Elliott brings back the beach

We just got back from our third beach excursion of the calendar year. This weekend it was to beat the "heat wave" which is probably a pretty strong term for three days in the 90s. But, when you live in a house that has no air conditioning and seems to suck heat out of the air to store in the walls during the summer, any warm day can become oppressive. Last year we packed up and left to avoid one of the hottest 5 day stretches in Portland history where temperatures topped out at 107. This year the forecast said 98 for one day and I thought "I always end up giving back vacation days at the end of the year, let's burn one on Friday." So it's becoming somewhat of a tradition. At this rate in five years it will be expected to his 85 in mid-May and we'll both say "Screw it, we're taking the rest of the school year off and heading to the coast."

Since Shelbi and I have been married, our beach trips have primarily been respites. The phrase to use when we're packing up for a long weekend should probably not be "We're going to the beach". Instead we should say "We are going to a town which has a beach" because, previously, trips down to the actual oceanside during our stay have almost always come more out of a sense of obligation. "Well, since we're here, we might as well walk two blocks to look at the majestic scenery for a few minutes." 

It's not that I don't like the beach. Far from it. But here is a list of things you can do at the Oregon coast and, with my explanations, hopefully you'll see my point.

Lay in the sun and read/tan: (I hate feeling too hot and, for whatever reason, I haven't owned a pair of sunglasses in more than a decade, which means reading a book has the same effect as starting directly at an eclipse.)

Play in the ocean: (I'm probably a bit too old to be doing this by myself now. I loved playing in the waves as a little kid and could spend hours in the frigid water. But, to put it bluntly, I have nowhere near the testicular fortitude that I did as a 10-year-old and I mean that quite literally.)

Walk to the tide pools at Haystack Rock: (At this point I might know every starfish and barnacle in those tide pools by name.)

Throw the football/frisbee around: (These activities are also known as "Hit Shelbi in the face with a football" and "Stare dejectedly at Shelbi for a few seconds, sigh, and then wade into the ocean to fetch her errant frisbee toss.")

Have a bonfire: (I inherited the gene from my dad in which I believe that bonfires are exceptionally overrated. You've got the smoke in your eyes, the sand in your hot dogs and s'mores, the possibility that someone you're with brought his or her acoustic guitar. Etc...)

But, on this trip, I started to fall in love with the beach again. You see, Elliott has come a long way since his first trip to the beach which was spent as a gasping and squinting 3-month-old in a Baby Bjorn. When he was a little more than 1-year-old he could enjoy walking on the beach briefly before stopping to eat a mouthful of sand. This time it was a whole different ball game. There was no intentional eating of sand and our boy, whose attention span at this point is not one of his strongest characteristics, plopped down beside us and was content scooping, shoveling and smoothing sand for close to 30 minutes. It was remarkable. In a related story, we have decided to convert our garage into a 300-square-foot sandbox.

Elliott also loved the ocean. This didn't come as much of a surprise given his affinity for water but, I mean, he really loved the ocean. So much so that he kicked me repeatedly in the gut and screamed for the duration of our short walk back to his toys in the sand. He was completely fearless, charging full speed into the cold water, giggling with delight as I picked him up to jump waves and beating at the water with his shovel. He fell down once or twice, got a brief look of surprise on his face at the cold temperature, hugged my leg for half a second and that was all the coddling he needed to make another charge into the surf. 

And, with as much fun as he was having, I realized it was probably the most fun I've had on the beach in more than a decade. All of the above-mentioned activities are made infinitely better by the presence of children and I can't wait to see Elliott develop his love of the beach in the years to come. I'm even prepared to make 50 more trips to the tide pools if it makes him happy.

                 

Come on. These are just adorable.


Posted by Matthew Sherman at 7/10/2010 8:01 PM
Categories: uncategorized

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