That's sort of how it was on our trip to The Cape, for four days last week. Jack didn't sleep well -- we were all in the same room, basically a disaster, but that's what we get for not making our plans sooner than we did -- and didn't nap at all on our first full day there, with the result being he was terribly cranky that evening and terribly exhausted the next day. Then he had a great nap Saturday and we all had fun that afternoon, evening, and the next morning. And had to leave.
Best way to handle this trip is a highlights/lowlights sort of post....
Highlight: Our room was ready and beautiful, with a picturesque view out over the beach and the ocean. Since we'd never been there and really didn't know what to expect, it was shocking -- we couldn't have picked a better room. A Room With a View.
Lowlight: It was one room, which we knew, but we also had these illusions of us hanging out on the balcony while Jack slept. Yuh. No lights out there, and Jack took a while to fall asleep each night (because it was all new to him, being in the same room with us), so a lot of the time we were in the room was trying to get Jack to sleep or dealing with him being unhappy because he was exhausted.
Highlight: First time we stepped onto the beach, Jack was afraid to put his feet down -- for about 2 seconds, after which he ran across it like he was Lawrence of Arabia. He didn't want to go in the water -- not many people did, actually, because it was cold and dense with seaweed near the shore -- but that was okay. (Later I asked him, Jack, what was your favorite part of the beach? Jack: "Um. Seaweed!" That might have had something to do with us buying "Harry At the Beach" before the trip, a great book about Harry the Dog getting covered in seaweed.)
Lowlight: Not many, beyond the fact that the first day there high winds drove us from the beach with sand stinging our eyes. It got better though.
Highlight: Jack loved the beach. He ran about -- faster than we expected, once we turned and he was halfway over to the playground just seconds after we'd last seen him -- and collected rocks and shells, and built sand castles with Daddy, and played with his truck. And the great thing is, since we don't live in Denver anymore, we can keep going to the beach over the next few months! Probably go Thursday, in fact.
The absolute best moment was Jack's efforts to meet a seagull. He ran toward them when he saw them, and they flew off easily. He'd stop and yell: "Hey! Big Bird! Where you going?" And: "Hello, big bird! Hello! Where you going!" And he'd run off again. I'd say, Jack, I don't think you're going to catch the bird. And Jack said, "I want him to say Hello to me." I explained, well, Jack, I don't think he's going to say hello to you... And no sooner had I got the words out than one of the birds made a cawing, squawking noise. Emily and I were kind of dumbstruck, while Jack said, "He said Hello to me! The bird said hello to me!" Yep, he did.
Lowlight: Probably meals, since the first restaurant was just mediocre (and Jack was rambunctious), the resort's lunch was weak (and dinner available until "in-season," which started, er, today), we were too tired to do anything but order pizza into the room the second night, and it was only later that I found out about a seafood place that had counter-style ordering, which would have been ideal. Oh well, next year.
Highlight: Jack's exhausted 3-hour nap on Saturday, where he was nearly falling asleep on the beach that morning and ultimately we went back to the room and I sang him to sleep with about two lines of a song. That resulted in us getting takeout lunch/dinner from a nearby seafood restaurant, with me getting a huge plate of steamers (excellent) and various sides. Can't get anything like that in Colorado.
Lowlight: I guess the not sleeping thing should be mentioned again, especially since I'm going to have to wrap this up to try to catch up.
Highlight: Two things that must be mentioned before I go to bed.
We went to a Cape Cod League baseball game, which we wanted to do and thought Jack might enjoy, since his grandpa takes him to his Uncle Ian's softball games on Sunday mornings. We walk through the gate, the game is going on, I'm holding Jack who's looking around, and the first thing he says is, "Where's the playground?" We didn't stay long.
Second: ice cream. I don't think there's much more fun than watching Jack eat ice cream. We went out the last two nights there, each more fun than the night before. As the picture at right, assuming I uploaded it properly, makes clear.
One last highlight is, of course, Jack himself. He goes off on little speeches, waving his arms expansively, about the birds, or the water, or the seaweed, or the food, or his books, or his toys, or "big kids" he saw across the beach. He peppers us with questions ("What's that girl doing? What's that man doing? Where are they going? What are those birds doing?") Hearing him go off about this or that, so invested in what he's saying or asking -- it just never fails to amuse.
Which is why vacation was great, and always is.
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