We decided at the almost last moment to spend Friday (the second day of Fall Break) at the beach. So we booked a cheap inn on-line and Thursday night we headed east to Wilmington.
The beach was SO FUN!
We spent all morning playing in the sand, hunting shells, and splashing in the waves.
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| There were tons of interesting shells! Also, see those birds in the left picture? They are Willets, which are now the 130th species on my life list! |
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| It was Keith's first time to the Atlantic Ocean. |
I really didn't expect Charlie to enjoy the water so much. At every other ocean/lake/river beach we have been to, the water has been rather chilly, so Charlie has preferred to dig in the sand and totally avoid the water. Not this beach! The water was AMAZING. Much warmer than west coast beaches (including California). Even I wanted to jump in (which is really saying something). I am normally not really that into beaches, but this was great!
Charlie would hang onto our legs for balance, squeezing them with anticipation as he watched the waves roll in, and then squeal with laughter when they washed over his legs. It was the best. Eventually all the excitement wore sweet Charlie out and he snuggled into my shoulder, holding onto his shell, all the way to the car.
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| Charlie tried several times to climb into the turtle enclosure. Thankfully, the albino alligator enclosure was more difficult to break into. |
After a nap we headed farther down the coast to check out the state aquarium.
Charlie was fascinated by the fish, would hiss intently with the snakes and timidly touched the critters in the touch pool, but the giant crab was an even bigger hit. Side story: Charlie has a book with an "orange crab" with "two big pincers." Reading this particular page always results in tickling and squealing. It is Charlie's favorite page.
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| Left: Boat-tailed Grackle, now the 131st species on my life goal list and one that can only be found along the west coast shore. Right: Charlie insisted on "helping" push the stroller as we wondered the path surrounding the aquarium. |
After exploring the aquarium we turned the car west and headed home. It was a perfect little last minute vacation and the beach has now risen on my list of places to visit.
3 comments:
I love, love, love family beach trips and yours sounds just perfect! Glad you had such a wonderful trip and I'm especially glad we got to chat last weekend! Lots of love!
Hurray for pics of Charlie playing in the waves - love it!
The beach isn't Zac's favorite either (you two are peas in a pod) but he puts up with the rest of us loving the beach if we promise to find a forest filled with really big trees to climb and play amongst.
Grackle - what a fun sounding name!
Love you all :)
I miss you guys! I wish we could be neighbors. Then we could watch the birds and you could teach me all their names. P.S. I learned to crochet at a RS activity this week and it made me think of you!
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