that went along with a Wiggles song book. We called it her WigglePod. It worked wonders.
Small Matchbox cars were fun, too. Books and small stuffed animals and balls and a shape sorter was a good way to pass the time. As usual, knitting needles provided some fun. No, she didn't poke her eye out. Trust me, I'm more likely to poke my eye out with knitting needles. I was knitting, she wanted to as well. Probably the most entertainment came from her new joy, stickers. Not one ended up anywhere on the inside of my car, but all of them did end up on her body. Whatever works is what I say!
We only had to bust out the DVD player twice-once on the last hour of the trip there and once on the way back. She recently got into the Wiggles, so we scooped up a couple DVDs at Family Video (the kids videos are free!) and they graciously extended our rental time to accommodate our vacation. Take that, Blockbuster.

Of course, there was a lot of singing and car dancing to keep her entertained. Please, you all do it, too, I just freely admit it.

After a great time with Hank's cousins, aunt and uncle, we were finally off for the last leg of the journey to Hilton Head. The water was calling me.

I was worried The Boss might be a little prissy when it came to getting sand on her. I was wrong!
Thank goodness.

She was a little slow to warm up to the ocean, preferring to simply dig in the sand
or swim in the pool at first,
but by the end of the trip, she was signing more when we'd go near the water. We had perfect weather. We had fantastic accommodations. We had lots of fun. The Boss wore herself out so much that she took three hour naps on a daily basis. We're considering moving there for that reason alone. That and she just looks so cute in beach gear.

Stay tuned for Part II--my baby swim gear reviews and a little side trip (aka other boring things people who are not on vacation don't care about)! Oh it's good to be back!