Hanging Out at the Beach

On Wednesday we spent most of the day at the beach. The weather has been wonderful this summer, and we really needed a day out of the house. The beaches around here really calm down in August; it seems everyone is on vacation and getting ready for school. So it's a nice month to go and get sandy. I got smart this time and brought a chair to sit on and my knitting and a magazine. We had friends join us, and were delighted to find other friends already there. We came home with sunburns where the sunscreen wasn't applied properly, and I think it was old anyway and not as effective. We had forgotten the beach toys, but I convinced the kids that they would make friends with other kids who had some, and that they could try improvising with what was there. They seemed happy enough throughout the day without special toys. They dug with sticks, borrowed others' shovels, ran and ran, jumped waves, buried themselves, and picked up kelp and seaweed. The tide was low when we got there, and rose throughout the day, eating the beach. We brought lots of sand home. I hope we'll be able to get there a few more times before the weather cools off too much. Such relaxing, refreshing days.