Vacation part 3...The Shore

"The Shore" is a Yankee term for what we southerners call "the beach."  I think it most often refers to beaches in New Jersey.  We headed for the shore after two days at Toona and Gido's.  We were thankful to have been offered a free place to stay at Uncle Joe and Aunt Kate's unit on the north side of Ocean City.  They have a three level house just half a block from the beach and let friends and family stay on the lower level.  They had recently remodeled and the place was really great.  Many areas were better than our own home.  DH enjoyed the large flat screen TVs with cable while I enjoyed a super-sized kitchen.  Toona and Gido stayed at their own place just a short walk away.

LO was so excited to be at the beach that he could hardly stand it.  I'm not sure how much he remembered from being at the beach as a baby.  (I wouldn't think he remembered much, but he has a mind like a steel trap!)  We had read books about the beach leading up to our trip and had been talking it up quite a bit, so I think that contributed as well.  In any case he wanted to head straight there as soon as we pulled up to the house.  He excitedly kept telling NB "We're at the beach, buddy!"  It was cute.  Gido was kind enough to walk him out to the sand and let him see the ocean while we unloaded the car.  DH tasked Toona with ordering dinner for everyone (a really tasty pizza delivery, thanks Toona!), so after we had everything unloaded, we were able to walk out as a family and let the boys had their first look.

Walking out the see the shore as a foursome for the first time

 I wasn't sure what to expect of LO at the beach this go around. I thought he might be fearful of the sounds of the waves or the sight of them crashing.  To my surprise, he was unfazed by those things.  The water was really cold (I saw a posting that it was 68, but I don't believe it).  When I got in just to my calves, the chill made my knees ache.  As sound and cold averse as LO is, he rushed right into the water and giggled as he chased the advancing and receding water line along the sand.

NB, on the other hand, was a little tougher sell.  I expected him to love the sand and the water, and he did, eventually, but he had to warm up to it. We spent a total of nine days at the shore and almost every day we were staking our spot in the sand no later than 9:30.  The four of us stayed there until about 10:15 when either DH or myself took turns returning to the house to put NB down for a nap.  Some days he napped an hour, many days he napped two or three hours.  The other one of us stayed with LO either until we returned to the house for lunch or until NB and his parent of the morning returned to the beach with food.  As a result, LO spent about 5 hours a day in the sand and surf where NB only spent about 30 minutes on many days.  About 4 days in I finally sat down in the muddy sand with NB and that's when he decided it was okay stuff.  After he got used to it, the sand was where he wanted to be.  Early on he wanted to eat the sand, then he wanted to eat/teethe on the shells.  Once he got used to the mud, he wanted to pile it on me.  When the water warmed a little later in the day, he started to enjoy walking in it.  He held my fingers and walked in water waist high, then giggle as the waves came in around him.   We took to digging small "pools" in the mud and letting the water fill and then warm in them.  He had the best time in those. 

My guys with their best beach hair

Checking out the sand.  He liked to let it run between his fingers.

Giving the sand the taste test.

After the initial excitement of new surroundings wore off, the boys got down to more serious play.  Well, LO did anyway.  NB just kept trying to eat seashells or whining to be in the mud.  I don't know why I was surprised by this, but LO played so differently at the beach than I expected.  I guess my expectation were too girly.  I had loaded the beach cart with "one times" (his small construction toys), sand castle molds, food coloring to color sand, shovels, a kite, and aluminum foil to make rivers and lakes to float boats. The one times were appreciated by both boys.  NB liked to throw them in the sand, then dunk them in a pail of water, then throw them back in the sand.  LO kept asking me to make sandcastles for him.  Where I thought we'd have more fun making them together, LO liked to have me make them so he could enjoy plowing through them with his diggers.  When I tired of making sandcastles, LO moved on to his favorite beach toy of the week...the shovel.  As more and more people arrived in the beach, I noticed more and more boys involved in digging. Truly digging for the sake of digging.  Some older boys spent all day one day digging individual holes then joining them into a trench.  It seemed pointless to me, but LO was quite impressed.  He wanted help making a hole like theirs.  In fact, part of every day on the beach LO spent either moving dirt from one spot to the next (initially we pretended to be diggers, scooping mud, then slinging it into the ocean) or just making huge holes in the sand.  Sometimes LO asked to jump in and out of the holes with us.  Twice he asked DH to bury him in them. 

DH, LO, and cousin E scooping and dumping mud.  They could do this for an hour.

 

Losing LO's feet in the mud as they dug around them.

First time LO asked DH to bury him while sitting in a hole they dug.

The second day he was buried on his stomach.  Pretty brave move for our little guy.  It was a bit of a struggle for him to get out.

LO jumping in...

and climbing out of one of the boy's holes.  You can see their heads in the adjacent holes.

When NB wasn't trying to eat shells or dig in the mud, he enjoyed climbing in the beach chairs and flirting with the neighbors.

NB lounging in the beach chair

Climbing makes this boy happy!

Our last day at the beach I convinced DH to bring NB's baby pool out to the sand.  I hoped we could put water in it to warm up, and that he would enjoy splashing in the shade there.  He did enjoy that some, but he preferred to sit in the sand and throw diggers in the water.  

DH watching NB by the pool with a buried LO nearby.

Our little foursome had a great time at the beach.  The whether was very comfortable, even sometimes cool.  We spent a little time in the water each day (until LO's teeth chattered and I made him get out), and a lot of time in the sand.  It was so relaxing to be out there, and no one got sunburned!  Being at the beach was only half of our shore experience.  We also had great time with DH's extended family, and the boys had some great treats and new experiences.  Those will be the topics of upcoming posts.  That's right, the vacation posts will keep coming!