It’s supposed to get up to 98° today and 100° by tomorrow, so just in case you’re
feeling as hot as I am, I thought I’d cool you down with some pictures from our
trip to the beach last weekend. Aaron and Carlie live in Connecticut, but they
decided to try a popular Atlantic coastal beach in Rhode Island. It was a perfect
day for playing in the waves, and the beach was absolutely packed. In fact, Aaron
dropped us off and spent an extra half hour “commuting” each way just to find a 
place to park. (Note to Michiganders: the water is cold and not so wavy on the 
Great Lakes, but for $10 you can get an annual state park pass and pretty much
walk straight out onto a stretch of white, sandy beach.) However, just for a 
minute I hope you share the joy of playing at the beach with us! Baby Giles was 
sound asleep when we arrived, so I took the first turn babysitting while Carlie 
and the rest of their gang played in the surf. When it was my turn to play, I
took along my underwater camera so you could feel the “cool” with us! 
People were surfing down the beach, and one advantage of RI over HI is that you
don’t get worn out swimming through pounding surf over your head to catch a 
wave. Instead, we waded out to waist-deep water and waited for just the perfect 
wave to come rolling in, ready to break right where we were standing! 
Here we go, hang on tight!
When we catch a big wave just right, it carries us almost all the way in to shore!
But every ride’s super fun! Carlie doesn’t like to use the boogie boards, but let 
me tell you, Grandma could have stayed in the surf boogieing all day long!!!
By the end of the afternoon, even 2-year-old Reid was taking rides on Aaron’s
back, shrieking with excitement. After a huge, sunburned day, we had to take a 
break for some ice cream treats before heading home. I even got special approval
to let each boy choose his own treat. (Grandmas are special that way.)
And on the way home, everybody was as good as gold and best of friends!
“The LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth…the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.” (Psalm 95:3-5)
That sounds like a great day! Was the water in the Atlantic not very cold too? It is in Ireland.
The water was cool but not cold. It felt refreshing. The little guys eventually got chilly…but not chilly enough to want to get out, mind you! You know…bluing lips, chattering a bit…but “I’m not cold!” sort of thing. It was in the 90°s and I suppose the ocean was high 70°s. We were so active that I never got too cold, and we were in and out off and on for about 6 hours. It was one of the best days for playing in the ocean waves that I can EVER remember!
Looks wonderful! What a great day!