We have some favorite Thanksgiving traditions but we threw them all out the window this year and went to the beach!
We stayed at the Newport Marriott Villas & had a great time. We played in the sand & waves and enjoyed the hotel and had a nice family getaway.
A few things to remember:
- My dad was all worried about nothing being open on Thanksgiving Day to eat. I reassured him that something would be open – even if it was the Taco Bell drive-thru. Turns out he had reason to worry. Not even a drive-thru was open. Luckily the hotel Pizza Hut delivered so we ate pizza, pasta and breadsticks outside as our Thanksgiving feast.
- It was Janie’s first trip to the beach. She’s in love.
- She also ate so much sand she pooped sand for months.
- In the Griffeth condo we played musical furniture so Janie could have her own space to finally sleep.
- Sam and I still went Black Friday shopping to Target. It was rather uneventful . . . no problem getting a cart & no line to wait in.
- We went to Balboa Pier and let the kids ride a few rides and play some games. Always fun. Then a group went to Ruby’s Diner and a group went to Crab Cooker for lunch.
- The kids never get sick of the beach. It’s always a hit no matter how many days in a row you go.
- I may have booked the wrong weekend for the hotel and we didn’t find out until my parents were already there and the rest of us were well on our way. Luckily it all worked out. We even got 3 rooms right next to each other!
- Played a little tennis one night while waiting for dinner to arrive.
- To entertain Janie along the way, we played a tickle game with her. She’d get so delirious that she would play it with herself and it was pretty funny.
