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Friday, July 29, 2011

Down By the Bay

When I was down beside the sea

A wooden spade they gave to me

To dig the sandy shore.

My holes were empty like a cup,

In every hole the sea came up

Till it could come no more.



At the Seaside by Robert Louis Stevenson














One of the best parts about our trip to the Chesapeake Bay was the lazy days at the beach. Of course, as a parent "lazy" day at the beach meant fun times in the water and sand, not exactly leisurly afternoons of naps and a good beach read. The boys were happy to gather shells, watch the crabs scurry on the sand, build sand castles, and run into the waves, but we had a few other fun things planned as well...

A straight stick and some stones made a sundial. (Simply place stones or shells at the shadow's end every hour or so.)





Bubbles on the beach at dusk







It is easy to dye sand: Mix water with food dye keeping in mind that the sand will dye lighter than the water color, fill a glass/bucket up 3/4 of the way with sand pour on the dyed water to 1 inch above the sand. Stir it to make sure the all the sand gets wet. Let it set overnight. The next morning, spread the sand out flat in the sun to dry. After a few hours you can make sand art.






The absolute delight of the trip, was the buried treasure, complete with a secret treasure map thanks to my fun, uber creative sister, aka Grand Patti:






The secret map that leads from our cottage to the buried treasure.






The digging begins.






What have we here, matey?





Keeping an eye out for incoming vessels


That afternoon, their imaginations took flight! The crew of gentle pirates have claimed my boys and there is adventure at every turn.

2 comments:

  1. When I was little I loved to dig in the sand. I also made beautiful sand sculptures. I almost won a prize for it too.

    -Zane of ontario honey

    ReplyDelete

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