Adventures in Jones Beach

                           We love going to the beach after the crowds have died down in the summer. The breeze is cool and the smell of the ocean is everywhere.

Nora and I decided to walk down and test out the waters. The ocean was a bit wild. This picture is of Nora running and creaming as the surf comes in.

Sunset in Jones Beach....the sun goes down behind the Ocean.....amazing colors.

Nora finding 'treasures'

Luke and dad brought their baseball and did some field practice....Luke loves 'diving catches'. 

An empty beach and a beautiful sky.......I brought my book, but typical, got swept up in collecting sea shells and wooden sticks to make a beach sculpture with Nora.

Here is our final piece....we found a cool black silky ribbon which added a nice touch to our otherwise very still sculpture.

Nora dancing around the sculpture.

I love watching her singing and dancing. I aim to be as free and joyous as she is daily.

Getting dark....Dad and Luke still doing baseball drills. This time it's Luke practicing pitching to dad....

A few people remain as the sun goes down....The sky is endless.

The sun has finally gone down.

Our sculpture from above.

Nora's treasure collection fit nicely in her shoes...

She wanted to pose with her findings.

Jones Beach at sunset

The best time to go to any beach is after the crowds have gone. It's cooler and less populated. 

We always make a beach 'sculpture' using beach stuff. This one was a 'fence'' my daughter built around my hubby. 

My kids playing in the waves. 

I see purple, brown, pink, blue, light blue, peach. 

The sun has officially gone down. Kids still playing. 

Summer is not summer unless you place yourself in some beautiful natural setting. 

Wilmington, North Carolina Weekend Adventure

Getting ready to go on an adventure.....

This is the routine when we get to any hotel....Luke tests the beds....

The beach was warm and beautiful......oh, how we hated to go back to coooollllld!
Luke is posing for me!!! Yes!!
Dad and his spanish moss beard.
Spanish moss.....all over the place.
These were humongous.....would not not want to be on the wrong side of this missile.
I don't think very yummy food could come out of these 'pots' ....
Which bed would you sleep in?
Toilets inside the SS North Carolina. Not very private huh?
Typical fence for armed forced location.....bomb fence....at least they get points for creativity.
Being obsessed with trees as much as I was....I was loving all the trees.
There were SO many dogs in Wilmington....everyone had at least one dog...but most had 2.
Nora using her fingers to sculpt her sand castle....love her little fingers in this picture....they are so small, yet still so focused and precise.

It's always an Adventure at Jones Beach

We packed lunch, took extra washable diaper inserts, 2 beach chairs, my 40D camera and went to the beach for the whole morning. Jones Beach is only about a 10 minute drive from our house and it was free because it's not technically beach time yet. Yet, when we got there, we could not find parking; it was packed. The big plus was that those awful unsightly garbage cans that pepper this public beach were not out yet...so the beach looked absolutely beautiful and peaceful. 

Nora always has to smell everything

"What IS this granulated substance."

"Mom....help!"

We found a spider......the highlight of the trip. 

Nora would not stop looking at it....she even waved it goodbye at the end. 

There were hardly any driftwood around...so I made a very minimal nature sculpture today. 

A slightly different perspective.

Last time we were there (just a few weeks ago) there were more driftwood, so I was able to make something more elaborate.