Discovery Vacation

With the "new" economy, it looked as if the Bradley's would not take a vacation this year. 2009 has been what I call a rebuilding year. A year to try new things and get back on track after 2008 derailed our financial train. As the summer began to come to a close a vacation seemed not only fun, but necessary.

At the last minute, a week before the start of school for the boys, I suggested a quick get away to the beach. My husband and I looked at the finances, the bills, the income and determined it was not possible. Okay let me rephrase this, my husband determined it was not possible and I pouted about it, knowing he was right. My pouting is something that my husband has never been able to stand. It isn't that it makes him angry, it makes him feel powerless. Love will do that to you. When you love someone you want to make them happy.

Wednesday afternoon, the day before we would have left, our destination was still unplanned, but we had taken the time off work and it looked like we would stay home and spend family time. I got a text from my husband saying that the boys were packed, reservations were made and when I got home from work we would be leaving for the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. I didn't even have time to think about it. I walked in the door from work, threw some clothes in a suitcase and we were out the door with our three boys leaving our 18 year old daughter at home for the first time as we headed to out on an impromptu vacation.

We arrived in downtown Baltimore at 10 p.m. We are rural folks, not used to large cities. The traffic, the smells and the noise feel like a foreign country. Of course, as our luck would have it, we got lost in downtown Baltimore while attempting to find the hotel. I was reading the directions off the GPS when I looked up and saw, all around me the Red Light District of Baltimore. "Wow, Mom this is freaky. Look at that" Was what I heard from the back of the minivan. I immediately got on the phone with the hotel and the wonderful security woman brought us to the door of the hotel safely with human turn by turn directions! The boys now refer to that as "the scary part of the city."

We checked into the smallest hotel room I have ever seen. Don't get me wrong, it was nice, clean and well positioned in the city, but small for two adults and three growing boys. Nathaniel immediately found Cartoon Network on the television and the boys settled in to relax.

We were up early and on our way to the Inner Harbor on a hot August morning the next day. It was Arkansas hot. I use that term to describe the humidity more than the heat. We walked the three blocks to the harbor and found the National Aquarium. We saw fish, and snakes and sharks and all sorts of aquatic life. I can't say I think the Aquarium was worth the price of $100 four our family of five. I actually enjoyed the same style attraction in Virginia Beach a few years ago much more. To be honest, I was rather bored, but the boys loved it.

Once we left the aquarium, the heat outside was horrid. Then we discovered the water taxi. We spent the rest of the afternoon riding from attraction to attraction via a modified pontoon boat all for the low low price of $35 for the family and that was an all day price.

The next morning we were going to head home. After all, this was to be a short trip. The boys begged for the beach. Their behavior had been wonderful and I was ready for one more day of fun as well. I jumped on the Internet looking for a beach close to Baltimore and not too far from our home. Ocean City was too far and entirely too expensive. Atlantic City was more of the same, then I found Chesapeake Beach, MD.

A short one hour drive down Maryland route 2 from Baltimore, Chesapeake Beach is a quaint bay side community and a perfect close to a quick vacation. After we checked into the only hotel, The Chesapeake Hotel and Spa we drove the two miles of the bay community. It was quiet and adorable. We found the public access beach area and were very surprised to find a charge to use the beach but as my husband says, there is a a charge for everything these days. The excitement on the faces of the boys was worth any amount of money as they swam in the bay, looking for crabs. We searched the shore for unique shells to bring back to their cousin and relaxed among the locals on the sand. A storm blew in after a few hours and we were forced to leave but those few hours, toes in the sand of the Chesapeake Bay, were worth the entire trip.

The Chesapeake Hotel and Spa is quite a gem. The room was beautiful and smelled like flowers. We had a bay view room with a balcony and the Hotel was a complex with restaurants, both indoors and out, a huge marina, and many beautiful spots of oasis. As I read the about the hotel I realized it was marketing itself as an affordable alternative for destination weddings. It did have a tropical island feel. We dined on Lobster and Fillet Mignon and didn't break a $100 when the bill came. The marina was home to many blue crabs which the boys enjoyed searching for and spotting. Jelly fish made appearances between the docked boats and each one got a name from Zeb as he searched to spot them.

It may have been only a three day vacation and yes, we got slightly lost on the DC beltway on the way home taking us a hour out of our way. We spent money we could ill afford and will have to do some serious budgeting in the weeks to come. It was worth it. I know in my heart the children feel our stresses. They needed a distraction as much as we did and the excitement from them was palatable and worth the time, effort and money.

I also am happy to have discovered Chesapeake Beach. We will return there. It is a far cry from the commercialism found at Virginia Beach or Myrtle Beach. Granted it isn't the ocean, it is the bay, but it is beautiful and quaint and relaxing. Perfect for a family in need of a reminder that family time has no price.