We just got home last night from our week at the beach. We really had such a wonderful time! For a while we weren't sure if Gary would get to come or not with his knee, but he did and Lyla and I were very happy to have him there, even if he wasn't able to do everything with us. He was still there and that was important.
We had never been to Wildwood and I didn't know anyone else who vacations there so we were sort of flying blind. We had to do a lot of trial and error and learn from experience for next time we go (because we are planning to go back)!
The Drive
I'm used to driving to Myrtle Beach, this was so much better! I don't know why we would want to drive that far when you can get to a beach in close to half the travel time! I drove the whole way down and Gary drove back. The worst part is that we went right through Philadelphia, including a four lane highway, but luckily it was Sunday when I was driving so it wasn't awful.
Lyla did great in the car! Thank goodness for the portable dvd player! On the way home she passed out when we were 4 miles from the exit....
The Hotel
We stayed at the Aqua Beach Hotel and it was perfect for us! We paid a little more for a room that had a small kitchen in it and I think that saved us a TON OF MONEY. It had a full size refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave, cook top, toaster, pots & pans... We took basic food for breakfast and lunch, but we really could have taken a lot more. Now we know. AND they have gas grills by the pool that guests are welcome to use. Didn't know that, but we could have taken things to grill for dinner.
The location of the hotel was also great. You couldn't be any closer to the beach. And the hotel had beach chairs, umbrellas and boogie boards that guests were able to use. It was also at the very end of the boardwalk so there were plenty of activities in walking distance.
I really loved the set up of the pool too. It had a 1 foot deep area for little ones, then a fence, then it went from 3 foot to 4 foot to 5 foot. The pool was shaped in an L around the hot tub. It was perfect because Lyla wanted to be in the pool and I wanted to be in the hot tub. And we were able to do that. I could see her the entire time and I was right there in case she had any problems I could have jumped out and been right there in seconds. They also supplied all kinds of pool toys and balls for the guests to use in the pool. And they played great music around the pool all day long!
One other really neat feature of the hotel was the rooftop deck that all all sorts of lounge chairs and hammocks to relax and look over the beach and ocean. Lyla referred to them as the "hamps" all week. We don't know why... lol
So we gave the hotel two thumbs up! The staff was all great, we had zero complaints!
The Restaurants
It took us eating a lot of ice cream and until the very last night to find the "good" ice cream! It was at Sea Shell ice cream. It was the BEST we had and the cheapest!
There are a lot of diners there, which is fun, but I'm over sandwiches and fries... We didn't really have any great meals to be super excited about. We went out to breakfast one morning and it was ok. I think next time I will just bring more food to eat at the hotel and spend that money on other things. We pretty much at sandwiches and pizza all week.
Activities
I was so excited to take Lyla on this dolphin cruise. Well we left the hotel at the time I wanted to get there, then I turned the wrong way and had to take a 16 mile detour..... I thought for sure the boat was going to leave without us. But we made it. It was ok... I won't do it again. Lyla was over it pretty quick. As soon as we put our cameras away tons of dolphins came... figures. Then the next day we saw dolphins right along the beach, we could have just done that for free!
We played mini golf one night. That was fun! The golf course we picked was cute. They had a few really easy holes that kept it fun and not so hard that Lyla wanted to quit.
The boardwalk was really fun! There are all sorts of things to do (and things to waste money on). We let Lyla do some rides one afternoon. And we got her hair wrapped the last day. They had a place with old arcade games that Gary was really excited about. There is this little train thing called the Tram Car that we rode. It takes you from one end of the boardwalk to the other and you can get on and off. That was helpful with Gary's knee.
The Beach
There were some things at Wildwood beach that I haven't seen at other beaches that I really liked! The had a wooden sidewalk that took you down closer to the water. It was much easier than walking in the sand the whole way! And they had porta johns on the beach, which doesn't look real nice, BUT its great when you have to pee and you don't have to do it in the ocean or go all the way back to your hotel!
Lyla and I found all sorts of seashells. She loved searching for them! And then we would sit at the room and sort through them and get rid of any broken ones. She also loved playing in the sand and building sandcastles and a sandman (snowman made out of sand).
The Weather
I booked our vacation for this past week because it wasn't in the peak season yet, so the costs were still lower. It was a roll of the dice what kind of weather we would have got. The day we got there it was close to 90, I wish that had been the case all week, but it wasn't. We had cooler weather and some rain and some really windy days. We made the best of it. Next time we may try to find a good price a little later in the summer just for it to be warmer.
All in all we had a really great week! We spent family time together and made some wonderful memories. And THAT is what vacation is all about! Now... back to reality. :(
