Beach Babies and Pool Partiers

Boy, have I had a long day. It all started early this morning. Keefe joined Craig, Rose, Khai, and I for our trip to the beach (after a quick stop at Dollar Depot in Erma for toys for Khai, sunblock for Keefe, and containers to bring food home later). We eventually ended up at the end of the boardwalk near the Cove Restaurant. It's on the southern end of Cape Island, and it has a gorgeous view of Cape May Point and the Lighthouse.

We timed everything just right. We hit the beach at 9:30. It wasn't crowded then; the lifeguards hadn't even arrived yet. Craig easily found a parking spot at the boardwalk. We set up Craig and Rose's sky blue and lemon yellow umbrella and their mustard-y blanket between the closest lifeguard stands. The sand wasn't even hot then.

We all had a lot of fun. Craig and Keefe built Khai his own sand-submarine. Khai just wanted to load sand into a water-filled bucket and make mud. Keefe made a sand fort on his own. I dozed under the umbrella and went for a stroll to take in the view and watch kids surf on the other side of the boardwalk, near the restaurant.

Rose took Khai into the ocean for the first time a bit later. He wasn't sure of it at first. The waves were high close to shore, and the terrain was rocky...until you got past a slope, and the rocks and waves subsided and became spongy sand. It was chilly, but not as cold as it probably was earlier in the month. Khai seemed to have fun once he got used to it. He got to show off his swimming skills to Unc!

The beach brought back a lot of memories. My siblings and I spent our entire summers doing what we did this morning. We'd pack up and be on the beach by 9:30-10, go swimming for a while, go digging or exploring, then go home for lunch around noon. We'd be back by one or two, then home by 4-4:30.

We had lunch around 11. While most visitors to the beach probably bring sandwiches or salads, I doubt many dine on fresh seafood and fruit! Mom had packed shrimp and crab claws leftover from yesterday's party, along with fruit she cut up for breakfast this morning. As soon as lunch was over, we packed up, raced off the hot sand, and headed to the outdoor showers by the Lifeguards' Station a few blocks down to wash most of the sand off.

Once again, we hit things right. The beach was just filling up with people coming out of the Cape May restaurants as we were packing up Craig's van to head home. We took the West Cape May Bridge and Sandman Road to get home, dodging the traffic going to see the free Kenny Chesney concert in Wildwood.

We left less than an hour later, around 1:30. Craig had to be at work at the Haddon Heights restaurant where he and Rose are waiters by 4:30. We were all dead tired; Khai was so gone, he passed out as soon as he got in the car. The trip home was mostly uneventful until we hit the highway. Craig somehow took the wrong ramp, but Rose got him turned around. Khai got upset when we stopped at a WaWa and both his parents went to get drinks and use the bathroom. He probably thought they were leaving him! I read to him to calm him down.

It was past 3 when we rolled into Craig, Rose, and Khai's apartment in Audubon. They needed to walk their dogs Toby and Kelsey, put their things upstairs, and put away their share of the food from the party yesterday. Craig stayed there; it was just about time for him to get ready for work. Rose grabbed Khai's bathing suit and her own, and we headed out again. Rose stopped quickly at my place so I could bring my bags and my share of the food upstairs, then rode us over to Dad and Uncle Ken's.

Dad and Jodie had the place to themselves. Uncle Ken is in the hospital again for his heart. There were several neighbors in the pool when we arrived. Rose got Khai back in his bathing suit and took him in the pool. Jodie joined them. I didn't feel like climbing back into my sandy bathing suit, so I settled on sticking my legs in.

Rose, Khai, and I were all exausted after our long, long day. Khai enjoyed the pool, but as soon as he was dry, he started nodding off. I nearly fell asleep on the couch watching Team Umazoomi. Rose finally took me back to my apartment around 5:30. I had some of the many party leftovers for dinner and watched Three Stooges shorts.