Beach Day

Whoops; I never did get around to posting anything yesterday.

But my day off was really very good. Penny and I took Alex to school, then went home to eat breakfast and get ready for our day. It was a little chilly to go swimming, but when I offered to take her somewhere else instead, Penny insisted that she wanted to go to the beach.

So we did. Yorktown Beach is situated right at the point where the York River opens up into the Chesapeake Bay -- by no means is it an ocean beach, but the water is salty and it's a really pretty spot. And there was enough wind yesterday for there to be some small waves (which as far as Penny was concerned were big waves). She absolutely loved it.

We walked along the beach and let the water swirl around our ankles. Penny got hypnotized by the water and nearly lost her balance a couple of times, but eventually she got the hang of it. She picked up bits of seashell, and poked dubiously at the seaweed. She made footprints and gasped with awe when the waves washed them away, and then did it again. She dug her toes into the sand and giggled when the water pushed more sand on them. She spotted my footsteps and tried to walk in them. She threw bits of rock and shell and handfuls of sand into the waves.


As if the cool air and strong breeze hadn't been enough to dissuade me from swimming, we found three jellyfish bodies washed up on the shore in the space of about ten minutes. And I saw several in the water, though at least they were individuals and not a swarm.

Did you know that dead jellyfish can't sting you? I talked Penny into touching one of the washed-up bodies so she could see exactly why they're called jellyfish. (Though more than jelly, they feel like those gel window-clings.) Once she got over the initial ick-factor, she because entranced by them. One of the ones we found was huge -- easily eight or ten inches in diameter, and too heavy for the little waves to wash away. Penny kept coming back to it, and after about an hour was referring to it as "my jellyfish friend". When the waves began to get too close (the tide was coming in) she actually dragged it a little further away from them to "rescue" it. She picked up a smaller jellyfish and put it in a bucket to take home "so Daddy can see a jellyfish!" and found a few little broken-off pieces that she had enormous fun playing with. (They stick to stuff like those window gels, too.)


She waded in up to her knees (clinging tightly to my hand -- we both got splashed nearly up to our waists) and retreated to dryer sand for other fun. She made a sand angel (which is just like a snow angel, but not as cold) and buried her arm in the sand and marveled at how hard it was to lift it straight back out. She buried her feet and ankles, and then various of my limbs, as well.


We ate a picnic lunch and watched the boats on the river, including a trio of Coast Guard vessels (and one helicopter), and a gorgeous 3-mast ship -- the Yorktown Alliance -- practicing maneuvers for some show or other.

We were there for two, maybe two and a half hours, and if we'd been able to swim, it probably would have gone longer. Though it's possible that two hours was just long enough, since I came home with a faint burn on my chest and neck and one arm. (I spent most of the morning facing north, I guess -- the other arm doesn't even have a tan line. And my legs are still as white as paper. Stupid legs.)

After we left the beach, we dropped by my folks' place to visit with my mom (Dad wasn't home) for a while, and then we went back home. Penny watched some TV and worked on an art project while I sorted the gajillion pictures I'd taken.

All in all, it was a fantastic, relaxing day, and I'm glad I finally did it. Next summer, I'll try to remember to do it earlier, when we might actually be able to get in the water.

And then yesterday morning, her school had its Open House so students could meet their teachers and find their classrooms (which is why I didn't get to work in time to post all this yesterday). And before that, we had the annual meeting to review and renew her medical plan and to fill her teacher in on what she needs to know.

Penny was surprisingly excited about everything. She took to her new teacher right away, and was excited about all the stuff she saw in the classroom, and thrilled to recognize a few names of other students. For a kid who's been clingy in the extreme and terrified of even tiny changes to her surroundings, it's nice to see her finally showing some enthusiasm. So hopefully our first-day-of-school dropoff will go well, next week.

Our plans for the long weekend are pretty simple. Saturday we're going over to John and Sam's to celebrate birthdays (John's and Mom's and a friend of John and Sam's). And that's pretty much it for plans. I'm sure we'll get out of the house each day (Alex, like Penny before him, does better if he get a Trip every day, though he's a little calmer about it than Penny was) but probably just running errands and such.

And then Tuesday is back to school!