Workin' It Wednesday: Planning for Summer Vacation

Today I am linking up with Shay & Erika for their Workin' It series. May's topic is planning for your Summer Vacation. What? What! Summer vacation is almost here! That is the Best news.


Where We Go

We typically only travel one week during the summer and we always go to the beach in Delaware. Many people do not know that Delaware has beaches but they have three very cute towns. Their slogan is "The Quiet Resorts" and that is just how we like it. The downtown area is a strip of three blocks with shops and restaurants and a small boardwalk with a grandstand with music every night. They have the Best old fashioned 4th of July parade which is the biggest in the state and amazing fireworks. There are movies on the beach and once you park your car on Saturday you can pretty much walk or bike everywhere for the remainder of the week.

Where We Stay

Since there is only three of us, we rent a two bedroom condo in a resort complex right on the ocean. It's a Good family spot and we have now been staying in this resort for ten years. There isn't much planning as we typically fill out the card on our departure that we want the same unit on the same week the following year if available. We have been very lucky each year. In 2016 we did switch units because there was a possibility I would have to attend both Presidential conventions again. Luckily we were able to go the same week but the new unit we rent we actually like so much Better. 

Our Good friends stay in a house about a block away which makes things super fun. We get together on the beach or make a big dinner. The dads are so great about taking the kids to the local boardwalk for summer fun while my girlfriend and I go to the outlets. Each family does their own things too. It's the Best week.

Shopping 

I used to go to the grocery store when we arrived, either late at night the first night or first thing the next morning. About three years ago, my dear friend Mrs. B gave me some great advice to do what she does and basically go to Costco before we leave and bring all of our food with us. Since we have a big cooler this has worked out really well. I have not had to go to the grocery store at all to fill in during the week and we seem to have less food waste when we are packing up at the end of the week.

I do need to keep a standard Costco list on my Cozi calendar to refer back to each year. I have a pretty Good list in my head, but just keeping one in my files would be Better.

I bring a handful of cleaning products and find both the laundry and dishwasher tablets to be very helpful for travel. I also make sure that we have plenty of paper towels and toilet paper and the Lysol wipes are perfect for keeping things clean around the condo.

Because you never know when someone will get sick on vacation, I bring a Good supply of both adult and children's Tylenol, band-aids and a thermometer.

Packing

I have kept our beach packing list on the Cozi app for the last three to four years. I just check things off but never hit delete. It's very comprehensive and helpful because I can now give Hockey Guy items to pack off of this list. He is very Good about being helpful especially when we are getting ready for a trip.

We also try to stage everything that needs to go in the car in our porch the night before to make our car packing and departure easier. We don't pack the car until early the morning we are leaving but having everything in one spot means that we are less likely to forget anything.

Departure

Since the bridge we need to cross can get very backed up on Saturday mornings, we try to leave as early as we can. We all get up early and the boys start to pack the car while I make sure the cooler is ready to go and nothing is left behind.

We also try to fill up our gas tank the night before we leave. About five years ago, the night before we left a derecho storm came through unexpectedly and while we still had power, none of the gas stations in our area had working gas pumps the next morning. Now we make sure that we are fueled up Friday night.

Since we now have our sweet pup, we do need to drop him off at the doggy hotel the morning we leave. This was a little interesting last year as we packed the car and then took him to the doggy hotel. He rode to the doggy hotel...in my lap. Have I ever mentioned that he weighs about 60 lbs? Yup, I had 60 lbs. of love in my lap on the way to the doggy hotel to kick off our vacation. I think this year I might need to find a Better plan.

End of Beach Week

All Good things must come to an end, but we have found a few tips to make packing up and leaving Better. One thing that we do either the second to last or last night is have a "Clean Out the Fridge Party." We basically use up what we have leftover and make a party of it. Everyone brings their hot dogs, mishmash of chips, half a jar salsa, etc. All formalities go out the window. There is less to bring home and less waste and no one feels bad about being the person who finishes the last of the salsa.

About six years ago we also started going out to breakfast right after we check out. There is a cute restaurant across the street from the resort that has the Best breakfast bar. They typically are showing the Wimbledon finals and it is a Good way to avoid the departure traffic. I would so rather sit at breakfast for an hour than sit in traffic for an hour. In addition, this way we have already eaten and we do not need to stop for lunch. We can drive straight through and this worked out so much Better.  

So this is what we do to get ready for our summer vacation. Feel free to share your tips in the comments below.