The Paulk’s take an annual trip to the beach each year and this is the first year we have been able to attend. I was a little nervous about taking Owen on a six hour car ride, and my fears all came true! Ha.

Charles and I decided to get up early to leave in hopes that Owen would sleep for the first half of the drive. We got up at about 4 AM on Thursday (5/29) and rolled out of the driveway about 5:30 AM-slightly later than we had planned. Owen was all smiles in the beginning, and it was all downhill after that. Nine stops and nine hours later, we finally arrived.

The island was buzzing and had a nice summer crowd. I have never visited Amelia Island but it is a really nice place. We got settled in the rental town home before the rest of the crowd arrived and then waited. The guests piled in a few at a time. The Jackson’s, the Rice’s and the Ramseur’s and the Paulk’s all arrived.

We enjoyed dinners at the house, day time spent on the beach, and even an afternoon that Charles and I got to sneak away from a happy hour date and tour of the town.

After our traumatizing drive down, very minimal sleep with a teething infant, we decided to approach the drive home differently and left at Owen’s bedtime on Saturday night. We made one quick stop for gas and a meal, and drove straight through to Atlanta. We hit some construction traffic as we got into Atlanta, but we arrived home about 1 AM and Owen went right back to bed in his crib. He slept in until 9 AM. It was glorious. Despite a fun trip, I can’t tell you how nice it was to wake up in my own bed. We’ve learned our lesson on this one…no travels with a teething infant!