A Day At The Beach

When you told me that you wanted to take today off, and go to the beach, I was more than a bit surprised. You don't like the beach very much. You're not a huge fan of the heat, or being in the sun, and you burn like a marshmallow in a campfire. You're idea of fun at the beach is going at night, and spending several hours walking the strip and hanging out in the arcade. Now that we are responsible adults with jobs, I didn't think that was quite what you had in mind. When I pressed you for a reason, you simply told me you wanted fried clams for your birthday dinner, and where better to go, but the beach.

I suppose it helps that I mentioned last week that if we could go to the beach this summer, we could get you fried clams. We haven't been to the beach since we moved out here in 2001, because 2 hours is an awful long way to drive to go somewhere that you don't really care for. I agreed to the trip, because after all, it was your birthday and hello.. I love the beach. The weather was forecast for 81 degrees and sunny, and you decided that was perfect.

We had no way of knowing it was going to be 90 today, with a strong, hot ocean wind coming off the water. But you didn't complain. You plunked down your chair, figured out after holding the umbrella down for a while, with my help, that if you ran the pole through part of your chair, that your weight would keep it from blowing away. It was a strong wind. You put sunscreen on without being nagged, donned your hat, and settled in for an afternoon of magazine reading. Not my ideal way to spend time at the beach, but it works for you.

Mr. Man decided to dig a hole to China right next to your chair, and you didn't complain that sand got all over everything. Your feet, your chair, inside your bag of Twizzlers that you brought. (Ok, maybe you complained about that, but justifiably so). You sat and listened to your music and watched Ms. Thang and I play in the waves. When I mentioned that we could easily walk down to the strip instead of driving, you agreed and we headed  off to change, pack our stuff in the car and walk down to the public beach.

Of course we had to walk down to the spot where the Happy Hampton burned earlier this year. Sad that the guy is using the space for a parking lot this summer, and I hope he rebuilds. Playland Arcade isn't as good, but we went in and you and the kids played and had a good time. I must say I enjoyed my round of Ms. Packman and am glad we went. After a walk back up the Blvd to the State Park, we picked up the car and headed of to Markey's for dinner. I hope you enjoyed your day. I love you.