Wild Dunes

On the Wednesday before Labor Day, Rick called me from work. "So, should we go to the beach, or what?" Ummm...yeah! Four days later, we packed up the car and headed to the Wild Dunes resort on Isle of Palms (just north of Charleston, SC).

I think we got out of the house around 11:30 Sunday morning, geared up for a 3 and 1/2 hour drive to the coast. The boys handled the ride fairly well--even though it only took about an hour for Jack to whine, "I'm tired. I need my bed." Which came out, I'm tiiii-yerd...I need my be-yed. Then, he insisted "I wanna go home, Mom." We reached the resort at a time when Jack would normally be getting up from his nap. Once we were in our room, I popped the little stinker in the pack-n-play, pulled the curtains, turned on a fan, and told him that we were going to have "quiet time." Within a minute, Jack opened the door of his bedroom and announced, "I awake," as I stared at him wide-eyed. What??? Why was my toddler out of his bed--the bed that was supposed to contain him, the bed that was supposed to be a substitute for his crib, the bed designed to keep my boy safe and out of mischief? Ohhhhh, this was going to be a long vacation, and not in a good way...

I saw the ocean from our balcony, and that's as close as I got that first night. Rick and Jack slept together in the "big boy" bed, and the pack-n-play went unused.

Monday came, and despite Jack's repeated requests to go home, we were determined to stay AND have fun. Sam was my little bright spot; he kept his schedule without missing a beat, despite cutting two teeth. Eventually, I made it to the ocean, and Jack slept in his pack-n-play. Over the next couple of days, Jack and I collected sea shells, all four of us went for a bike ride, and Jack and Rick went alligator-spotting. We enjoyed the pool (especially after Monday morning when we were one of few families left on the resort), and Rick took Jack to Patriot's Point one morning while Sam and I got some exercise with the jogging stroller.

When we prepared to leave, Jack inquired, "Go to the beach, Mom?" and continued asking all the way home. Will there ever be a day when we please him? Maybe next year.