One Last Visit to the Beach

As our time here in Connecticut is winding down (3 weeks and 2 days, but who's counting? Oh yeah, I am), we are trying to spend our weekends doing things we have enjoyed one last time, or going places we hadn't been yet, but were on "the list." So one Saturday a few weeks ago, we decided to go back to the beach so my boys could play and run in the sand. It was the last free weekend before Memorial Day, when the beaches start charging for access, and was supposed to be a nice day after the fog cleared, so we headed out early to beat the crowds. Only there were no crowds. I guess people in Connecticut like to pay. Or more likely, they understand the local weather better and knew the fog wasn't going to clear. That's ok, it made for some good photos!

 Checking it all out.

 Digging in the sand.

 Watching Daddy run by (he's that speck at the shoreline).

 Donning his sunglasses, despite the fog.

 Oliver and Marty walked down to the water to see what they could find. That sailboat that you can barely see just past them was very close to shore. That's how foggy it was, we couldn't see beyond that. I don't know how they were boating, and there were others out there too.

 More digging.

 Sifting.

 Pausing for a picture.

 Chasing the seagulls. 

Yes, there's a story here. Earlier we had stopped to have a snack, and of course within minutes a few seagulls were standing near our blanket, hoping for a handout. So I shooed them away, saying "Go away birdies," and of course, Oliver asked "Why?" and I had to explain that we couldn't feed them or they'd swarm us. So a little while later, a family at a picnic table not too far away from us was having lunch, and they let their little kids feed the seagulls. Oh, I was livid! Isn't there some beach etiquette that everyone knows not to feed the seagulls?? So of course we were completely swarmed, I mean hundreds of them. So Oliver had apparently thought about what I had told him earlier, and got up and started running after the seagulls yelling "Go away birdies!!" like a crazy man. It was hilarious. He wouldn't stop. He was actually somewhat successful in getting them to go away, and eventually that family figured out they were idiots and put their food away.

 Still running. This is only a fraction of the number of birds that were there before he started chasing them.

 Marty ran after him because he was getting too far away for comfort. But notice, no more seagulls!

 Marty herding Oliver back as he tries to get rid of the last bird.

All that bird chasing was hard work! Pausing for a nap. Hah! I wish. Nope, he was just pretending, trying to be like Mommy because that's what I was doing while he and Marty were playing by the water.

Oh look, more birds! One last chase before we left. 

This time, the seagulls were attacking someone's blanket. The people weren't there, I guess they had gone for a walk. Well, the birds first got into a grocery bag and were pulling out sandwiches and eating them. Then, and I'm not making this up, they got their cooler open, and were pilfering all the food from it! Everyone nearby watched with amazement, but didn't do anything. Then Oliver to the rescue! Actually, this time, he only drove them away for a minute. Those birds were intent. It actually looked dangerous, so Marty pulled him away. We didn't stick around long enough to see the people come back and their reaction, though it was tempting. But it was time to go get lunch and hopefully, a nap for my energetic boy.

So it didn't turn out to be a warm day at the beach full of sunshine, but it wasn't cold, and Oliver got to dig in the sand and chase birds, Marty got to run on the beach, and Mommy got to lazily flip through magazines. And nobody got sunburned. I'd say that was a good day.