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Sunday, May 16, 2010

Part 2: Long Beach Island, NJ

After our trip to NY we all drove to Long Beach Island, NJ. I grew up going to this same beach house (condo) and have absolutely incredible memories of this place. I was so glad Barrett got to come see it for himself and now knows what we are talking about when we talk about LBI.
This is the view walking over the sand dunes. This is right next to the condo. Breathtaking view!

We stayed in the condo on the bottom left. Straight out those windows is a beautiful view of the ocean.
Our first stop once on the island - Wawa. Wawa is like a 7-11 but MUCH better! Hannah is here displaying food #5 I just had to have while here. TASTY KAKES!!!!

Food #6 - A hogie from Wawa.
Korbin, Calahan, and Dylan. This was Cal and Dylan's first time to ever see the ocean. They were completely amazed by it!
Oliver also loved it....as long as he was just on the sand and not anywhere near the water.
Look at his cute sand covered feet.
Barrett spent much of his time on the beach fishing. We didn't catch anything, but it was still a fun time.
So glad to be at the ocean!!!
My brother Alex found a star fish in the ocean.
Yup, we got this lovely :-) rental car. I like to call it "the refrigerator." It is a Nissan Cube. What a ride. It made me smile (or actually laugh) every time I looked at it.
We took a drive to the end of the island to visit the light house.
All those steps and we made it to the top. Talk about being out of breath!
Boy was it windy at the top of the lighthouse!!! Dylan is flying away (or maybe Alex is holding him up like this.) But really, it was VERY windy!
Taking a break on the way down the stairs of the lighthouse.
I thought going up was going to be the hardest part. I was wrong! The walk down you can see all the way straight down to the bottom through the holes in the stairs. This was a great experience, but I was ready to get back down to ground level!
The long awaited tasty food #7 - a cheese steak! Yum! I want another one RIGHT NOW!!!
The local toy store. It is always fun to check out all the cool toys in this place.
The area of Long Beach Island that we stayed in is called "Ship Bottom."
This was funny. Not long ago the Benker boys went to Sea World and saw the shows with the trainers working with the whales. The trainers raise their hands as a signal for the whales to come out of the water. Well, apparently the boys thought this might work in the ocean too! They kept raising their hands - over and over and over again! But for some odd reason all those whales in the sea didn't obey.
I thought this was a cute and funny sign that we saw for sale in one of the shops. Where is this guys french fry? I want him to be happy!
The little boys slept all together in one of the bedrooms on the floor. This is what I woke up to one morning. Feet of a sleeping boy hanging out the bedroom door.

Barrett loved exploring on the rocks and all along the beach. He is such a fun and entertaining guy!
Taking a walk in Beach Haven. There are tons of stores in this area. Unfortunately most of them are not open yet. It is too early in the season. It was still fun to walk around though.
Another cute sign
Dylan and Cal running away from that cold water. No bathing suits needed this trip to the beach. It was very cold and windy!
Aaron bought a tent to set up one the beach to try and block some of the wind.
Uncle Barrett digging a hole in the sand with the little guys.
I just want to jump into this picture, sit back in one of those seats, and watch that incredible sea the Lord created. It was soooo calm and relaxing. Love it!!!
My older brother Jeremy and his family were at the beach house the week before we were there. While he was there, he caught 3 big stripped bass - 30 something pounds each. He had so much, he left some in the freezer for us to cook and eat while there. It was sooo yummy. Here is a picture of the cooked fish. On the i-phone is a picture of Jeremy with his kiddos holding the fish he had just caught.
The crew eating dinner at the triangle kitchen table. This table is a very fond memory of this beach house. How often do you see a table in the shape of a triangle???
One night Mom, Tara, and I took a late night trip to Wawa for one of Wawa's soft pretzels. Why are there no Wawa's in Texas?
While at the beach, I taught Sarah and Tara how to knit. Before too long Aaron joined in. I even heard that after Barrett and I left Korbin got himself a set of knitting needles. I look forward to some evenings of knitting on the porch with the girls (and I guess boys if they want to join in.)
The boys all snuggly and ready for another good nights sleep.
Just off this porch and over this sand dune is the ocean.
A walk on the beach. The waves were huge this morning.
All bundled up on the beach.
This was such a fun trip! We have so many wonderful memories of our time here on Long Beach Island.

2 comments:

  1. Long Beach captures vivid memories just like in resorts in Panama City beach Florida. The sunset has the power to create beautiful moments, the color, the grace of the sleeping sun, and your family beside you, all is sweet amalgam of a perfect moment. Your family is one good example of a sweet and perfect relationship. Of how I adored your photos is how I missed having my family in sceneries like these; playing around the salt water, eating together, rounding up stories under a roof of converted vacation rentals. In Panama City beach Florida, we used to do things exactly as you did here.

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