The Sand

This year we spent the Fourth of July at the beach. Living in DC, it's much quicker for us to make a beach trip than it was in Oklahoma. Since we've lived here, we've been to Virginia Beach, where some of our close friends live, several times. There are other beaches within two or three hours away, including Ocean City, Maryland. But another beach we'd heard good things about was Rehoboth, Delaware, and that was our most recent destination.

We left Sunday after church, beginning what would become an irksome drive. Traffic was backed up at the bay bridge, made worse by an accident on the bridge, we would find out after finally making it through the toll booth. For about an hour, we were crawling along in 90-degree heat, which means the a/c was not cooling off, and there was little breeze when we tried rolling down windows instead. Our SUV was a seven-passenger oven.

But we survived. We checked into our hotel, then caught a shuttle bus to take us a few miles to the beach to watch the fireworks display. The boardwalk was super crowded, but we found a pizza place (Grotto's, which I guess is pretty famous around there) where the wait wasn't too bad, and we ate yummy pizza before heading over to find our spot on the sand.

We waded through the crowds with our five kids and our bulky stroller to find a patch of sand big enough for our beach blanket, and we parked ourselves to wait for the show. We noticed when we tried to put Asher down that he recoiled as soon as his feet hit the ground. He was scared of the sand! So he stayed on the blanket (which really wasn't a bad thing) as we took in the colorful fireworks.

The next day we went back to Rehoboth Beach. Again, it was crowded, but we found a spot close to the water where our blanket would fit. We normally don't spend money on extras like chairs and umbrellas, so I pulled out my "trusty" "water-resistant" sunscreen spray and rubbed us all down to protect us from the hot, glaring sun. The four older kids and Harvey spent hours playing in the waves, while the sand-phobic Asher and I lounged on the blanket, watching.

Beach Mama

My legs before the burn

Watching the sand and water from the safety of the blanket

Judah's not scared!

And neither are these crazy kids!

Harvey went to get burgers and fries for lunch, after which I reapplied sunscreen, and we stayed out there a good four or five hours. Every once and a while, Harvey would take Asher into the water, but he remained wary of the sand (though it unavoidably found its way onto his body--from what was on the blanket). Toward the end, as Asher sat on my leg, I noticed the sand scratching my skin really hurt. Then I noticed, uh-oh, it looks like I'm getting sunburned.

Back at the hotel, I realized that the sunscreen had been mostly ineffective. I was horribly burned in almost all places on my skin that were exposed, as were Gracie and Judah. We gingerly showered and got dressed, and we went out for Mexican food before heading back to the boardwalk for aloe gel and ice cream.

I haven't visited a lot of beaches in my lifetime, but the boardwalk at Rehoboth was what I would imagine for a a typical small-scale beach. It was lined with kitschy shops and eateries: candy stores, ice cream stands, and souvenir shops, as well as games and arcades. We took it all in, the beach, the boardwalk, and our fellow tourists, as we walked in the cool of the evening. Then with bellies full of ice cream, we called it a night.

Gracie must have been annoyed that we interrupted her ice-cream binge.
(See my red legs? Ouch!)

Tuesday, Independence Day, we decided to try nearby Dewey Beach. We were able to park much closer, and the beach was less crowded. This time, we sprang for the umbrella. It was actually cooler, with highs in the 70s, so there were moments when I got chilly, but I was thankful for the umbrella's protection from the sun and further burning. The kids played and played in the water and the sand. 

Burying brother

What fun we had later trying to rid their suits of all this sand.

Preparing for burial

As the day wore on, Asher became more adventurous with the sand, touching it and finally stepping out onto it. And for the first time in three days, he took a nap, wrapped in his towel in my lap.

Beach napping

All the excitement finally got to him!

We stayed until around 3:00, when it began to rain and the beach was cleared. We hadn't eaten lunch (just snacks), so we walked to a crab shack for an early dinner. I had the best crab cake (sandwich) I think I've ever eaten. Then we drove back over to Rehoboth Beach for another round of ice cream (two nights in a row; I think the kids were in shock). Since we'd watched fireworks Sunday night, we went on back to the hotel and let the older four kids swim in the pool. We all slept well that night.

On Wednesday, we headed over to Lewes, a charming historic town near Rehoboth that a friend had recommended. We browsed the shops and enjoyed the lovely flowers that seemed to be everywhere we looked. We had lunch at a seafood restaurant on the water.

Downtown Lewes

Flowers, flowers everywhere!

Lunchtime!

Lunching in Lewes

Then, since we weren't too far from it, we drove to Ocean City, Maryland, just to check it out and compare it to Rehoboth. It was much bigger and more commercialized, with more and larger hotels and attractions. 

Entering the boardwalk in Ocean City

Twinsies!

We parked and hit the boardwalk (reminiscent of Rehoboth's, but bigger), where we let the kids shop for souvenirs. It was a little tricky navigating the shops with the kids, diverting their attention from the numerous adult-themed tchotchkes littering the shelves. Hopefully they weren't scarred too badly. Finally, we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the Ocean City boardwalk and then began our trek back to DC. 

So other than the traffic-induced sauna, Asher's sand scare, and the sunscreen betrayal, our Rehoboth beach trip was a success. We slept late, ate great food, and made fun memories. I hope you and your family did the same for the Fourth!