A GREAT day at the beach

Ever have one of those days where everything just seems to click? Sarah Brammer was visiting us recently and she wanted to go to the beach for her and Michelle's birthday. Work is crazy right now and Sophie is in school so we only went for two nights. Friday afternoon we hit the road and arrived at Chincoteague just late enough to eat dinner and go to bed.

Saturday Sophie and Elanor woke us up a little after 7 jumping up and down and wanting to go to the beach. As we finished breakfast, the other girls started stirring. Rather than wait for them, the three of us went down for an early morning visit to the sea.



It was a little cool (low 50s and breezy), so we headed back to see if the others were ready. After a little prodding we all went to the hotel poolhouse and had a great time swimming and playing. After drying off, we went to the bike shop across the street and Sophie and I rented a tandem bicycle with which to have some adventures. After coming back for lunch, Sophie and I set off for Assateague Island on our awesome new bike.


We rode to the Island and then rode around one of the big marsh nature preserves (a 3 mile loop). We saw lots of neat animals and plants (but no wild ponies, unfortunately) before meeting the others at the visitor's center/museum. When we arrived, we discovered that it was the island lighthouse's birthday, and they were giving out free cake and punch! After refreshments we pedaled to the beach. The weather had warmed up and the tide was high and wild, and we had a blast.


After the beach we stopped at Mr. Whippy's for some great ice cream and then Sophie and I turned in our bike.


All told, I estimate we rode about 12 miles to, around, and back from Assateague. Sophie was quite a trooper and very much enjoyed the ride (her little pedals even helped a little going up and over the bridge). My favorite comment, while I was looking around for wildlife, was, "Dad, tell me when you're looking around and I'll look ahead so we don't run into anything." When we got back to the bike shop we unhooked the tandem and then I took Elanor out for a short spin in a ride-along.


After returning the bike, we went to a nice restaurant for dinner, where Sarah and I broke open crab claws for an appetizer (Michelle helped us eat the crabmeat) and had some excellent shrimp and crab and scallops for dinner. Back at the hotel all three girls went to bed with little to no fuss. Does it get better than this?

Some days are just a gift, and sometimes you have to just take a whim and go with it. I haven't ridden a bike in years and wasn't really planning on it that day, but decided to give it a try. I didn't think Sophie would really hold up very well, but she gave it a try and loved it. She and I spent much of the day together, just the two of us, riding around a beautiful coastal preserve...talking, laughing, discovering things, working together. What a great memory to hold on to!