Family Vacation: Part Two

As much as we love spending time with our family and getting to be at home with everyone, we try to make sure we also prioritize time for just us. Time away from the stress of his job to reconnect and relax. So... after saying goodbye to our family at the lake we drove on down to Kiawah Island! T.J. and I had been once before together a couple years back and we immediately fell in love and decided it would become our family's beach spot. We were so excited to experience it again, this time with Tommy!

Of course no road trip is complete without a pit stop at Cracker Barrel. You could have told Tommy this was where we were vacationing and he would have been happy to sit there, eat biscuits and people watch for an entire week.
We stopped and picked up some groceries for the week before checking in to our home for the rest of the week. Once unpacked, we had a little time before Tommy's bedtime so we headed straight to the beach! Seeing the ocean for the first time on any vacation always feels like a great big exhale and sets me into a blissful state of mind. Watching Tommy see the ocean, feel the sand in between his chubby little toes and letting the waves wash over his feet was pure magic.
He crashed as soon as we got back to our villa and then T.J. went and picked up dinner for the two of us, grilled grouper, shrimp, rice and veggies,  to enjoy out on our patio together. It was the perfect start to the second half of our vacation.
The forecast for the week had a rain cloud depicted every day but we happily woke up to sunshine. Since we weren't sure what the rest of the day would look like, after breakfast we quickly headed over to check out the pool.  We enjoyed having the place to ourselves for a little morning swim before Tommy's first nap, perks of waking up early on vacation.
After naptime we did what every first-time parent does and brought way too much stuff with us to the beach. After putting on swimsuits and lathering on sunscreen and changing a poopy diaper the second we unfolded our beach blanket, we spent about 30 minutes on the beach before we decided Tommy had eaten enough sand for one morning.
We headed back to the pool for lunch and a pina colada. Then we checked out all the fun fountains and slides at the kids pool and Tommy splashed around and stared at all the other tiny humans wanting to do what they were doing.
I am looking forward to taking Tommy to the splash pad and pools at home this summer because oh boy does he nap well after a bit of swimming! After his nap we got dressed and headed to the famous Ocean Course clubhouse for dinner at the Ryder Cup Bar & Grill. Driving there we passed home after beautiful home and daydreamed about which one we'd pick if we won the lottery. Dinner was delicious and we enjoyed the beautiful ocean view while Tommy charmed all the golfers and our waitress (as per usual). 
The next morning we took a walk on the beach and then later in the day we drove over to Sullivan's Island to meet up with one of his med school buddies/groomsmen for lunch. We grabbed burgers at Poe's Tavern (mine had pimento cheese of course) and enjoyed catching up.
 On our way home we stopped to wander around the little shopping center on Kiawah before heading to the pool again and then we all crashed early that night.
We continued our little vacation schedule and were back on the beach in the morning again where we lingered a little longer in the surf this time. Then after nap time we were joined by one of my college roommates who lives in Charleston! She is my first college friend to meet Tommy and I am so thankful we got to spend time together and catch up, and of course play in the pool and enjoy a pina colada together.
We did dinner al fresco on our patio again that night and T.J. and I both continued working our way through our beach reads. Friday was our last day before flying home and unfortunately we finally got some of that rain that had been predicted all week. We got pockets of sun here and there during the day so we took a couple walks and visited the nature center and then had one more dinner out and ended our last night on the island with ice cream from the Sanctuary hotel.

I wont talk too much about our flight home I'd like to be able to fly with Tommy again someday. Let's just say he didn't sleep or stop moving the. entire. day and we were all so happy to be done traveling by the time we got home. Despite that, I am already looking forward to years and years of sweet memories made with my boys at the beach!

Comments

  1. This is such a happy post!! I love seeing all the photos of your sweet family, Shannon! Tommy is so adorable and looks like he will be walking soon! That face and those eyes... oh my goodness. Thanks for sharing the second part of your vacation with us!!

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  2. It sounds like a wonderful trip! Little Tommy is just so darn cute! I'm on sweetness overload here!
    Traveling with kids can be tricky. Glad you guys got home ok.
    Have a great Tuesday!

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  3. So happy you had fun, family time. Also, your family is the cutest : )

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  4. All your photos are fun and your little boy so precious. I am visiting from your mom's blog to wish you a happy birthday!

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  5. Popping over from the Hodgepodge to wish you a Happy Birthday and thank you for sharing your family vacation time in such a delightful way. Joyce is right, your Tommy is the cutest baby boy on the planet.

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  6. Happy Birthday to you! (Your mom told) Your little guy is adorable!

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  7. What a lovely post! So enjoyable to read. I'm with Tommy, I love Cracker Barrel and the ocean too!

    Have a wonderful birthday!

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  8. Happy birthday! (you can blame your Mum for all these Hodgepodger visitors lol) A great recount of your vacation and lovely photos. Your Tommy is adorable.

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  9. That Tommy is such a happy baby!!! Kiawah was our favorite beach when we were down that way a couple of years ago.
    Happy birthday!!!

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