Peace Like A River

Hans consented to take us to the beach today. He claims to hate the beach and everything about it, including the sand. OK, the only thing he really said he hates is sand. I exaggerated about it being everything. I understand why he hates sand. Anyone who has spent time on the beach will understand that...so I guess this means that he's actually not a grump, but just basically a normal person.

Anyway. We packed up 14 towels, changes of dry clothes, fruit snacks, drink boxes, Cokes for the adults, water, sunscreen and about 1,425 various toys. Hans was a bit skeptical of the amount of toys I had packed into a laundry basket, but I assured him the peace that we would receive in return for lugging out these toys would be priceless.

We went to "Third Beach" again...all the beaches in Newport have real names, but everyone calls them "First Beach", "Second Beach" and...well, you get the drift. Third Beach is very nice for small children, because it's in a protected little inlet. There are no waves, just a gentle lapping of the water. No riptides. And the water is very shallow very far out. Seriously, my sister could walk out there about a mile and still have her head above the water. My brother could walk out two miles. The only drawback to Third Beach is that it's rocky, as in tiny painful stones and shells, etc. Things that whiny three-year-olds find convenient to grouse about.

We proceeded to set up camp and have a great time. It has been very hot and muggy here (see earlier post), so hanging out in the cool water felt fantastic. The kids played independently in the water. Annika tried to go for a swim. Not to panic...Daddy was close by, but she managed to give herself a fair dunking. The girl has no fear. She climbs, she explores, she swims.

I'm not sure how to describe this spot that the kids and I found at the beach. There's a big saltwater marsh behind the beach and there was a sort of tidal river running from the marsh out to the ocean. It is probably 12' wide or thereabouts and the water runs fairly quickly. Not whitewater rafting quickly, just like a babbling brook. Very shallow, only maybe 1-1/2' at the deepest. Annika and I discovered this while walking down the beach. No one was really around. She proceeded to wade right in and plop down in the middle and start playing with all the rocks on the bottom. I went in and plopped down next to her...it was so nice. The water in this little river was as warm as a bathtub and the current made it feel like we were in a whirlpool, but it wasn't deep or rushing too quickly. Eventually Josiah joined us and the three of us had a ball hanging out in this little river. I'm afraid I didn't describe it very well. Of course, we didn't bring the camera. But for an hour in the late afternoon sun, my children behaved themselves in this gorgeous, sun-sparkling little river and I got to sit and enjoy watching them enjoying themselves.

Bliss.