B=Beach

Late entry for Monday, 4/2/12
Tuesday morning the kids and I hopped in the stang and drove to the beach. We have a habit of doing that, getting in the car and we driving away. Kind of like running away only I get back in time for work or they get back in time for school. Either way it works out.
Know what's good about spring break at the beach? It's dirt cheap. A room that'd normally cost upwards of 800$ for 3 days, ocean front prime view in a chain hotel with 2 pools and all this fanciness...200$. Awesome is what it is.

It is also April. I had a conversation early in the day with a guy who was also here with his wife and kidlets on  a quick spring break away. They'd been down to the inlet and boardwalk the day before and he said, there's more open there than you'd think. Well, we hopped in the stang and hit the boards. 
A brand new boardwalk welcomed our feet, no more warped anything. They'd obviously been working on this through out the offseason.
The girls about did back flips because the haunted house was open and running. The 2 of them piled into the cart and zipped through the freakishly dark house, a trail of twisting and turning boo's and haunts with screeching screams.
They played boardwalk games, the kind that are super expensive and spit out tickets that can be turned in for treats like angry bird flip flops and glitter teddy bear piggy banks. The girl got to foot stomping because she only had 250 tickets. Her brother had hit the motherload for a 1000 tickets. Jealousy in its most primal form aka a 7 year old.
The boardwalk here has a Ripley's Museum. It's a pricy museum, paying for the name more so than anything freakish. We haven't been through it in a few years. Not much has changed, but they are older and some neat stuff caught their eyes. The last time we went though, Zoe was in a stroller, so it's been a good 4 or 5 years.
The last stop we made was the sandy shore. I told them just touch the water with your toes, feet if they must, but don't get all soaking wet because that water is cold. Remember it's April, not June. Big difference. Know what? The water really wasn't that cold. Not much more than June anyway. They didn't listen to me either, all 3 of them. Waist deep in jeans and a hoodie, then covered in sand, my niece was the worst mess. They boy who was already in shorts and a tee, was waist deep in crashing waves. The girl was all screeches and screams when the water hit her, but I think she was the only one with wet hair! I even dipped my feet in the foamy water that chased me back further and further on the sand. I sat and watched them play, already wet...what more damage could they do? Hindsight is 20/20 and my fears of hypothermia never panned out. I'm still +3 kids who have great April beach bathing memories. They are so funny when they are not completely psychotic and menacing:)

I do love the beach. I think it's so peaceful here and it has a feeling about it that any other place just doesn't have. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore, it sounds so loud and noisy. It's a pleasant, natural noise. I think when I meet the end of my days, this is where I want my ashes spread. Just dump my charcoal in the ocean and let me float sans boogie board for all the rest of the days Earth spins.
I sat there in the sand with my pants rolled up like clam diggers, wishing that it was July or August so I could go in. It was a happy day for all of us. Happy all at the same time is like hitting the lottery.

Jill 4/6/12