The beach, part 7

Rainy days and Fridays never get me down. Even when it's the last full day at the beach.

We went down to the beach early Friday morning, to enjoy the waves at low-to-mid tide. A little happy splashing, and much happy sandcastle-making before the clouds started to look more thunder-some and threatening. Back to the house, where we decided we'd go to one of the better gift shops so that Boo and Skibo could buy presents for their friends.
Of course, as any mother or father knows instinctively, this is a good thing to do, to generate a sense of giving in ones children (even if it means spending out of the grownups' bank accounts!) It is also, as we always forget but are always instantly reminded, dangerous.
Fortunately, we escaped fairly well: not only did they choose relatively nice, small, and inexpensive gifts for their friends, they also chose relatively nice, small, and inexpensive gifts for themselves (this is the truly dangerous part!)

From there, with the weather looking immoderate, it was off to lunch (same place, third meal in a row, fifth time there in four days), then a nap, and a last afternoon at the beach. Again, lots of waves, losing sunglasses in the water (which LOML cleverly found by stepping on them, gently enough to detect but not to damage them), and as is to be expected at the end of the week, the children becoming completely fearless of the waves. One of these years, they'll be fearless upon arrival, and that will be truly scary!

As evening rolled around, it got late: despite this we made the decision to go out for dinner one last time instead of cooking: we ended up getting our food well after 8 and not getting back to the house until about 9:30, if I remember right. I'd have been happy to cook for everyone, and in retrospect it might have been a better decision, but what's done is done.

It had been a good week, and this was really the end. Packing up, one last visit to the beach, and then the drive home is all that was left.

Yours, missing the beach,
N.