Thanks to our friends at Real Mom Media and Tuckerton Seaport, we were invited to the Privateers and Pirates Festival last weekend. I found Skibbles an absolutely adorable pirate hat. She wouldn’t leave it on at home, but lucky she wore it for a good amount of the time we were there. We got so many compliments on it! When we got there, we were immediately greeted by a pirate and piratess (what’s a female pirate!?). They were awesome, inviting, and super amazing with a questionable toddler about what was going on then. We got our map and were off to go explore.
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| Photo credit: Joey Fortman |
Skibbles had absolutely no idea, but momma was excited for a treasure hunt. Tuckerton Seaport went out of their way to make sure the kids (and the big kids at heart – i.e., me) engaged in a ton of fun and excitement. We started in the Lower Level of the Visitor’s Center. Kids were able to make crafts, touch live sea creatures, get facepainting, watch a live pirate and parrot show, and so much more.
I cannot say enough nice things about the entire experience. Everyone that worked at the Tuckerton Seaport, that we came in contact with, was extremely warm and inviting. I also loved how the everything was handicapped accessible. We don’t usually have our stroller, but we decided to use it this day and I loved that we were still able to enjoy everything.
All the pirates were absolutely amazing, and actually played the part very well. I was completely intrigued by the parrot on the pirate’s shoulder. Skibbles didn’t noticed it, and I’m thankful for that, because she definitely would have tried to leap and squish the bird.
The other stops on our treasure hunt included the Decoy Carving Shop, Lighthouse, Pirate Ship Bounce House, Historic Mini Golf Course, and Perrine’s Boat House. One of the best parts about the trip, was that even though Skibbles is too young to understand, there was so much educational enjoyment to this trip as well. We learned about (and loudly heard) the cannons going off, about the decoy ducks that are hand carved on site, that this year celebrates 350 years of Jersey Shore being a family destination, and that boats are actually restored and handcrafted in Perrine’s Boat House. Skibbles even learned how to surf in the Lighthouse!!
I could go on for hours about the educational and fun aspects of everything the Tuckerton Seaport has to offer, but I encourage you to check it out for yourself. We were there for 3 hours and barely touched half of the fun and excitement that Tuckerton Seaport has to offer. This is definitely going to be one of the places that we go every summer to teach Skibbles all about the seaport life.
For some reason, my GPS decided to take us the scenic route home instead of the Atlantic City Expressway and I must say I much more enjoyed looking at the rows of fresh blueberry bushes instead. All the land reminds me of West Virginia and thanks to Tuckerton, I got to enjoy the best of both my worlds in one day.
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I've been trying to get to the seaport since last Summer when I first heard of it. I am hoping to get down there for one of the upcoming events soon!
You definitely should! The kids would have a blast!