Virginia Beach? No. Cartoon Network Hotel- Thursday, February 22, 2024

      It's very odd for us to wake up and not know what we're going to do.  We usually have things planned out meticulously, though we often find that those plans will change.  Today, though, we had nothing planned, which stumped us for quite a while this morning.  We came up with a couple of suggestions for each other, but as Julie said, it felt like we were trying to cram something in that didn't really fit.

     We went down to breakfast in the hotel, and then we went out to the beach.  Abby didn't want to go very far into the sand, but she sat near the edge of it and dug in it for while.   It was supposed to be 41 degrees out, but the wind wasn't blowing like it was in the Outer Banks and the sun was shining brightly so it didn't feel as cold.

      We went back to the hotel room to assess what to do next.  We shook off our funk from the morning and decided to leave Virginia Beach.  It did mean "eating" one night on the hotel room, but we were looking forward to our next stop.

      The whole way down and the whole way back (so far) Abby has been watching Adventure Time on the DVD player in the car.  For the last few weeks it seems like it's all she wants to watch on TV at home too.  We know she got interested in it because Dad and Emma were rewatching it and were excited about some sequel episodes (Fionna and Cake) that were released last fall.  Even though the show's target audience is much older than her, Abby is entranced by the show and its characters and literally watches it for hours.   When Abby was really into Peppa Pig, we managed to get her to the Peppa Pig theme park in Florida.  When she was really into Blaze and the Monster Machines, we got to take her to the indoor Nickelodeon theme park in New Jersey for the Blaze ride.  Now seemed like the right time to go to the Cartoon Network Hotel in Lancaster, PA.  Last August, when we came to Dutch Wonderland, we saw the Cartoon Network Hotel from a distance and saw the larger than life Finn and Jake statue waving to people as they entered.    We thought it would be a great place to stop this time on our trip home.   

     Driving through Virginia was great today.  It was sunny out and a good day for driving.   It wasn't even that bad around Washington, but there were traffic jams and rain when we got to Baltimore.  

      We got to the Cartoon Network Hotel around dinner time and as Julie checked in, Scott and Abby looked at the fun theming in the lobby and the many Adventure Time things in the gift shop.  Daddy definitely knew many of the characters from other programs too, and even Abby recognized people like Steven Universe and the Powerpuff Girls.  There are various activities in the lobby and original sketches and artwork framed on the walls.  It was dinner time, so we decided to eat at the Cartoon Kitchen.   It really was a cartoon kitchen, too.  Along the wall where our booth was are big "windows" (actually some large high definition TV screens) that look into the kitchen.  Every so often, characters appear to be cooking the food and causing shenanigans.  The Ice King peeked out of the refrigerator and Gunter and the other penguins were scurrying back and forth carrying things.  Some older characters like Chowder and Schnitzel appeared, but since they were cooks, that made sense.  Apple and Onion peeked out of various cupboards and salads.  

     Abby was getting very tired by this time and was having a hard time.  Believe it or not, she eventually agreed that we wouldn't go to the pool today.  Maybe tomorrow.  In the meantime, we went to our room.  We had requested an Adventure Time themed room, but they are subject to availability.  Our room ended up being themed to The Amazing World of Gumball, which Abby hasn't really watched.  We had it on TV in the room as we were winding down, though, and she seemed to like it.

     Tomorrow, we will probably spend some time at the activities in the hotel and go shopping at the nearby outlets before heading for home.