Casey Cares sent us to Chincoteague Island!

Casey Cares has a program called Celebration Vacations, which sends families to a destination of their choosing (within a certain distance). This program was created because the founders recognized the importance of allowing families to spend time together in a stress-free, relaxing environment. When we learned about the program, we immediately knew where we wanted to go... to Wallops Island in Virginia to watch a rocket launch! Jax has been obsessed with rockets for a few months and he loved watching launches on YouTube, so we knew this would be the perfect place to visit. I quickly emailed Linda, the Program Coordinator at Casey Cares, and she immediately got to work on planning the perfect trip for our family. She contacted Rebecca, the Public Affairs Specialist at Wallops, and the two scheduled a fun-filled morning for Jax including games and activities in the visitor center and a private tour of the facility. Linda didn't stop there though. She contacted Evelyn, who works for the Chamber of Commerce in Chincoteague Island, who not only suggested other activities for us to do while on our vacation, but also organized the arrangements and made them happen.

We originally planned to go to Chincoteague Island on the first weekend of June. However, we received news from Wallops that the rocket launch was postponed a week. We were told that the launch was not guaranteed to happen that week either, but we took the chance and changed our schedules around so that we could go on vacation the following week instead. Sadly, the rocket launch was again postponed, so we weren't able to see the launch after all. But we still had an amazing trip filled with memories we will never forget.

We headed to Chincoteague on Saturday, June 14th, immediately after Jaxsen received his in-home chemotherapy treatment. It took us about three hours to get there, but it was a pleasant drive. When we arrived, we first headed to the Comfort Suites, which was where our reservation was made for us. Upon checking in, we were informed that instead of staying in a room, we would stay in a private cottage that sat right against the bay. We were shocked by the generosity of Nicole, the manager of Comfort Suites. We quickly headed next door to check out our cottage, which had private parking, 2 bedrooms, a full kitchen, living area, spacious bathroom, and wrap-around porch that overlooked the entire bay. As much as we loved our cottage, we were in a hurry to get out of there and head to the beach.

We quickly changed into our bathing suits, grabbed some towels and beach toys, and got back in the car to head to the beach. On our drive down there, we passed some wild horses that were grazing in the marsh. We got out to look at them, but they were so far away that Jax couldn't even see them.

We played at the beach for about an hour. It was already pretty late, and actually quite chilly, when we got there, but we still wanted to give Jax some time to roam the beaches since he was looking forward to it for a while. After playing at the beach, we headed to Maria's Family Restaurant for our first meal in Chincoteague. Everything tasted great, and Jax sat still for the entire meal (which was a first!) so we left happy.

When we got home, we decided to have a family movie night since we were all pretty exhausted. We let Jaxsen decide which movie we would watch, and we weren't surprised when he chose Jurassic Park II. We cuddled up into bed together and drifted off to sleep while listening to the dinosaurs roar. 

The next day was Father's Day! Jaxsen and I surprised Nick by giving him a card and gifts in bed as soon as he woke up. We then headed to the hotel to grab some breakfast and then immediately went to the beach. We spent the morning digging holes in the sand, running into the waves, and looking for sandcrabs. Jax squealed with delight whenever we found a squirmy, little sand crab, and he was always quick to scoop them up with his shovel and transport them over to his dumptruck. He liked pouring sand on top of the crabs and watching them dig their way out of sight.

After spending a good bit of time playing in the sand, Jax decided he was brave enough to test the open waters. Nick strapped Jaxsen's floaty onto him and then picked him up so they could go deep into the water. I couldn't even handle the water splashing against my toes, so I knew I wouldn't be able to make it out there with the big waves. Jax absolutely loved having the cold water splash all over him. It was fun to watch, but I started shivering just thinking about how cold he must be. At least he didn't seem to mind.

All of the running and digging eventually caught up to Jax and he soon became sleepy. We started to pack up our belongings to head back to the cottage, but we noticed that Jaxsen had laid down on the beach towel under the umbrella and started to doze off. When we realized he was asleep, we decided to let him be. This gave mommy and daddy some time to enjoy the beach without constantly chasing around an energetic three-year-old. We played catch while Jaxsen snoozed. Nick even got in a little workout after he had to chase down our umbrella when it blew away!

After the beach, we went back to our cottage and ordered some pizza and salad from Famous Pizza, another generous business that donated a gift card to us. We sat on our back deck and ate until we were stuffed. We then fed our leftovers to the seagulls that were swarming around our deck. Jax even tried giving them some lettuce from my salad, but surprisingly, they didn't go for it :)

Next it was time to get some ice cream. We went to Island Creamery where we were blown away by the amount of options on the menu. Jaxsen quickly decided he wanted chocolate ice cream, which was no surprise to us. We scarfed down our tasty treats and then headed over to Funland to redeem our tickets that were donated to us. We had a blast! We started off by playing a quick round of mini-golf...which consisted of us chasing Jax all over the course while apologizing to the families that we interrupted :) Jax was quite upset when he hit his golf ball into the last hole and realized that he wasn't getting his ball back. He spent the next 20 minutes walking around the course checking each and every hole to see if his ball magically appeared in one of those. Needless to say, he never found his little green ball.

The only reason he finally stopped running laps around the golf course was because he knew what was next on our agenda...go-karts! We were the only ones in line so we had the whole course to ourselves. Jax chose a green go-kart for me and him to get into and Nick choose another one closeby. He had such a blast racing daddy and he kept yelling at me to go faster. In the end, we won the race, although something tells me that Nick may have let us win...

After defeating Nick, we raced over to the bumper boats. Once again, Jax chose a green boat for me and him to ride, and Nick got into the boat next to us. These bumper boats were awesome because they had water guns attached to the front of them! We had so much fun chasing each other around the little pool of water while squirting each other down. I let Jax control the steering wheel, so we ended up going in circles the majority of the time. The button for the squirter was located on the steering wheel, so he was able to control that, as well. As a result we ended up spinning in circles the entire time while squirting water into the air. We may have looked silly to anyone passing by, but Jax was having the time of his life and that's all that mattered to us.

We were all starving by the time we finished up at Funland, so we headed over to Ledo Pizza to grab some dinner. Jaxsen and I split the most delicious gluten-free pizza we ever had. Jax must have thought it was lacking something though, because he poured the entire container of parmesan cheese on top of his slice. He's lucky he's so darn cute.

The sun was just starting to set when we got back to the cottage so we decided to go for a short walk down Main Street. It was an absolutely perfect evening for  a family walk. Jax kept himself occupied by counting all the stray cats that we passed by. I never knew so many cats lived in a beach town! He also liked the firestation and large ship that we passed by.

We planned on having a movie night when we returned from our walk, but Jaxsen was already getting sleepy...and so were we! We crawled into bed and tried to rest up for the following day.

We started Monday off with another breakfast of champions in the hotel lobby. We then packed up the car and headed down Main Street for our next big adventure...a private sightseeing cruise! Charlie, the captain of boat, volunteered his time to take us out on the water so that we could see everything that Chincoteague had to offer. Within minutes of setting off, we found ourselves just feet away from a small pod of dolphins! The dolphins didn't jump into the air, but we did see them skim the surface of the ocean and splash the water with their tails. We even saw a baby dolphin out there! Our captain had been taking people on cruises for over 10 years, so he was really skilled at getting close to the animals without spooking them. Jax's skill was looking in the opposite direction whenever we saw a dolphin pop up. It was so hard to get him to look in the right place at the right time, but when he did catch a glimpse of one, he was ecstatic.

We watched dolphins for about 30 minutes and then set off again to see what else we could find. Almost immediately, our captain pointed out a bald eagle that was sitting on a branch not too far from off. He turned off the engines and coasted slowly toward the shore. I quickly grabbed the binoculars so I could get a better look at him, and when I did, my breath was taken away. That was the first time I had ever seen a bald eagle in person before. He looked so regal. We then saw an osprey sitting in her nest on top of a buoy. She took off and dove down close to the water to see if she could find a meal for her babies. She came back empty-handed, but it was neat to be able to witness it.

Charlie then took us to visit the oyster farm that he owns. We were in for a shock when we arrived at the farm and saw a herd of wild horses galloping close to the water. We watched in amazement as the horses took turns entering the water and going for  swim. When they emerged from the water and got back on dry land, they rolled on their backs to dry themselves off. The ponies then started racing each other across the beach. Charlie told us that we were extremely lucky to witness the horses and ponies swim in the water because it is such a rare occurrence. He said that seeing dolphins, a bald eagle, and wild horses all in one day is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Charlie took us back to the marina after watching the horses for a few more moments. As we were getting off the boat, he handed Jaxsen a large conch shell and told us that he found the shell on a remote beach about an hour and a half away. Nick and I thought it was a really nice gesture and knew it was the perfect souvenir for our sightseeing cruise. Jax, however, promptly told us that he didn't like the shell and that he wanted to throw back into the water. Needless to say, we hid the shell from him for the rest of the trip :)

Immediately after leaving the marina, we headed to the one spot that Jax had been talking about since we first arrived to Virginia... the lighthouse by the beach. Jax was given a kid-friendly map of Chincoteague upon our arrival to the cottage, and he instantly pointed to the lighthouse and asked when we could visit. After making him wait a few days, we finally took him over to see it in person. As soon as we pulled into the parking area, Jax got excited. We were just starting our hike up the short trail that led to the lighthouse when we ran into a little boy and his mom who asked Jax for help. The mom explained that they had seen a very small snake, and now her son was too scared to go up the trail alone. Jax agreed to keep the boy company on the short hike so that the little boy would be too distracted to think about the snake. When we arrived at the lighthouse, Jaxsen immediately started running up the hundreds of steps that led to the top. Jax was determined to climb up the steps by himself, which we were definitely thankful for!

When we got to the top, we were taken aback by the gorgeous view. We could see the beach, the ocean, the fields were the horses wandered, and even some small rivers and marshes. Jax had a blast running laps around the wrap-around balcony, but after a few moments, he told us that he was ready to head back down. We didn't want him to walk down the steps by himself because we were afraid that he might trip and fall, so Nick offered to carry him down. Thank God Nick offered because we would have been there for a few hours if I were the one taking him down!

The rest of our day consisted of a much-needed nap, fun on the beach, and more pizza from Ledo.

All three of us were beyond excited when we woke up on Tuesday because we were finally able to do the thing we came down to Chincoteague to do... see the NASA rockets! We were so excited, in fact, that we woke up a few hours before we needed to! We decided to get breakfast at a local restaurant, Mr. Paul's Kitchen, since we had some extra time. We then headed over to Wallop's Flight Facility to get our fun day started! The visitor lounge opened one hour early just so we could explore on our own, without bumping into anyone or having to wait our turn to see the exhibits. Jaxsen spent the majority of his time playing a space-themed matching game and making sand art. We then went back to the car so we could head to a different location to see the rockets. Rebecca, our tour-guide for the day, led us into a high-security, employee-only portion of Wallops. It was there that we were able to see everything that Wallops had to offer.

We first headed to see Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A, which was the launch pad where the rocket would eventually take-off. Jaxsen immediately became excited as soon as he saw a sign that read, "Danger! Explosive Hazard!" We walked up the ramp that led to the launch pad and were struck by the size of it. The pad could easily fit a few large elephants on it! We were able to walk right up to it so that we could get a close look at it. Jax began playing with some nuts and bolts that he found on the pad while Nick and I spoke with the two people who worked there. Jax asked a few questions and then said he was ready to see the rocket. So off we went!

We headed over to see the Orbital Science’s Antares rocket in the Horizontal Integration Facility. We were bummed when we originally found out that Antares wouldn't be launching during our visit like planned, but we were ecstatic that we were still be able to see it while we were there. We were led into a building that was so well-controlled that we weren't even able to bring our cellphones inside. We passed through a warehouse first, which is where the tools and parts for the rocket were kept. We then entered into the room that housed the rockets. The first thing we saw was the rocket engine. It was a large and silver and was about ten feet in length. We then saw the rocket's booster, which is the part that comes off after the fuel inside of it is used during take-off. And then we saw the main attraction... the rocket! We weren't allowed to take pictures of the rocket because it was proprietarily designed (which basically means that the design of the rocket ship was privately owned and controlled), but it was still neat being so close to it. Surprisingly, Jaxsen wasn't interested in the rocket at all. He kept saying it wasn't a real rocket because it was laying down. Since he wasn't interested in the rocket, he started looking around for something that did interest him...which happened to be a yellow "Wet Floor" sign. Oye vay!

We then headed to see the NASA airplanes and helicopters.  Jaxsen's eyes lit up as soon as we walked into the airplane hanger. We met with some of the NASA pilots, including Gerrit Everson, who guided us around the facility while telling us about each plane. They even allowed us to climb into the planes and crawl into the pilot's seat! Some of the planes we saw were the NASA P-3B, UH-1 “Huey” Helicopter, and T-34 aircraft. Jaxsen ran from plane to plane, touching everything within reach. This was definitely the highlight of his trip.

After exploring each of the planes and helicopters in this hanger, we met with a Wallops firefighter who loaded us into his firetruck and took us for a ride around the Flight Facility. As we drove past the building that housed all of the emergency response vehicles, we noticed that all of the firetrucks, ambulances, and response vehicles were lined up outside. As we passed the line of vehicles, they all started flashing their lights, sounding their sirens, and honking their horns. What a sweet surprise! Jaxsen grinned widely and started waving at all of the drivers in the vehicles, who quickly returned the wave.

We were then led to another hanger where Jaxsen could explore the Navy planes. The Navy has a Fleet Carrier Landing Practice Program at Wallops, and they graciously allowed us to climb in the Navy E-2 and C-2 aircraft. It was especially neat to visit this hanger because we were able to see the Navymen at work. Some were running in and out of their planes, others were fixing the engines and propellers, and another group was talking to their commanding officers. Almost all were watching Jaxsen as he squealed with delight while pushing buttons and counting propeller blades. I can't say I blame them!

We were then taken back to the first plane hanger in the firetruck. Our tour of Wallops was officially over, and we were sad to go. Rebecca gave us our final hugs and then presented Jax with a bag of goodies from the NASA headquarters in Florida. Inside was a stuffed astronaut, which Jaxsen immediately grabbed and held on to. He talked to his little astronaut on the entire ride back to our cottage.

After a lonnng nap, we were ready for some food! We decided to go to Captain Zach's Seafood Restaurant for our last dinner in Chincoteague. While we waited for our food, we played cornhole and Connect Four in the large seating/playing area that the owners set up outside. When the owner of the restaurant realized that we were there, he dressed up in a pirate costume and came outside to surprise Jax. Jaxsen smiled at the pirate, but was too timid to say anything to him. So instead, they played a quick game of Tic-Tac-Toe, which Jax obviously won :) By then, our food was ready so we headed to one of the shaded picnic tables and started devouring our seafood platters and corn-on-the-cobs. We then headed back to Island Creamery for some more ice cream.

After eating dinner, we immediately headed over to the "Pony Express" trolley stop in front of our cottage. Jaxsen had been eyeing up the trolleys everytime we passed one, so we knew he would love being able to ride on one. When the trolley arrived, we each paid a quarter and then followed Jaxsen to the very back which is where he decided to sit. The trolley driver asked us where we were headed, and we told him we were just going to do a round trip. We knew it would be a quick, fun way to explore the whole island. We were the only ones on the trolley for the majority of the ride, and we enjoyed seeing the parts of the island that we didn't already see, so it was a win-win.

By the time we got back home, it was too late for a trip to the beach. Instead, we packed up our water squirters and towels and headed over to the indoor pool at Comfort Suites. The water was a bit on the cold side, but that didn't seem to bother Jax, who promptly jumped in the water and started paddling from one side of the pool to the other. Nick, however, decided the water was too cold for him so he spent his time relaxing in the hot tub. Jax must have thought that Nick was getting too hot over there, because he decided to cool him down from time to time by squirting him with cold water from the pool. We spent close to an hour splashing around the pool until we decided it was time to head back to the cottage to get ready for bed. We had a long day of travelling ahead of us!

Wednesday morning arrived before we knew it. We slowly packed our bags into the car and then headed out to our back deck to enjoy the view one last time. One of the shops in Chincoteague gave us some poppers to use, so we took this time to show Jax how to use them. He was startled the first time he threw a popper on to the ground and heard the little 'pop' noise, but he quickly became excited and started throwing multiple poppers on the ground at once. I think it's safe to say we'll be buying many more poppers in our future.

We then grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel and headed down to the beach to squeeze in a quick visit. There are many trails around the beach and we knew that Jax would enjoy riding his bike along one of them before starting our 3-hour ride home. Jaxsen had a blast riding ahead of us and running over as many monkey balls as he could. Thankfully, he became tired quickly and he agreeably headed back to the car when we told him it was time to start our drive back home. He fell asleep in his carseat almost immediately, and snoozed the entire way home. Undoubtedly, he dreamt of dolphins, rockets, and ice cream the entire way home :)