Beach Bums

We had a blast on vacation - just what we all needed: some low-key, family time together without any stress, theme parks and their animals, and no where to be any certain times. We did get to see my sister, her hubby, and my aunt, but just at the beginning. That ended up being a good thing, as we just all stayed and played together the rest of the week. We loved our little house, and it was perfect - just the right size, and just exactly what the name said "Close Enough" to the beach that we could walk over the dunes, but far enough away that we didn't have to pay the really expensive beachfront rates. We made sand castles, the kids jumped the waves, the baby dug in the sand (but hated it on her feet - lol! go figure!), we found "real" hermit crabs, and watched the people around us fish for bait fish, and a few sand sharks. The water was very shallow - Daddy and I had to go out about 20-30 feet to get any deeper than our waists. We did go into "town" and cross the ferry back into tourist-land on Friday, to explore the island a bit. We ate at the Rain Forest cafe, which was fun, and would have been more fun if we had explained it a bit to the kids!, and also found a few souvenirs. But we decided our beach was muuuuuuuuuuuch better - so less crowded as well as cleaner, and better shells. Tropical Storm Erin did come in on Thursday, but pounded my sister with 9 inches of rain, while we only got enough to keep us indoors for the day. We lost count of the sea gulls, hermit crabs, fish, pelicans, sand pipers, and even the dolphins frollicking in the bay as we crossed on the ferry. The kids had a blast, and even Daddy and I found ourselves saying "when we come back...." I'm only posting one picture because a) you're not going to see me in a swimsuit, and b) it was that kind of vacation - we were there to be together and play hard, not take pictures. I miss it already! (and not just because we've eaten almost all the fresh shrimp off the boat we brought home!)