Eating Crabs, Bike Riding, & More Play

We only stayed at the beach for about two in a half days. This was towards the end of our trip out to Virginia and we were short on time. So we crammed a lot of fun into each day! The following post is all in one day!

In the morning we drove towards Norfolk, Virginia which wasn't too far from the beach. My Mom grew up there and they had a large family get together for lunch. They decided to have crabs, very appropriate with being down at the beach :)

This is what I saw when we walked through the door. They cooked the crabs to perfection and then threw them in the middle of the table. A free for all basically. It was a funny sight to me because I had never seen anything like it before. This is my Grandpa in the corner working to get some lunch.


My Mom grew up crabbing (the kind where you'd throw a chicken attached to a weight and a rope over the boat, let it sit for a little bit, slowly pull it up and swoop a net underneath to catch the crab that was nibbling on the chicken bait.) Luckily enough, when my grandparents were still living in their home in Norfolk, my Mom was able to take us out a few times to experience "Crabbing." I have lots of fun memories of it, but it had been many many years since I had tried crab.

Check this guy out!! Yikes!!


We had to get our meat out of this freshly cooked crab. For some reason this was a different experience then I had remembered it being. Not sure if its the fact that I'm older now and have more of an idea for what I'm actually doing in cracking it's back open and snapping it's little legs off (basically ripping that sad little crab to pieces). I guess to sum it up, it's a lot of work to get that crab meat out! But some who love the taste say its completely worth it :) I still haven't decided myself yet, but it really was a fun experience!



Addilyn's first meeting with a crab...


Rylan ironically didn't want to touch it!


After lunch and visiting we stopped at Mount Trashmore. Mount Trashmore is exactly what it sounds like. They covered up what used to be mounds of trash with lots and lots of dirt, grew some grass, and made a fun recreational park out of it with a trail around a man made lake and all. My family lived in Virginia Beach from when I was in 5th grade through 9th grade (I can't do the math in my head right now of how many years that actually was). They had a large wooden park that we used to play hide and seek at for hours with cousins and friends. I was sad to discover that they knocked that awesome park down and built it with a more updated park. It was still fun for the kids though. They didn't know what they were missing out on. It was still a cool park, but not like the classic wooden park with its awesomeness that once stood there.

This slide was meant for little ones. It had little bucket seats you'd slide into on your way down the slide. Addilyn's facial reactions tells me she thought it was a silly idea. :)


Rylan sliding down a big slide. He had no fear!


This is a picture of the kids running up Mount Trashmore... Can you find little Rylan in the middle of them?


Once at the top, they decided to roll down the other side. This was something that Rylan had never done before so Grammy took him for a ride...

Not sure if you can tell in the picture, but he was laughing and having the best time.

Grammy actually gave him a piggy back ride back up to the top. I have no idea where this woman gets all of her energy. I sure look up to her... she's such an awesome Grammy!


Addilyn got to enjoy the view at the top with Mommy... I love her face in this picture, it's as if her thoughts are "I don't get these people? Rolling down hills?"


Later that evening after dinner we went back down to the boardwalk. They had parks that were on the actual beach to play at. This is Rylan surfing...


We rented a bike with my Aunt Jenn and her kids. We rode it down the boardwalk. Rylan and Addilyn were the lucky ones to get front row seats and be able to just sit there and enjoy the ride while everyone else peddled.


It didn't take Rylan very long to fall asleep though...


He was out and eventually his head slid into Addilyns lap. She thought this was so funny. She was laughing and smacking his head. Ironically, this did not wake him.


After a cool treat, returning the bike and walking back down the boardwalk to our hotel... Rylan was exhausted. He slept real good that night!


We had so much fun down at the beach! It was the perfect way to end our Virginia vacation!