Thrill of Amusement Rides

The first ride Elly picked out had Dan and I a bit apprehensive, but her enthusiasm overrode our instincts.

Perhaps we should have tried to talk her out of it more.

She was very happy to get off the roller coaster. Yet, the first thing she wanted to do was to go find more rides to go on.

At first, Dan went on the rides with her.

Then, we put her on a ride all by herself.

There was no turning back. She would have lived on the piers if we had let her.

Her favorite ride was called the Speedway.

So, as you can see, the trip to Seaside Heights was a success. Elly loved the rides as you can see above. She also loved the lights, sounds and games in the arcades.

She showed off her swimming skills in the hotel’s pool, yelling at complete strangers to “Watch me!”.

The beach was fun for all. Elly built a sand castle, dug holes in the sand with another young girl and ate handfuls of the sand despite our grimaces. Dan took Elly into the ocean where she screamed and kicked her legs as the waves came in. Yet, she wouldn’t let Dan leave. She wanted to stay on the beach forever. We adults waved the white flag first – just as it should be.

My favorite pictures from the trip:

All 46 pictures of the trip can be viewed below. Note that no pictures were taken at the pool or the beach as I was concerned about getting water and sand in my fancy new camera. Of course, the cheaper point and shoot that I brought along for such occasions wasn’t working because I had failed to charge the battery. Boo. Let me assure you, she was adorable in her bathing suits.

Seaside Heights 2012

Headed Back to the Jersey Shore

Since Elly and I had such a wonderful time in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, we are going back as a family.

Well, we are going back to the Jersey shore. Instead of LBI, we will visit Seaside Heights.

You might recognize Seaside Heights as the host town of MTV’s Jersey Shore. The show is not the draw for us.

We love Seaside Heights for the memories. It’s the shore town Dan visited every summer as a kid. It’s where Dan asked me to marry him (and I said yes). It’s the only shore town besides Atlantic City that we’ve ever gone to. It’s our little oasis.

We also love Seaside Heights for the boardwalk. A beach without a boardwalk is just boring. It’s where all the good food, amusement rides and arcades are located.

This will be Elly’s first trip to Seaside Heights. It’s our hope that she’ll fall in love with it too.

My other hope is that I’ll kick this fever and sore throat before we leave Friday morning.

This blog will be silent while I’m away. More pictures than you probably care to see will be published on our return.

Have a great weekend!