Saturday, August 13, 2022

Going To The Beach

Thin, Sea, Fence, Water, Vacation

We are on vacation, finally celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary (it was this past March) with our kids and grandkids. 
This is the most special vacation ever for us to all to be together. 

We are in a house with 5 bedrooms and 5 baths with our own private beach in Delaware. I live in Pennsylvania, so it is about a 3 hour ride.

It took a lot of prep to pack up to go. Here's what I did !

We needed to bring anything and everything that we would need for daily living. The only things provided in the house are furniture, a kitchen stocked with blender, dishes, knives, etc., and beach chairs. 


Toilet Paper, Hamster Purchases, Panic

I packed and packed and packed
Hand soap, laundry detergent, dish detergent, paper towel, toilet paper, food, my Instant Pot, snacks, sheets and towels if you don't rent from a service, umbrellas, (they only provide beach chairs), and of course all our clothes and toiletries including shampoo, etc.
 We will do a run to the supermarket or Costco too. 

Special Eating Needs
Two of us are gluten-free and one of us is vegan as well (me) which makes the food situation a trifle more challenging. Most likely I'll take over the cooking. I brought my Instant Pot. Yay!!

Breakfast and lunch: 
We plan to eat breakfast and lunch in the house and go out to local seaside restaurants for dinners. With 10 people, including a 3 year old, 6 year old, 11 year old and a 14 year old, eating out isn't so easy. In addition, this is the week that camp ended, so this is a very crowded week at the shore.

What kind of restaurants can I eat at? 
I actually can usually find the best selections for me in an Italian restaurant where I can get gluten free pasta or GF pizza, or in an Asian restaurant where I might order steamed vegetables, rice, and tofu, miso soup or pho, or vegetarian sushi rolls. Indian cuisine works well too, or sometimes I do well in a  Mexican restaurant for black beans, rice, and guacamole- Ethnic restaurants offer the best a vegan and gluten free selections for me.

Breakfast: 
We are eating in. It will be oatmeal bake with fresh fruit such as peaches or overnight oats (link) with fruit and toppings of walnuts, chia seeds, etc. which requires no cooking and is creamy and delicious. (recipe link) .
The kids eat oatmeal too.

Overnight oats with blackberries

Lunch for me: 
Salad (I made 6 Mason jars of salad at home and brought them, so the salad is ready daily). (Salad in a Mason Jar- Link to how I do it) I also packed steamed red potatoes to add to my salad and brought chickpeas. 

Salad in Mason Jars
I made 6 ready to eat jars. I kept them on ice for the trip down and they will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator. I just have to dump one in a bowl for a ready made salad. 

Lunch for everyone else: 
Sandwiches, pizza, grilled cheese, guacamole and dip, etc.

Happy Hour in the House-  after a day at the beach!
White and red wine, crudités and corn chips with dips such as guacamole, hummus, lebanah and za'atar,  and cherry tomatoes.


Beach, Sand, Sea, Sandy Beach, Vacations

Dinner 
We have dinner reservations in one Italian restaurant, but there are mostly seafood restaurant choices for the other dinners because it's a beach town. I'll manage (I hope) while the nine others will win out for their choice of restaurant and that's fine since there are not a lot of ethnic restaurants to choose from (I'll eat something before I go). 

Beach Body

I've been dieting and getting myself in shape for the beach ! 


Bikini, Swimming, Woman, Swimswuit

OK. just kidding. That's not me - 
We are just settling in so I will post photos of us as the week goes on. 

Organization Idea
A friend suggested that I keep a list of everything that I needed to bring for this vacation including things I should have brought in case we do this again. She said to leave the list inside my suitcase. I thought it sounded like a great idea, so I'm passing the idea on. Of course the techies probably already have it on their phone? 

Bucket, Toys, Sand, Beach, Vacation

Family Photo 
We are taking a beach family photo taken on Thursday! 
The plan is wear white tops and jeans or a white dress. 
It will be a wonderful memory from our 50th anniversary celebration.

I feel so blessed and grateful. Have a good week everyone and I'll be back soon!

Follow Me on Instagram at Judeethefoodie  (link) .. for additional recipes, entertaining ideas, and healthy lifestyle. I'm just getting started on Instagram and want to build followers. Thanks. 

17 comments:

  1. Congratulations! Going on a vacation involves lots of works...then you come back feeling tired and need another vacation LOL Have fun and enjoy it, Judee.

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  2. Enjoy every minute! We do a lot of self catering holidays and that includes travelling overseas. I have a packing list on a Google Sheet as well as a standard shopping list. It makes it very stress free.
    from Tandy I Lavender and Lime https://tandysinclair.com

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  3. How lovely to spend time together, have a wonderful vacation.
    Belated 50th anniversary wishes.

    All the best Jan
    https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/

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  4. Enjoy your vacation with your family!....it seems a lot of work, but you will have fun!!.....fantastic!!.......Abrazotes, Marcela

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  5. Congrats on your 50th wedding anniversary!
    Have fun on your vacation, Judee.

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  6. Wow! You really know how to plan for a vacation. I love that you made all those salads in jars ahead of time. I used to make those a lot, and enjoyed them. I’m not sure why I stopped, but you have encouraged me to do it again. Enjoy your wonderful vacation. Pattie @ Olla-Podrida

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  7. Congratulations... and Happy Anniversary, Judee!! What a special trip, and fun memories those will be to treasure! That's such a great idea to have a family photo done, too!

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  8. I hope you have a wonderful vacation! Congratulations on 50 years. Looking forward to hearing about your week.

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  9. Congratulations on your 50th wedding anniversary! Enjoy!

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  10. Have a great time! Haven't been to the beach for several years, and you've got me itching to go. :-)

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  11. So happy for you. Family time is so important. You sound very organized. I know it is very difficult traveling with food issues so being organized is imperative.

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  12. What a wonderful trip! My family used to rent a house in Stone Harbor, then Rehoboth, so I know what you mean about needing to bring everything. I so enjoyed the humorous parts of this post, i.e., the empty toilet paper roll and the beach babe. You're so funny! I was wondering how you would make out in the restaurants, but what you said about ethnic eateries offering the most gluten-free and vegan options makes sense. Can't wait to read more about it! 🌊

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  13. Congratulations, Judee! Quite the milestone for sure and I hope your celebration is equally special! Yes, beach home vacations can be quite exhausting but the memories will be wonderful. :-)

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  14. This is just fabulous! First of all, happy anniversary! 50 years is quite an accomplishment and I can't think of a better way to spend it than with your entire family. You're very organized and that will serve you well. The Mason jar salads are very smart and your plans for home eating with restaurant dinners makes a lot of sense. I can't wait to hear how it all went!

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  15. Congratulations Judee on your 50th wedding anniversary. What a special time you had with family. And what a lot of packing to do. Best wishes. :)

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