Sunday we took advantage of the return of summer weather by going to the beach, specifically Virginia Beach's Little Island Park. A sweet gem of a beach that is south of all the bustle and lights of Virginia Beach proper.
I found out it's existence when taking Rebecca to her soccer game over in Chesapeake. Since we were so close to the ocean I thought it would be nice to go to the beach after her game. I did a little searching online the night before and found Little Island Park. Sadly she had too much homework, so we headed straight home, but I took note of the beach for a possible future trip. Larry liked the idea and we looked at our calendar for an open date. The earliest we could go turned out to be Oct. 6th.
The weather cooled and it looked a bit doubtful, but as luck would have it summer came back. The warm weather was forecasted to extend to Sunday, so we made our plans and told the kids on Saturday. Jacob begged off, he had plans with friends. This was no surprise as he is not a huge fan of the whole beach thing. Nate too wanted to stay home, he had homework to finish. We almost lost Max and Rebecca, but we convinced them to go. It was going to be a nice trip for just the four of us.
And it was a perfect day to go to the beach. It was warm with a good breeze, the beach wasn't crowded, and best of all the ocean was a lovely temperature to swim in. Around here October is a wonderful time to go to the beach. It's off season so the traffic and parking issues of high summer are nonexistent. Yet the ocean is still warm and you can still get the odd hot spell that makes it all perfect.
It was a lovely last bit of summer.
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beach. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Project MCP: Favorite Summer Activity
The fourth and final challenge from Project MCP for July is "Favorite Summer Activity."
This challenge was a no brainer for me. I love going to the beach and playing in the surf. I could spend hours playing in the waves. This picture of Max with his father I think shows this activity very well.
Even with his eyes tightly closed, Max is smiling away. I am so pleased that I got this shot. The froth of the surf, his head just barely above it all, and a strong arm from daddy makes a wonderful moment in time.
This to me is summer.
This challenge was a no brainer for me. I love going to the beach and playing in the surf. I could spend hours playing in the waves. This picture of Max with his father I think shows this activity very well.
Even with his eyes tightly closed, Max is smiling away. I am so pleased that I got this shot. The froth of the surf, his head just barely above it all, and a strong arm from daddy makes a wonderful moment in time.
This to me is summer.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Artist of the Week: Sand Castle
The artist, or rather artists, of the week are Jake, Nate, Max, and Rebecca. It was a real pleasure watching all four of them working so well together during our entire time on the beach. They were very happy to help each other build various structures in the resulting sprawling complexes they created.
In the top picture you can see all four working away with the Lost Pearl in the background. I couldn't resist taking this picture of the pirate party boat in the background. It gives the fortification a little more meaning.
In the next picture, featuring Miss Rebecca, there is a close up picture of one of the many bridges. The kids found the sand to be ideal for building all sorts of ambitious structures. No internal drift wood supports were needed. The sand was just wet enough to hold together and form almost any shape. They didn't need buckets of water to keep the structure from crumbling away. The biggest threat was stray toddlers (of which there were mercifully few with the notable except of two cuties that were well corralled by their doting father) and the advancing surf.
The kids were careful to erect the main body of their fort high enough on the wash to lessened the danger of advancing waves, but not where the sand was too dry to stick together.
In the third picture you can see Nate and Rebecca working on the details of the fort. They discovered that the sand could hold a squared edge and as a result they made small houses throughout the structure. Near Nate you can also see a few more of the bridges. Nate was the main bridge builder and was in fact the one to request documentation of their efforts.
Anyhoodle as you can see the whole thing did sprawl out over a large area. The beach wasn't terribly crowded, which may have been been due to the fact it was early in the day and rain clouds were sweeping in. Either way the kids could build to their hearts content until it was time to go.
Now at the water's edge Jake made a sturdy structure with dribble castles on top. He had help from his siblings to create what was initially a thick wall to repel the waves. Then it evolved into a squat tower. It got washed over a few times,but that didn't deter Jake. He would repair and replace as needed. Max was more than happy to help out with the connecting wall.
Max, in fact, was happy to help out wherever he was needed. His siblings would remain working in one area, while he bounced about.
Here is one final view. Again it is looking out towards the ocean, but as opposed to the top picture it is down by the tower. I like how the breaking wave gives a note of impending mayhem.
It was a good weekend at the beach.
I am particularly proud of how well the kids got along and even went so far as to invite others to join in on the fun. On Saturday (these pictures were all taken on Sunday) two boys roughly the age of Jake and Nate helped work on the day's sand castle. For a brief moment I had six children and all was good in the world.
In the top picture you can see all four working away with the Lost Pearl in the background. I couldn't resist taking this picture of the pirate party boat in the background. It gives the fortification a little more meaning.
In the next picture, featuring Miss Rebecca, there is a close up picture of one of the many bridges. The kids found the sand to be ideal for building all sorts of ambitious structures. No internal drift wood supports were needed. The sand was just wet enough to hold together and form almost any shape. They didn't need buckets of water to keep the structure from crumbling away. The biggest threat was stray toddlers (of which there were mercifully few with the notable except of two cuties that were well corralled by their doting father) and the advancing surf.
The kids were careful to erect the main body of their fort high enough on the wash to lessened the danger of advancing waves, but not where the sand was too dry to stick together.
In the third picture you can see Nate and Rebecca working on the details of the fort. They discovered that the sand could hold a squared edge and as a result they made small houses throughout the structure. Near Nate you can also see a few more of the bridges. Nate was the main bridge builder and was in fact the one to request documentation of their efforts.
Anyhoodle as you can see the whole thing did sprawl out over a large area. The beach wasn't terribly crowded, which may have been been due to the fact it was early in the day and rain clouds were sweeping in. Either way the kids could build to their hearts content until it was time to go.
Now at the water's edge Jake made a sturdy structure with dribble castles on top. He had help from his siblings to create what was initially a thick wall to repel the waves. Then it evolved into a squat tower. It got washed over a few times,but that didn't deter Jake. He would repair and replace as needed. Max was more than happy to help out with the connecting wall.
Max, in fact, was happy to help out wherever he was needed. His siblings would remain working in one area, while he bounced about.
Here is one final view. Again it is looking out towards the ocean, but as opposed to the top picture it is down by the tower. I like how the breaking wave gives a note of impending mayhem.
It was a good weekend at the beach.
I am particularly proud of how well the kids got along and even went so far as to invite others to join in on the fun. On Saturday (these pictures were all taken on Sunday) two boys roughly the age of Jake and Nate helped work on the day's sand castle. For a brief moment I had six children and all was good in the world.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Beach!
On the heels of our trip up north we had a quick weekend on the beach at Virginia Beach. The beaches aren't as pristine nor as empty as those found on on the Outer Banks in North Carolina, but Virginia Beach is a darn site closer and better suited for weekend getaways.
That said we had a very nice time.
The sand there is great for building castles and the kids did all three days we were there. They would make large fortifications with bridges, towers, and moats. Max would often do his own thing, but ultimately it would link up with the other structures. Nate and Rebecca would flit about adding touches here in there while Jake directed his siblings at one point to make a huge wall to protect his city from the pounding surf.
Speaking of pounding surf, on Friday it wasn't too bad. We broke out some of our boogie boards and had fun with the waves. That evening a storm rolled in and the surf was quite violent Saturday morning. The flags were flying at the lifeguard stations and as a result there was no body boarding and we had to keep close in. But that didn't stop us from playing in the water. As you can see Max was having a good old time flopping about in the waves.
Sunday morning the surf was just as strong, though the lifeguards were being a bit more lenient. We could us the boogie boards, but again we couldn't go very far out. Here you can see how impressive the waves could be. That is Larry's head peeking out of the wave.
We were sad to go on Sunday, but the rain did help chase us off the beach. It was a fun trip and even though hotel rooms were small (literally bedrooms) they were just fine since our main interest was being at the beach.
Oh and if you ever go to Virginia Beach I highly recommend Big Sam's Inlet Cafe and Raw Bar. Great food and service at a very good price. The place is tiny and you often have to wait, but we ere glad we dined there.
That said we had a very nice time.
The sand there is great for building castles and the kids did all three days we were there. They would make large fortifications with bridges, towers, and moats. Max would often do his own thing, but ultimately it would link up with the other structures. Nate and Rebecca would flit about adding touches here in there while Jake directed his siblings at one point to make a huge wall to protect his city from the pounding surf.
Speaking of pounding surf, on Friday it wasn't too bad. We broke out some of our boogie boards and had fun with the waves. That evening a storm rolled in and the surf was quite violent Saturday morning. The flags were flying at the lifeguard stations and as a result there was no body boarding and we had to keep close in. But that didn't stop us from playing in the water. As you can see Max was having a good old time flopping about in the waves.
Sunday morning the surf was just as strong, though the lifeguards were being a bit more lenient. We could us the boogie boards, but again we couldn't go very far out. Here you can see how impressive the waves could be. That is Larry's head peeking out of the wave.
We were sad to go on Sunday, but the rain did help chase us off the beach. It was a fun trip and even though hotel rooms were small (literally bedrooms) they were just fine since our main interest was being at the beach.
Oh and if you ever go to Virginia Beach I highly recommend Big Sam's Inlet Cafe and Raw Bar. Great food and service at a very good price. The place is tiny and you often have to wait, but we ere glad we dined there.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
My Little Mermaid
While her brothers were busy building forts, Rebecca and I decided to make a mermaid instead.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Crab Pools
This year up at my cousin's house Max discovered the joys of the crab pools.
The beach itself is wonderful, great swatches of bright white sand. But the rocks that form the breakwater and then jut out between the big beach and the little beach have always been my favorite feature.
Max is playing in the tide pools caught up in the rocks. You can find all sorts of sea creatures caught within. There are of course the crabs, hermit crabs (we found one that was no bigger than the letter O in this sentence), the occasional fish, mussels, periwinkles and once I found a star fish.
I could spend hours in there and it looks like Max could too.
The beach itself is wonderful, great swatches of bright white sand. But the rocks that form the breakwater and then jut out between the big beach and the little beach have always been my favorite feature.
Max is playing in the tide pools caught up in the rocks. You can find all sorts of sea creatures caught within. There are of course the crabs, hermit crabs (we found one that was no bigger than the letter O in this sentence), the occasional fish, mussels, periwinkles and once I found a star fish.
I could spend hours in there and it looks like Max could too.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
En Vacances
So as my faithful few have probably figured out I was away on vacation, hence the lack of posts.
We did our usual grand tour of New England, visiting Grandparents and cousins. We had beach time, mountain time and lots of family time. Pictured here is our marshmallow roast on the beach.
Normally we will do it after dark, but a front was rolling in and we thought it was best to have it before the storm hit. We were just winding up when the western sky started to spark with lighting. Four buckets of sea water later the fire was out and we retreated to the safety of the big yellow house.
I'll share more photos in the next couple of days.
We did our usual grand tour of New England, visiting Grandparents and cousins. We had beach time, mountain time and lots of family time. Pictured here is our marshmallow roast on the beach.
Normally we will do it after dark, but a front was rolling in and we thought it was best to have it before the storm hit. We were just winding up when the western sky started to spark with lighting. Four buckets of sea water later the fire was out and we retreated to the safety of the big yellow house.
I'll share more photos in the next couple of days.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Nate Skimboarding
While we were on vacation we all did a bit of boogieboarding, some more than others. Nate also spent a fair amount of his time learning how to skimboard.
This a a short video of what he was doing over the week. He got to be pretty good. Next year when we go to the beach he'll be ready to the more advance tricks such as turns and riding the waves.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
All Lined Up
Here is one more picture from our vacation on the Outer Banks.
I was sitting on the deck reading a book and enjoying the sun and ocean breezes. While looking out at the horizon and admiring the view I noticed a little quirk of the shadows.
If I positioned myself just so I could line up the shadow of the crossbar of the railing with the horizon. I thought it was a neat little trick and grabbed my camera. Sometimes to get an interesting photo you just need to notice the little things.
I was sitting on the deck reading a book and enjoying the sun and ocean breezes. While looking out at the horizon and admiring the view I noticed a little quirk of the shadows.
If I positioned myself just so I could line up the shadow of the crossbar of the railing with the horizon. I thought it was a neat little trick and grabbed my camera. Sometimes to get an interesting photo you just need to notice the little things.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunrise Walk
I consider myself a decent photographer. I took a class many, many moons ago in high school and learned the basics, from f-stops to black and white film developing.
I loved it.
The whole process of composing a shot, developing the film, making a contact sheet and deciding how to crop and pint the photo was like a wonderful form of alchemy to me. The acrid smell of the chemicals, the mysteries of the film bag it was all great fun for me.
But after the class that was it. I had no dark room so I had to be content with what I could do through the view finder.
After I got married my husband got a digital camera fairly early on, it was a fairly nice Kodak, but I resisted it. The shutter speed was annoyingly slow. When I hit the button I want the picture taken now, not a fraction or so of a second later. Then I started using it more as I started to appreciate the amount of control I had with the pictures afterward.
With my current camera I have found happiness. It has an acceptable shutter speed and I have a fair amount of control in how it takes pictures. Most of the time I happy with the full automatic mode, but there are times I use the natural light setting. I love how I can instantly check and see if I got shot I was hoping for. Then I get to upload my pictures onto my computer and futz with them to my heart's content.
Usually all I'm doing is cropping and adjusting the brightness. Occasionally I venture into tint and and a few other tricks like sharpness. I still like to compose my pictures in the veiwfinder.
And then every now and then I get one that is perfect straight out of the camera. This is one of them, all I had to do was rotate it 90 degrees and hit save.
The reflections on the water and the sun flare came out just right. I was able to shoot it just so I got the right amount of flare to make everything sparkle. The image is crisp and balanced. This is one of those times I think of myself as a very good photographer.
I loved it.
The whole process of composing a shot, developing the film, making a contact sheet and deciding how to crop and pint the photo was like a wonderful form of alchemy to me. The acrid smell of the chemicals, the mysteries of the film bag it was all great fun for me.
But after the class that was it. I had no dark room so I had to be content with what I could do through the view finder.
After I got married my husband got a digital camera fairly early on, it was a fairly nice Kodak, but I resisted it. The shutter speed was annoyingly slow. When I hit the button I want the picture taken now, not a fraction or so of a second later. Then I started using it more as I started to appreciate the amount of control I had with the pictures afterward.
With my current camera I have found happiness. It has an acceptable shutter speed and I have a fair amount of control in how it takes pictures. Most of the time I happy with the full automatic mode, but there are times I use the natural light setting. I love how I can instantly check and see if I got shot I was hoping for. Then I get to upload my pictures onto my computer and futz with them to my heart's content.
Usually all I'm doing is cropping and adjusting the brightness. Occasionally I venture into tint and and a few other tricks like sharpness. I still like to compose my pictures in the veiwfinder.
And then every now and then I get one that is perfect straight out of the camera. This is one of them, all I had to do was rotate it 90 degrees and hit save.
The reflections on the water and the sun flare came out just right. I was able to shoot it just so I got the right amount of flare to make everything sparkle. The image is crisp and balanced. This is one of those times I think of myself as a very good photographer.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
On the Beach
It's not all sunrises here.
I got this picture yesterday morning. The beach is at its best that time of day. The sand is still fresh and unsullied from the previous high tide and the tide is coming in, providing the optimal conditions for body boarding.
We are having a great time just messing about. It really is nice having a private boardwalk from the deck straight to the beach. The best part is the little deck at the top of the stairs. I think its intended to be a spot to relax and enjoy the view, but we have found it to be a great place to leave all our beach toys. They are tucked out of sight from the beach and are easy to reach when we want them. This house is proving to be a great find.
I got this picture yesterday morning. The beach is at its best that time of day. The sand is still fresh and unsullied from the previous high tide and the tide is coming in, providing the optimal conditions for body boarding.
We are having a great time just messing about. It really is nice having a private boardwalk from the deck straight to the beach. The best part is the little deck at the top of the stairs. I think its intended to be a spot to relax and enjoy the view, but we have found it to be a great place to leave all our beach toys. They are tucked out of sight from the beach and are easy to reach when we want them. This house is proving to be a great find.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Another Glorious Morning
I just can't help myself.
I am waking up at the crack of dawn and I just feel compelled to photograph it as it unfolds. The colors are so vivid and with the wide open horizon I can see the full beauty of the sun rising.
This morning I even woke up Larry and asked him to join me for a walk on the beach with the dogs. It was so quietand serene, I thought it would be a nice way to start the day. Larry agreed and we headed on out.
It was still a bit overcast, but the beach was nearly empty and we had no children trailing after us wanted our attention, all we had was each other and a couple of eager dogs pulling on their leashes. It was nice being able to go out on our own, secure in the knowledge that another set of parents were back out the house. Sharing the house with another family does have a great deal of advantages, especially when the two families mesh as well as we do.
Later on, after lunch, I headed back down to the beach with the kids, including one that is not my own.
The youngest child of the other family is bit older than Rebecca, but the two of them have really hit it off. They spent the bulk of their time on the beach as thick as thieves. It is such a pleasure being able to sit back and watch without having to mediate minor disputes every 15 minutes.
I am waking up at the crack of dawn and I just feel compelled to photograph it as it unfolds. The colors are so vivid and with the wide open horizon I can see the full beauty of the sun rising.
This morning I even woke up Larry and asked him to join me for a walk on the beach with the dogs. It was so quietand serene, I thought it would be a nice way to start the day. Larry agreed and we headed on out.
It was still a bit overcast, but the beach was nearly empty and we had no children trailing after us wanted our attention, all we had was each other and a couple of eager dogs pulling on their leashes. It was nice being able to go out on our own, secure in the knowledge that another set of parents were back out the house. Sharing the house with another family does have a great deal of advantages, especially when the two families mesh as well as we do.
Later on, after lunch, I headed back down to the beach with the kids, including one that is not my own.
The youngest child of the other family is bit older than Rebecca, but the two of them have really hit it off. They spent the bulk of their time on the beach as thick as thieves. It is such a pleasure being able to sit back and watch without having to mediate minor disputes every 15 minutes.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Greetings From The Beach
We're in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and this was the view this morning.
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