Beachin' it

Who would have thought, for living in this area, I'd have such a hard time finding a beach for Clare to play in the sand?

First we tried walking down to the city beach only to find it completely closed off, even for strollers (they're paving the parking lot and doing some other renovations).  I had thought for sure we could have got in with a stroller.   We continued our walk and tried another little black sand beach near home, only to find someone camping there.  After a full hour of walking, we ended up at a tiny beach near a local hotel, which wouldn't even be a beach except the lake level is so low.   I guess if I want a real beach I'll have to walk across the bridge or hop in the car and drive somewhere.  Ah well.

The next afternoon it was really hot and muggy so I got out our little wading pool and set it up in a shady spot on our deck.  I tried Clare on a beach towel first with just a bucket of water and soon she was dumping it out, splashing around, and wanting more.  By the time she was done playing (two hours later) there was about 2 inches of water in the pool and she and her towel were completely soaked.  I spent the two hours kicked back in my lawn chair, watching Clare and throwing Molly's ball, enjoying every minute.  And people ask me if I miss teaching.  Ha.