Beach Day and Pier

We love the beach! Our rental house was within "walking distance" to the beach though we discovered that it was a bit farther down the boardwalk before we reached a decent sandy beach for the kids. (And later discovered that the really prime beach was on the other side of the pier from where we set up. Oh well.)

There was still plenty of sand for digging and tasting. I think, after she got used to the feel of sand, that Addie enjoyed her first time at the beach.

Lots of sand construction projects going on all at once!

Owen liked how his fingernails didn't retain any sand, unlike the rest of his hands.

Another experiment: could they create a hole that would keep water from soaking back into the sand? Wet sand and rocks did not solve the problem, but it required many trips back and forth to the water to check.

A long strand of kelp provided some fun and was well suited for Dad vs. Kids tug-of-war.

As it broke into pieces, the kelp also found a second life in the latest beach fashions: belt, tie, and anklets (not pictured).

The rocky section of beach yielded lots of rocks to throw in the water. Hadley spent most of the last hour finding sea shells and sea glass among the rocks. The weather ended up being perfect, and we had a blast!

I'm beginning to think that every vacation should include some time at the beach!

Oceanside also has a famous pier that claims to be one of the longest on the west coast. We took a family evening walk along the pier after dinner one night and enjoyed seeing the fishermen and diner at the end before we got rained on. It got too chilly for our beachwear! (Owen was laughing below because he was blocking the binoculars for Hadley with his hands. Typical big brother stuff.)

The kids also got to go to the pier one sunny morning with Uncky Dan and Papa. They even saw a pelican up close!