Virginia Beach

The last two days that we were in Virginia we stayed near Virginia Beach. The boys had never been to a proper beach before, so even though the forecast called for nothing but scattered showers, I was determined to rush to the beach at the first sight of sun. Come Saturday afternoon, it seemed that the sky had cleared, so we braved our way out to the coast, beach blanket and sand toys in tow. Joshy had loved splashing in the river and using that as reference, couldn't wait to get his feet in the ocean. We set up and soon watched Joshy and B head towards the waves. We then watched Joshy head back from the waves that were cold and high from the storms passing through. Advantage river. Tina loves the water and was soon wading out to sea. Wet and sandy has just never appealed to me. The idea of trekking into cloudy water with unseen animals and slimy plants with more skin exposed than you would ever think of as wise in any other dirty, treacherous place makes little sense. So, as Tina swam, the boys and I played in the sand as God intended beach trips be spent. When the wind began to pick up again, it should have registered as a good idea to wrap up our window of beach time. Still, it was a warm wind, so we stayed on. When the first drop landed on my head, we began to pick up our things to head to the car. In a matter of 30 seconds, the one drop had turned into a downpour. Not summer rain downpour. Raining so hard you can't see downpour. Tina is running in from the ocean, I am frantically packing the bags, tossing all beach toys in the trash as not worth carrying. The boys are screaming as John scoops them up and I throw beach towels over their head. I can barely see through the rain clouding my lenses and flooding my eyes. John has run ahead with the boys, I have the bags and grab the beach blanket to follow. The problem? The blanket now weighs what must have been 20 to 30 pounds. Too much to carry with all the belongings, I begin to drag it across the sand. With every puddle of water we pass, it gains more and more weight. At this point I am walking backward, body and beach bags soaked, using my body weight to pull this monstrosity of a beach blanket that seemed like such a good idea in theory. I reach the car where John and the boys are huddled as I had the keys. We throw everything into the car and get the boys inside when the rain stops as quickly as it started. The boys are puddles in the back seat while I stand with water still running down my arms and legs. From the bags I pull the semi-dry clothing and we begin to change. Thinking I have figured a way to change by putting on clothes and then taking off the suit from underneath, I began to change myself while John finished with the boys. Suddenly I hear, "Laura!!" and look down to realize that my shirt had come up and I was on full display to the couple walking nearby. I adjust while Tina laughs and John runs over with a towel. This day just keeps getting better and better. We finally get into the car and back towards the hotel, counting our first beach trip filled with sandcastles, drenching and public nudity a success. Next time I think I will take them to the gulf where the water is blue and warm and nudity, I hear, is more accepted...