Beach Day

 I love going to the beach in the off season.  Sure, it's cold and windy, but without the hoards of sunbathers, umbrellas, coolers, lawn chairs, and youngsters jumping in the surf, you can really appreciate just how beautiful the sand, sky and ocean are.  Plus, nobody has to see me in a bathing suit.  We all win.

We generally end up at the beach a handful of times over the winter months.  We bundle Madeline up and let her run around like a wild thing.  She finds sticks, rocks and shells.  She laughs at the seagulls, and watches dogs playing in the distance.  In spite of the cold, she still manages to build sandcastles and needs to be told not to go in the water.

Afterwards we usually head someplace to warm up.  Sometimes we stop at our favorite seafood shack for some chowder.  Madeline eats a hot dog and cries when she sees the lobsters.  She doesn't know what she's missing.  And other times, like yesterday, we drive along the coast to Newburyport or Portsmouth to get coffee and window shop.  

I commented to Eric yesterday that we probably won't be making many beach trips this winter, and yesterday was probably our last trip as a family of three.  But next winter, we'll have two munchkins with rosy cheeks and lopsided grins to chase around the sand.