Beach Bums - Part 2

After Aunt Beth and Uncle Barry left on Friday morning, Tim and I subconciously must have decided to kick our vacation into "Active" mode. First, we climbed on our bikes to ride down the street to the lazy river and pool. This was a little risky since Reed hadn't made a trip on his training wheels-free bicycle without Tim running alongside. But, he did great! His ride was rewarded with a relaxing ride on the lazy river.

We celebrated our successful bike ride with a Nutty Buddy treat with MiMi.

On Saturday morning we put Reed's bicycling skills to the test. The four of us rode our bikes along a wonderful path in the woods to Huntington Beach State Park, where we biked beside a swamp, through the park, to a boardwalk by the beach. Below you'll see the boys and I stopped on the path by the swamp. You'll see why in the second picture - can you find the alligator? All in all, it was about a six mile bike ride.

Later that afternoon, once we'd cooled off in the pool, we began a hike along the beach. About 2 miles up from our location, we came to the "end" of the beach, where in high tide we would be able to see over to Pawleys Island. When we arrived, at low tide, we could probably have swum there. The shelling was wonderful, and the boys were especially happy to find a hermit crab, which they captured in their bucket. It was a very long trek, but the boys were amazing troopers as they trudged through the surf and sand with Tim and me.

We were sorry to see Sunday morning come so soon. It was a wonderful week at the beach with Mom & Dad, Beth & Barry. Each year it is amazing to watch Seth and Reed and realize how much they have changed since the prior summer. In the 11 years that we've been taking this family beach trip, they have grown from babies to boys. It's a joy to watch them laugh, play, and explore.