Beach Days

It's been too long. House stuff, schedules and oil spills have kept us away from our favorite beach spot for almost a year. This weekend we took a quick road trip back to our hometown in Central Florida. Eli hadn't been there since he was 1 1/2 and Maddux had never made a visit, so we figured it was time.

The first day found us at an old favorite right after breakfast: Picnic Tables beach in the Cocoa Beach area. (Most of the beaches are nicknamed goofy things like "2nd Light" or "Picnic Tables".) Mom-Mom and Nana joined us and we made quite a day out of it. Big big sun kept us covering the kids in sunblock and using a few umbrellas down by the water's edge. Maddux had a blast picking up shells, running to the water (and then back) and building castles. Eli, however, was much more interested in the waves. Mom-Mom brought a boogie board for him to use, and use it, he did.

Eli's relationship with the waves this weekend started at the sandy edge. He would put the board on the ground and stand on it, crouching down like I showed him when the waves came in. This entertained him for most of the day as the varying degree of difficulty was a constant challenge. Somewhere near the end, Eli allowed me to take him a little further out and push him in, true boogie boarding style. He had a blast. Eli rode four or five in without stopping...smiling the whole time and telling me, "That's really fun!!"

We left the beach and the kids fell asleep IMMEDIATELY (it was 4pm, after all). We let them snooze for a half hour or so before stopping at Nana's to shower for dinner. We met some friends at a beach-side spot and both kids (again) had a good time playing in the sand.

The second day was full of drums and sand. We stopped at Grandpa Ed's studio first so the kids could see their generous gift (a small-sized drum set) and play a few tunes. We then went to the beach down by the Port. We got to see two cruise ships leave while we were there, creating a wall of boat. The kids weren't too impressed, even though I told them the boats were each bigger than our church. The kids continued with their beach madness, running in the water, playing in the sand, and having a blast. Eli stepped it up and got on a surfboard with Daddy a few times. He rode it in, boogie board style, as many times as Lehr and/or Russell would push him in. He even stood up on it a few times, while Daddy held it in the water. And don't count Mad Dog out. She rode the waves a few times as well. The problem was, wipe outs shook her up more than Eli, so she didn't last as long.

Our last day was less sun. We decided to stay away from the beach until dinner time, saving the fun for low-sun hours. We did take a quick trip to Nana's pool after breakfast to visit her friends. The kids had a great time, showing off their swimming and jumping skills. Maddux managed to fall on the hard poolside once, but no major injuries to report. After short naps, we drove down to an old high school hangout: 5th Avenue. We met Mom-Mom for pizza at one of our favorite spots followed by a quick walk through Longboard House. After the kids ate pizza they entertained us by dancing around like goofballs. They're pretty good at that. At the surf shop I got Eli his first pair of 'real' baggies and a few shirts. Maddux ran around ('hands 'hind my back') shopping for herself.

Going down there after the sun went down was a GREAT idea. We were able to let the kids play as long as they wanted without fear of sunburn - brilliant! Eli was in and out of the waves; this beach had a much quicker drop off, but he still had a good time. And Maddux made friends, as she often does, with a nearby set of siblings playing in the sand.

Lehr and I were most impressed on this trip by the kids' comfort level around the water. While we've seen a few waves in Watercolor, this trip to the beach showed them the power of the water more than ever. The tide pulled Maddux at her feet several times, knocking her over and attempting to drag her out to deeper waters. Eli took so many face-fulls of wave over three days that it's amazing he's not water-logged. Yet neither stopped going to the ocean seeking fun. Eli only 'complained' twice, and both times were real doozies. Eli was even comfortable enough to 'swim' around the second day, doing his version of flips and dive-unders in waist to shoulder depth water. So so cool to see the confidence both of them has.