Last week Patrick had spring break. He worked long days most of the week catching up on all things life but we decided that if the weather was good, we would go to the beach on Friday. Everyday we checked the weather in anticipation of rain or cold temperatures but to our surprise, Friday was calling for perfect beach weather.

I’m a planner. I have things on my schedule for days, weeks if not months. I like to go through every little detail in my head to make sure I know what to expect. As Patrick says, “You like to be spontaneous, but you have to plan to be spontaneous”. Exactly. I need to plan to not have any plans. It’s just who I am. So, when we were throwing around the idea of going to the beach for the day, of course my happy little heart starts to plan it all out.

Day beach trips are so different when taking a little with you. We did a few trips to Gigi’s when Bennett was 2 months old but this would be the first all day trip since Bennett now has an actual routine and knows what’s going on. I was really nervous about how Bennett would do with a 3 hour car ride, a trip to the aquarium, an afternoon at the beach, dinner at Something Fishy and then another 3 hours strapped in the car seat on the way home. That’s a long day for a adult, let alone a 6.5 month old.

Let me tell you. He absolutely rocked it. Ok more than rocked it. He blew our minds with how well he did. He didn’t cry once the entire day. I was shocked.

Bennett typically wakes between 6 and 7 and is up for an hour or two and then goes back down for a morning nap (which is when I typically blog, work, eat breakfast, clean etc). We decided that we would put him in the car and start the drive whenever he was ready to go back down for his morning nap. We filled up the gas tank the night before, packed everything in the car and so when it was time, it was literally just put a diaper on him and hit the road. No stopping for coffee, no morning buiscuit, do not pass go – just get on the road and drive. I wasn’t sure if he would last 3 hours in the car without us stopping. Heck, I normally have a rest stop so I can relieve my tiny bladder! We decided to drive for as long as possible but if he obviously needed a break from the carseat, we would stop.

He fell asleep about 30 minutes in and slept for an hour and a half and then was awake for the next hour. The fact that he was awake for an hour after his nap and STILL didn’t cry is what really surprised me. We didn’t have to stop and feed him or anything. We actually were able to even go through a drive through for lunch before the aquarium. When we got to the aquarium, I fed him in the car, flipped the backseat down and changed his diaper on it and then it was time for the aquarium.

The last time we went was in 2009! Check out the pre-marriage, pre-baby folk!

What a great trip 🙂

It was even more fun going with Bennett though. He LOVES fish. He wanted to touch them all which was really funny to watch.

 

After the aquarium, it was time for the beach. It was warm 80+ degrees outside with very few clouds in the sky.

I had packed 3 bags for the day. Mostly to stay organized but it actually worked out great.

Bennett’s diaper bag had everything he needed for diaper changes, the aquarium and toys for the car ride.

I used a Thirtyone utility tote for all of our clothes, a bag for all things sandy after the beach, my tablet and anything we might need for our car ride such as snacks etc.

I then used another Thirty one utility tote for all things beach. This included towels, toys for the beach, a fold up waterproof blanket thing for Bennett to lay on, flip flops, a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen etc. This way we just had 1 bag to bring to the beach with us.

We brought our tent, chairs, a cooler and then the one bag. I was concerned with how I was going to get all the stuff PLUS Bennett to the beach. It was better than expected. I wore Bennett, carried the utility tote and then Patrick wore the chairs (they can be worn like backpacks), carried the cooler in one hand the the tent in the other.

See the blue floral blanket thingy under the towels? Best 12 dollars I’ve spend. The sand literally rolled off of it unlike towels where it gets stuck in the fibers. I got it at walmart 🙂 It has a water repellent back so it also can be used in the grass at a park or something similar 🙂 It folds up into a nice square with a handle for easy transport.

You can see the ThirtyOne Utility tote I brought. It was REALLY easy to carry on my shoulder while wearing Bennett.

Our Setup. Some people buy camping stuff…. we buy beach gear. We bought a beach tent this year and it was the best addition EVER to our set up. I literally could spend all day at the beach now because the tent blocks the sun AND the wind. It was a great place for Bennett to spend so he didn’t get too hot or needed a break from the windy beach. It easily fit our cooler, both chairs and a large area for Bennett to lay/play.

There was literally no one on the beach so breastfeeding was an ease hahah.

Bennett did have a little bit of trouble falling asleep with all the noise and distractions. Once he did though, Patrick and I threw a Frisbee around, hunted for shark teeth (as usual) and just enjoyed a relaxing 45 minutes of US time.

We spent almost 4 hours on the beach before we packed up and headed out to Something Fishy. I don’t have any pictures from dinner because we left our phones in the car (on purpose). It was a beautiful day. Bennett did amazing and it was so refreshing to finally get back to the beach.

Bennett fell asleep about 6:30 in the car on the way home and slept the entire way. He was awake for about 45 minutes when we got home, changed him into pj’s, wiped him down from the day and started our typical bedtime routine. I’m surprised that he still slept through the night considering he technically went to bed at 6:30.

I’m so excited for more beach trips this summer. Thankful for the memories that were made on our very first beach trip with Bennett Journey.