Just Beachy

We just came home from our mini-vacation to the beach Saturday, and despite the gloomy forecast, we had perfect sunny, 80 degree weather for the two of the three days we were down by the bay. It was cloudy when we arrived, but after an hour or so on the beach, the sun came out to play!  We had a bit of rain one night, and when we woke up to a comfy dry, bed in our cabin I must say, we were glad not to be camping for sure! 

We stayed at First Landing State Park on the Chesapeake Bay. My parents have taken me there camping since I was a little girl, and my mom's parents used to take her there since she was a baby as well. So its the place we call "the beach" and its beautiful to make new memories with our children, as we rekindle memories from many trips before.

We spent one afternoon at the Norfolk Botanical Garden where they have an amazing children's garden with a water play area.  Kieran was not at all sure about the fountains everywhere but we all enjoyed feeding turtles in the pond and watching a mother and baby geese. 

Its always beautiful to watch children at the beach.  The girls were like little mermaids in the water while Kieran enjoyed playing with his sand toys.  He finally warmed up to the cool bay water during our last hour or so on the beach and then we couldn't get him out of it! 

We spent one evening at sunset on the bay catching ghost crabs, which the girls loved!  There were hundreds of tiny little crabs running along the beach in the dark, and Anastasia quickly became an expert baby-ghost crab hunter. :)  What fun!

Sometimes I think it would be nice to live at the beach, and let the tide wash away all my cares, but I fear that I might become too relaxed sitting by the seashore that I would never do anything productive ever again!  Unless productivity included knitting and reading chick lit. Of course I would love to take up surfing and kite-surfing in my spare time... between knitting sweaters and hats... and heck, bathing suits! LOL  So I live in the mountains and relax at the beach a few days out of the year and life is good and productive. usually.

We also went at Busch Gardens on Friday for the day! We are completely spoiled!  Nick and I rode a few coasters and water rides together... which was beyond fun!  We have yet to tackle the Verbolten which looks like SO MUCH FUN! Maybe next time around!  Anastasia and Isabel both rode the kiddie coaster twice! Isabel is just tall enough to ride!  And she LOVED it!  Both of them wanted to ride over and over and over again!  I am so glad they are way braver than I was as a kid! :)  It means more fun when they get older!  And we also watched the Celtic Fyre show, which was really amazing!  I think I am an Irish dancer at heart.  So overall we had an awesome little vacation with my parents down at the seaside.  Sadly while we were away, our dog Leia attacked my parent's cat (who was pretty old and looking sick already) and they had to put him down yesterday. It put a little damper on our lovely vacation.  And our same, very bad dog ran away from my parents last night.  She ran down the street from them and jumped in someone's Jeep as they were getting ready to go somewhere! haha.  She may be bad, but she is pretty smart.  Sooo she was bailed out from the SPCA this morning, and is coming back to live with us. That dog.  That wonderful, terrible furball of a dog. 

and on that note, I leave you with a picture and a piece of my favorite Poe poem..

"As I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand-
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

-Edgar Allan Poe