Childhood Unplugged is such a special project to me and month over month I find myself so thankful to have been pushed to get out my camera and photograph my own children in places I might not otherwise have shot.

For Easter weekend we decided to take a weekend trip down to our favorite happy place, Long Beach Island, NJ. Since I am due with our third girl in July I know my time at the beach this summer will be extremely limited so I will take anything I can get!! There was something so special about being in LBI when most of the town is closed and the weather isn’t conducive to bathing attire. It was windy and quiet and so incredibly peaceful. Not only was the sound of the cold ocean waves breaking on the shore and the endless amounts of HUGE perfectly in tact shells scattering the sand bringing a certain amount of serenity, but also the fact that without rushing to get to the beach for some fun in the sun we had no real “agenda”. Having no solid game plan but to drive and stop wherever we pleased was such a gift! We pit stopped at my favorite photo taking spots including the amazing whale wall at “Hands” store (an LBI staple). Every summer I take a few iPhone shots of my daughter(s) in front of this wall and sometimes I join them. Taking a photo with my big camera was something I never thought to do and since it has been 5 years of doing this, I realized I have a series at my fingertips that I never even thought to print, share or hang!

Next we strolled down to Beach Haven for an unexpected game of football on the sand and to collect some sea shells to bring home and paint. The bathrooms were closed and nature called so we had to leave shortly there after and from there we headed out to dinner at The Old Causeway where we hoped to catch The Pickles band play! The next day we repeated our trip only this time we promised Ava we would stop at Ron Jon surf shop so she could buy her and Lyla a shark tooth necklace and check out the cute bathing suits. They had an adorable selection of winter hats that Lyla gravitated towards and I took photos of them just checking out the store! We left Ron Jon and drove the opposite direction towards Love Ladies for a while and then decided to feed our bellies once more at The Old Causeway because the food was that yummy….

The next morning was Easter, the bunny left a trail of eggs for my girls to their baskets which they ceremoniously ripped open with excitement and then we packed up to head back home. On the way tradition called and we stopped for our favorite naughty treat… slurppies at Wawa. (yup, slurppies for breakfast in LBI).

Thank you Long Beach Island for reminding me what summer is all about and how worth it it is to trudge through the North Eastern winters!

Until next time….

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