Too Wavy

Today we made our first foursome family trip to the beach. We'd been meaning to go all summer -- hadn't been "over the hill" to the beach since BJ was about BB's age. Which meant BB had yet to see the ocean! So it was time.

We decided to go to Sea Cliff Beach, home of the concrete ship Palo Alto (or what's left of it).
Apparently, they used to let folks walk out onto the ship, but it has long since decayed too much for it to be safe for anybody but the seagulls.

BJ loved the long trek all the way down the stairs....

S and I were less enthused, what with all our stuff to carry, BB in the Sutemi carrier, and the constant fear that BJ would trip as he insisted on carrying his big purple bucket. S and I had never been to this particular beach before, so only after we were all the way down did we discover that we could have driven around and parked right off the beach. Sigh.

BB and I hung out on the blanket while BJ and S went to check out the waves and build a sand castle. She really enjoyed the texture of the sand, and she kept me busy keeping her from eating too much of it.

And, of course, she insisted on playing "tag" with me while I tried to take her picture. I got lots of good close-ups of her nose. In this one, you can see those pesky toofers that are giving her such fits.

Unfortunately, BB's first trip to the beach was hardly long enough to really count as an outing. We hadn't been there 2o minutes before I glanced up to see S scoop up BJ in meltdown mode.

S said the waves only got BJ's feet wet, but it seems that was too much for him. "Too wavy!" BJ kept sobbing. "Too scary! Want to go home!" I felt so badly for him; he was really, really terrified.

We got him calmed down enough to eat our picnic lunch, but only by moving everything to the picnic tables far from the shoreline. I'd hoped that he'd be more tractable after being fed, but no such luck. The best we could get was a compromise to try a different beach.

So we headed up the 1, always a lovely drive. BB got in her nap, and BJ nattered on and on about the scary waves, the boo-boo on his knee (a wee scab now, and is a source of constant fascination to him), random recollections from our trip to the aquarium, and the fact that his hands are made of "flesh and bone and blood." We stopped at one of the small beaches south of Half Moon Bay, and BJ consented to do a little beachcoming with me, but as soon as we got within damp-sand distance of the ocean, he made a beeline back for the car.

Looks like it might be another year before BB really gets to experience the full glory of a day at the beach. And who knows: by the time BJ wants to go back, BB might decide she doesn't like it. Parenting is truly a juggling act..... I'm just glad I've not dropped anybody! (Yet!)