Love, Peace, and Sandy Feet

"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)

it's always ourselves we find in the sea."

- e.e. cummings

To which I say Hallelujah.  It has been many years since we had a vacation at the beach, actually March 2008 before I got pregnant.  I  have taken Baylor to the beach on two day trips in his lifetime but he only really remembers them from the photos in the bathroom of him playing by the water.  Gloria made a two night reservation at The Walls in Rehoboth, DE, our favorite beach ever.  My parents went there when they were just married and living in Dover and we went there as kids. We were super excited to take Baylor there and be able to stay for a few days.  

We left early Monday morning and arrived around lunch time.  We unpacked the car and Baylor and I changed into appropriate water gear.  We headed out for lunch at Grotto Pizza and stopped to press some pennies at a near by store.  We do love pressing pennies and by the time we left, we had pressed all four design options.  

We ate at the Grotto on Rehoboth Ave instead of the one on the boardwalk.  I know my son well enough to know if he saw the beach there would be no way he would want to sit and eat.  He did not want to eat at in in the first place, but again, I know my son, and when the food came out he changed his mind.  

After filling up on fries, cucumbers, pizza, and strawberry gelato, we headed to the sand.  We made a nice landing spot and hit the water for the first time in his life.  When we had gone down before, it was not really swimming season so he just got his feet wet.  No photos of us in the water because I could not have a camera while we were out there and Gloria was up on the boardwalk.  We wiped out a few times and we sat in the sand on the edge of the wave range and were swamped a few times.  

Then we went back to the towels to dry off.  Baylor loved playing in the sand and running around diving into it as well.  

While on the beach we found two small crab legs.  Our shark had a nice crabby snack!

Baywatch, watch out. Baylor is coming!  

And he is down, not very gracefully but he was having a blast!  

After we were done for the day on the beach we went back to our cabin.  The Walls is old and have not been updated much over the years.  The last time we were there we had an ancient fridge, the kind with the latching door handle and freezer inside the fridge.  Now they have new fridges and AC.  

I love cooking on gas but this ancient burner scares me. 

This is the pile of sand we brought home in our swimming suits, mine from my top and bottom pieces.  

This would be the sand in the tub that was still stuck to us after we shook off our clothes.

Baylor and I went out for a walk on the boardwalk.  He had some Meme money and bought a toy police set that he wore on the boardwalk.

I took him for a walk on the beach heading towards the big kites on the north end of the beach. He 'shot' the gulls along the way.  

And destroyed any remaining sand fortresses that were made that day.  

On our way back to the cabin, we stopped at the firehouse museum.   They have two old firetrucks the kids could climb in and play fireman.  Baylor loved it.  We made a donation to the fire house on the way out.  It was definitely one of Baylor's favorite stops on our walk.  

Tuesday we planned to spend the day on the beach for as long as we could.  Gloria wanted to go to I HOP for breakfast so we drove out to Rt 1 and enjoyed some coffee and pancakes.  It was Fluttershy's first breakfast with us and I think she had a good time.  

 It was a beautiful day with a breeze that turned into a wind by afternoon.  Gloria went down to the water for a bit with Baylor because he asked her too.  She had fun with him in the water, which was really cold.  Which combined with the wind later in the day caused me to shiver, a lot.  

He took several breaks from the water and we dug in the sand together several times.  Hello over they my sunshine!  

He wanted me to dig a hole right next to his and while we were talking I dug my way over to his side.  He loved it!! And apparently so did Sharky.  He made several trips through the tunnel. 

Gloria and Baylor played in the arcades for about a hour and Baylor had ice cream for lunch!  We were on vacation after all.  

A few sprinkly selfies.

This is what I see in my head when anyone says the word boardwalk.  To me it is the only boardwalk.  I have been to a few others but this is the one I know and love.  I am glad it will be the one Baylor grows up on.   

“The waves of the sea help me get back to me.” 

- Jill Davis

After a bath and dinner at Pappa Grandes (yummy tacos on Taco Tuesday), we took a family walk on the boardwalk again.  They went in the arcades again and I did so shopping by myself.  That is a treat in itself.  After that we stopped at the firehouse to rescue more buildings from fire.  

I asked him to pose for me and all I got was funny faces.  But I do love that funny face!  

I love the sea.  I hope my son loves the sea and finds it a place to recharge when he is grown.  

"It is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears.

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea--whether it is to sail or to watch it--we are going back from whence we came."
- John F. Kennedy