The days fell into a predictable routine. I would get up around 6AM and make coffee. I would have 30 minutes to an hour for my disciplines. Then a few of the adults (starting with my youngest daughter) would wander through looking for breakfast and coffee. At 10AM or so we would storm the beaches, arms loaded with folding chairs, beach toys, skimmer board and snacks. 11:30 or so, back to house for a rinse off, lunch, and nap. 2PM or so, back to the beach for another couple of hours of sand and surf. Back to the house where my eldest daughter and I would whip up dinner. The line-up was Shrimp-n-pasta in foil; crab cakes (the package said "crab flavored seafood" hmm) tempura whiting (a fish..never heard of it) shrimp quesadillas. Do you see a trend? Our Kansas-bred s-i-l said he was going to fix a big steak when he got home.
This is how most days ended.
We spent the night of the 4th watching fireworks on the boardwalk where our 4-yr-old granddaughter was not a big fan. Her mother suddenly remembered that she did this at DisneyWorld as well. Thanks, good timing. Lots of families on the boardwalk, no roving college kids, you know the whole alcohol deal. We ate ice cream, bought tee-shirts, Eli bought a skimmer board. So we helped the OC economy.
A couple of things left a lasting impression. One: I swept the floor twice everyday and collected a pile of sand and the floor still felt gritty. Two: This crowd eats an amazing amount of bread and chips. We plowed through at least 5 loaves of bread and a bag of chips at every meal. Three: Outdoor shower was a life saver. More sand ended up there than anywhere else. Four: Getting to and from Philadelphia is hard, particularly when the day we were leaving they had all kinds of thunderstorms. We got home about 1:30AM. Five: Atlantic ocean water is MUCH colder than Gulf of Mexico water..and the waves are bigger. We almost lost Nena to a couple of big waves. I looked out and could only find her big, floppy hat floating in the surf. Fortunately, she was attached to it underneath. She came up sputtering, but still had her sunglasses on and a wide, sheepish grin on her face. Later we found out she had a pretty good bruise on her leg as well. Six: when kids are tired the time is takes for them to melt down is milliseconds. Seven: We had at least one moment where all the kids and most of the adults needed to be in "time out" Eight: slow internet is worse than no internet.
This may be only action shot of all three grandkids in the same frame:
And like most families you need a planner and builder. Don't these two look like they are scoping out a place for the beach house? Never mind that it is a public beach, they will find a way.
So a great time by all. We are blessed to be able to enjoy each other, to eat and laugh and play practical jokes. Nena and I got to soak in all the time and joy and moments.
Godspeed to all out there who get to share their love and lives with those dear to them.
Don
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