Our Fun Labor Day Weekend- Part 1

We left Fort Lee early Friday morning and drove the 6 hours to Cape May, New Jersey. No one we'd talked to had heard much about Cape May but dear friends had recommended we check it out so we headed that way on the first day of leave. We arrive around 10:30 am and the kids immediately wanted to play in the ocean. We parked at "Sunset Beach" and got out to play.

The water was colder than we were use to but that didn't stop the kids from playing.

Bailey loves to sit and let the waves hit her. It's pretty entertaining to watch too. 

Tucker waded into the water a little bit, but ultimately settled on collecting shells and "cape may diamonds" on the beach. Cape May diamonds are really just pieces of quartz crystals that have been broken off and then smoothed and polished by the water over years. But they are pretty and the kids had a great time searching for them. The beach literally sparkled and we brought home a handful of small "diamonds"

Tanner played on his boogie board for a while until he decided he was too cold.

It was a beautiful day, but not the hot weather we are use to having at Virginia Beach.

This boy and his yellow bucket. He loves that bucket and carries it everywhere with him while playing at the beach. He's so cute. 

After a while Tanner and Tucker started working on a sandcastle. 

I love watching these two boys work together. Tucker is finally starting to be helpful instead of a hindrance. 

Dad even joined in on the sandcastle fun at one point. Tanner collected rocks and diamonds to add to their sandcastle so it would shine and sparkle.

More of Bailey playing in the surf. 

Here is Tanner laying on the beach as he searches for the perfect "diamond" to bring home. 

After a couple of hours at the beach, we were all starving. We threw on some clothes and drove into Cape May some more. The beach was at the most southern tip and the rest of the town was inland a bit. We parked and found a small cafe that had outdoor seating. We were thoroughly enjoying the amazing 75 degree weather. It's so hot in Virginia still.

We ate a quick lunch and then drove around the boardwalk a little bit. I had a delicious lobster roll and crab soup. The kids had cheeseburgers and Chris got fish and chips. So yummy.

Then we drove over to Wildwood, New Jersey because we wanted to play on the boardwalk. However, before we could have anymore fun, Tucker needed a quick nap. Tucker had fallen asleep on the drive to Wildwood and because he'd only been asleep for 10 minutes, we parked and just let the kids watch a movie in the car while Tuck slept. Chris spied an ice cream shop next door and decided we needed a treat. He took the older two kids over to get ice cream, while I waited with Tucker in the car. They got home made ice cream from "Bananas" and we all devoured it. So delicious. 

After a 45 minutes we couldn't contain the kids and their excitement any longer.

We woke Tucker and headed over to the boardwalk.
We settled on Morey's Pier because I had read about it online and decided it was the most kid friendly. It had tons of carnival-like rides that the kids could ride and lots of yummy food.
We bought tickets and then we rode every ride we could find. First up was the carousel. This is always a favorite with my kids.

Then it was onto the swings. Tanner was disappointed the swings did not go high but Tucker enjoyed it.

Well you can't tell from this picture but Tucker did love the swings. He actually asked to ride it again later, so I took him back on his own to ride the swings while the kids rode one of the bigger rides.

Again, Tucker was super serious-faced during the boat ride, but they all had fun. 

Next up, bumper cars. This was very entertaining to watch. Tucker decided he didn't want to do the cars so we just watched Tanner and Bailey. 

Then we took turns taking the older kids on the pirates ride. This was made for one kid per adult so we had to ride it separately. 

Here we are making our pirate faces before the ride. 

Then Daddy took the older two on the flying pirate ships. Tucker was big enough to ride but started crying when we went to board, so I waited with him. The older two loved it. 

And Tucker happily chased seagulls while we waited for them to finish. 

Then Bailey joined in on the seagull chasing fun.

Next we rode the tilt-a-whirl seashells.

This one had me screaming. It twisted and spun so fast. Tucker wasn't a fan but Tanner and Bailey enjoyed it with me.

Then Tucker, Bailey and I rode the flying elephants while Daddy and Tanner watched. 

Then we were suddenly dying of starvation and decided to eat dinner. We walked down the boardwalk until we found "Mack's". This place was so good. The pizza had great reviews and we love a good new-york style pizza. So good. 

Then we stopped by the candy store and everyone picked out a treat. 

After enjoying our candies, we headed off to ride more rides. It started getting dark and all the lights turned on. It was so fun. 

Tanner and Bailey loved riding this ride together. It's so fun they are close enough in size that most of the rides Tanner can do, Bailey is big enough for too. They are a great little duo. 

They rode that ride twice in a row. Then it was onto more fun. I just love these two munchkins. 

While Tanner and Bailey went on their second ride, I took Tucker to ride the swings again. He loved it and he loved the lights everywhere. 

I also took Tucker on the train ride. He loved it!

Family picture at Morey's Pier. 

Our last stop of the night was the Ferris wheel. It was huge. Tucker started to freak out when we got on, but once it started moving, he loved looking out over the pier. It was pretty gorgeous all lit up and alive. 

Bailey and her Daddy riding together. 

Tucker and Tanner took turns looking out over the boardwalk. It really was gorgeous. 

Me and my boys. 

Thanks Morey's pier. You did not disappoint. The kids thought it was amazing. The lights, the music, the food and the rides- it was quite the night. A perfect time on the beach boardwalk. 

The next day we drove over to Hershey Pennsylvania. I remember visiting the chocolate factory as a teenager with my family and I was excited to experience the chocolate smelling streets with my kids and hubby.
Hershey's "Chocolate World" was bigger than we expected. We spent all day there and didn't even cover all of it. But we had a blast. There were lots of kid friendly rides that even Tucker could ride.

Our first stop however was "Zoo America". It's a small zoo inside Chocolate world. 

We went to the reptile house first. I hate reptile houses, but for some reason my kids are totally intrigued by them. 

Although Bailey was not impressed with the komodo dragon. She told me that it wasn't a real dragon because it didn't have wings. lol. 

Then it was on to see the bears. I love this picture of my kids "measuring up". Can you imagine seeing a 9 foot polar bear in person?? They are massive. 

Next we looked at the fish. This was definitely a favorite for Tuck. 

These little telescope viewers were also a huge hit. 

Next to the big cats exhibit there was a wooden statue of a bobcat, with it's prey a bunny hiding underneath. All three kids were totally entranced by it.

But Tucker took on the responsibility of protecting this wooden bunny. He was very concerned and kept yelling "NOOO CAT!"  Then he would hug the bunny and snuggle it. I was cracking up. 

We saw a few more exhibits before leaving.

Then we started riding some of the rides. The lines weren't too bad. It was lots of fun.

This was a favorite for Tanner. 

Daddy took Tanner on it and I rode with Bailey. Tucker was too small. 

Can you spy Chris and Tanner? This ride when so high. It spun you around forwards until you reached the top and then it reversed and spun you backwards back to the ground. So fun!

Then we went over to one of the kid areas and let the kids ride some smaller rides by themselves. 

This frog hopper ride was my favorite to watch. Tucker was being a stinker and didn't want to ride, but Bailey and Tanner had a great time. They laughed together the entire time. So funny to watch. 

After riding some more rides, we cooled off with some slushies. As you can see, Tucker was thrilled with this snack. 

Then we all rode the carousel. 

When we got off the carousel, the Hershey chocolate bar guy was standing right next to the ride. We ran over to meet him and the kids had to give him hugs. 

And we snagged a family picture. Tucker wasn't thrilled with being so close to this Hershey bar, but he survived. 

Then we rode some more rides. 

Around 5:30 pm, we decided we were hungry. We left the park to get a real meal. And OMG- the restaurant we went to was recommended to us by the shuttle bus driver and he did not oversell.

The food was so amazing. The kids all ate really well and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner on their outdoor patio. So nice.

Then we went back to the park to do the Hershey Factory Tour. At this point it was around 7 pm. Tucker was getting tired but we managed to survive the crazy long tour line.

The tour itself was pretty fun. We got in a little car and rode around to see how the Hershey company makes their candy bars. At the end they gave us each a mini Hershey bar. I don't know if I was just brainwashed by the tour or what, but it was literally the best Hershey bar of my life.

Then we snagged a picture in front of the Hershey character sign inside the factory. The kids each got a small bag of Hershey kisses from the gift shop. 

 At that point, the kids were tired. It was around 8:30 at night and we decided to call it a night.

We drove back to our hotel and finally rested for the day. It was a long, very full day but we had a blast. I will have fond memories of that sweet smelling park for a long time.

Stay tuned for the rest of our fun Labor Day weekend.