river day

Today is the beginning of a weeklong family vacation. We've been looking forward to it all summer. The plan is to do a few day trips and explore some of the local attractions. This afternoon we visited a county beach, located on the river. We hadn't been there before, so we wanted to check it out. It is now one of our new faves. The beach was long and wide. If you didn't look at the land across the river, it felt like being at the ocean. The waves were rolling and choppy. Sailboats scattered about, skipping through the wind. Being that we have small kids it was a plus that the grade out from the beach was gradual- without any sudden, mystery drop offs. We swam. We explored. Little G loved getting her toes in the water and would arch her arms down so that we'd understand she wanted "more water!".

I spent a little while rock collecting. I usually reserve this for when we're up north, being that there are spectacular rock collecting beaches. This one proved to be a great one near home. I discovered that within minutes you can have yourself a nice handful of agates. All without much effort. So...the quest was on and I came home with some beauties. The kids and I found a live clam. Have you ever seen one? I hadn't, and initially was grossed out. The inside was basically a fatty, peachy colored tongue. Ew! Although, my curiosity got the better of me and I pulled it out of the sand to show to the kids. I found it a better home in a quiet part of the river, much to A's amusement. I have a soft spot for all creatures. Nuisances or not.

It was a beautiful afternoon spent together as the family. A great start to a memorable week ahead.