Atlantic City, May 2010

Rob found out that he would have to go to a conference in Atlantic City the first week of May. This was the rare occasion where he'd be going on a business trip that was close enough to drive to, so Danita and the kids decided to tag along. We couldn't have asked for better weather and had a great time. The kids had never been to a beach before, so they really enjoyed seeing the ocean for the first time.

Click on each picture to see the photo album for that day

May 3 - Driving to Atlantic City


Rob worked half of the day, and during that time Danita got the car loaded and everything ready for us to leave. We got a later start than we would have liked, but it was Aiden's naptime so that worked out well. The kids slept for a long time, and we didn't need to stop until we were about halfway there. By then Madelyn was getting cranky because she was ready for a diaper change. We took a break and had some snacks, then we were back on the road. We were surprised that our GPS had us travel right through the middle of Philadelphia. By the time we got on the Atlantic City Expressway it was getting late and Madelyn was getting cranky, so we stopped at the next service plaza for a dinner break. We arrived in Altantic City around 9pm, and then managed to get a little lost on our way to the hotel (the GPS tried to make us drive on the boardwalk, which didn't help). We finally made our way to the hotel, and I started getting the kids ready for bed while Rob brought up our luggage. It took a long time to get the kids to settle down, but we finally all got some rest.

May 4 - Aiden and Madelyn's First Time at the Beach


Rob had to head off to his conference, so the rest of us were on our own. We went for a walk to get our bearings around the hotel and took an early morning walk on the boardwalk. Then we went on to the beach for the first time. Madelyn napped in the Ergo for a while, and Aiden had a blast putting his feet in the water, even though it was ice cold. We were amazed at how many shells there were on the beach. On the way in from the beach we ran in to Rob, who had just got off for his lunch break, so we all had lunch together at the Hard Rock Cafe next door. Then Rob went back to his conference. That afternoon Danita and the kids went for a long walk along the boardwalk, where the kids took a great nap. Then we visited the beach again before meeting Rob for a bit at our hotel room. Rob was doing dinner as part of his conference that night, so Danita and the kids ate at Breadsticks, a cafe in our hotel.

May 5 - Day 2 at the Beach


By this point we were falling into a routine. We spent the morning on the beach and Madelyn took her nap in the Ergo while Aiden and Danita play in the water and sand. Then we went back to our hotel room and took a shower to wash all the sand off so that we'd be ready to go out to lunch with Rob again. Since the Hard Rock Cafe was so close, we went there for lunch again. Then Rob went back to his conference and we took our daily walk. This time Danita found a nice place to sit and watch the ocean while the kids slept. After that we met up with Rob at the hotel, who had finished up with his conference early that day. There was enough time before the pool was going to close that we were able to go there. It was Madelyn's first time to ever go into a pool. She didn't like to sit in her boat thing, but enjoyed the water otherwise. At 5pm it was adult swim at the pool, so Rob took the kids back to the room while Danita enjoyed some swim time without the kids. Then we went out to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. It was a bit of a walk down the boardwalk, but a very neat place. Both kids were a little scared of the fake thunderstorms every half hour, but the food was good and it was a fun experience

May 6 - Day 3 at the Beach


When we woke up the day looked pretty dreary and they were predicting thunderstorms, but luckily we never did have have any storms. As usual we spent our morning on the beach. The water was brown and choppy, and it seemed extra cold, but we still had fun. Rob had a shorter lunch that day, so we had lunch at Breadsticks since it was in our hotel and close to where his conference was. Then in the afternoon Danita and the kids went for our usual naptime walk. Danita found a nice place to sit again that faced the beach, and visited with nice couple that shared the bench. Rob was finished for the day in time for us to make a trip to the pool. Then Danita enjoyed the adult swim time while Rob took the kids back to our room. We had planned to find a new place to eat that night, but after walking along the boardwalk and not finding much, we ended up back at the Rainforest Cafe. Aiden was less scared this time and we had another good meal. Then we headed back to our hotel, picking up some souveniers on the way since we'd be going home the next day.

May 7 - Time to go Home


By this point Rob was all done with his conference, so we had a family day. Originally we had considered going to the aquarium or zoo in Philadelphia, but instead we decided to have breakfast at Breadsticks and then spend some time on the beach. Since Rob had been working all the other times we had gone to the beach, this was the first time he got to join us. Then we headed back to our room and finished getting our stuff together, loaded the car, and were on our way. On the way home we only stopped once for a lunch break, so the trip home was faster than the trip down. All in all it was a fun trip and we're glad we tagged along!