We had a lazy morning in Chicago, knowing we wouldn't be going anywhere fast during morning rush hour (yeah, I can definitely knock Chicago off my list of cities I hope to live in). We did finally hit the road about 9:30 and traffic wasn't too bad. I think we only had to completely stop once. We then spent several hours on the road. We arrived in Kirtland, OH about dinner time (but it didn't feel like dinner time to us because of the time change). We didn't want to see any of the Church sites we had come to see, so Greg had the brilliant idea to go to the beach. We were close to the shores of Lake Erie. He asked the clerk at our hotel about it and she printed up directions for us. Being from the midwest our kids have only been to one beach when we visited my brother Todd while he was at Yale in Connecticut 6 years ago. I doubt they even remember it.
We thought we would take a leisurely stroll along the beach in our barefeet. The kids had different plans. First of all it was way too hot to walk along the beach in your barefeet unless you were in the water. At the water's edge, though, the beach was too rocky. This was no Florida beach. We all took our shoes off and stood in the waves. You can see what is coming. It wasn't long until first Ben and then the others were "accidentally" getting wetter and wetter and falling down in the water. Ah well, that is what vacation is for right?! The water was shallow enough the kids could go out a little ways and still touch comfortably. Jake stayed with us right by the shore, but he loved every minute of it. In fact I was surprised at how much they all loved it. They loved playing in the waves. They found an old log that they played on for a while. Greg and I didn't go all the way in ever in our clothes. We stood in the waves or sat on the shore. I even laid down for a bit. It was lovely listening to the consistent, constant sound of the waves and the happy sounds of families enjoying being together. It was very restful for me. I also played in the sand for a while. It was one of those happy accidents, going to the beach unplanned with no swimsuits. I think the kids enjoyed it more than the waterpark the day before. Sometimes spontaneity is more fun than the variety of fun that is planned.
Just getting their feet wet.
A Little Deeper
Just a Little Deeper
AHHH!! Now this is swimming at the beach.
4 comments:
So fun to see the details here. I look forward to the next blogs.
Spontaeous fun is the best kind of fun! I adore that top picture of Anna, so sweet and innocent.
You are such a wonderful family...I miss you.
We'll never get tired of your blog!
I agree, spontanaety is awesome. We live just a few minutes from Lake Superior and often make spontaneous visits to the beach, but it's probably a bit colder than Lake Erie! Looks like you are really enjoying your vacation!
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