Day 31

We had quite a drive today, so we attempted to get out of town early.  We packed up and said our goodbyes to the Cadenas family and left in search of a Cracker Barrel.  I'm not sure if it's the store or the checkers or the food but my kids love that place!  The kids had a feast so maybe it's the food?  It was crazy crowded and busy so by the time we got back into the car it was already 11am - I guess we just ate lunch!

After an hour or so we were in Delaware with no hint of a state line sign.  The kids were watching Star Wars and I was lost in music, so it is quite possible I maybe probably missed it.  No worries though, we found the sign at the Maryland state line!

You will notice a special visitor in these pictures - the kids were talking to Dave on the phone as we stopped, so they told him to say "Cheese" at the right time!

After a long drive down the coast and almost emptying my wallet with tolls, we approached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel and another hefty toll.  Brayden had been so excited about going over this bridge he asked every time he noticed we were on a bridge if this was the one.  Apparently there are people you can pay to drive you across it as it can be a little nerve-wracking.  I was up for the challenge though and it turned about to be pretty normal except for the whole tunnels part.  It's just weird to be driving a long a bridge and then you see up ahead it just stops for about 300 yards and picks back up and does it all over again a couple miles later.  I think Ryan might have thought we were going to have to jump it!  We didn't stop, but I'm sure there are "I survived crossing the bridge" t-shirts in the gift shop.

Shortly after crossing the bridge we made it to our campground and did our unpacking & dinner routine. The kids were excited to go to the beach so we headed to the VA Beach Boardwalk.  Brayden spotted Posieden from blocks away so we had to get a picture.  He is pretty famous from the Percy Jackson books we've read.

As the kids raced to the playground, I headed to the water to test the temperature and watch the very edge of the sunset.

There was quite a line on the playground for the coveted monkey bars.  Apparently there was a competition to see who could make it all the way across and land on the wobbly step at the end, a la Wipeout.  Brayden made it and if Ryan had been about 3 inches taller she would have been able to reach the step at the end.  Laney giggled so much she could barely make it to the second ring!

We searched for some homemade ice cream, but had to settle for a serve yourself yogurt and toppings place.  We got home too late for a fire but we did get to start a new book - The Island of the Blue Dolphins.  We're hoping to be able to finish this one before we meet up with Dave in a few days especially since we have a few ferry rides to pass time on.