A perfect day for the beach

Our church held a picnic at the nearest beach this afternoon.  It was a beautiful day, high 70's/low 80's...which meant that everyone and their uncle was out to enjoy the the lakefront.  And because we all didn't show until sometime after noon...there was literally no parking to be had, even as far south as a half mile away near another beach with a huge parking lot.  Ouches.

So, Daddy dropped the Munch and I off, found parking a bit of a ways off to the west, and walked back to join us.  By the time he arrived, Munch and I had already finished our lunch, but of course there was still plenty of food to spare.  We hung out on a grassy area with Little A, her mama, and a few other friends for a while as we ate, then Daddy went off to find people to join him in the outdoor games he'd brought (and he found quite a few takers).  Meanwhile, the Munch and I headed for the sandy part of the beach.

Flashback to last year near the end of August, the last time we'd been to a beach...Munch had flatly refused to even go near the water.  And she hadn't been too sure about the sand either, but at least that had been slightly more tolerable, so she was willing to sit there.  But overall, she wasn't...well...particularly thrilled with the experience, let's say.

Today it was an entirely different story.  She was practically running down the boardwalk to get to the sand.  She waited only long enough for me to set up our towel and such and get the sandals off before she was pulling at me to get into the water.  We spent the entire rest of our time--probably 45 minutes or more--in the water.  We waded around together, holding both hands tightly, sometimes going deeper, sometimes heading back toward shore.  I let her take the lead, and she got in about as deep as her chest a couple times, resulting in the bigger waves splashing her face...which made her LAUGH.  Is this the same kid????  She discovered that if she lifted up her feet to 'swing' from my hands, she could float in the water, and she loved that trick!  We could probably have stayed in there for a couple of hours, but we didn't have the luxury of that kind of time.  Obviously, we will be going back, and soon!  Hurrah for happy beach time!  I'd say her first time in the Lake was a big success.  :)

After we left the water, we headed back to where the food was, and the Munch helped herself to a bunch of the veggies that were left over on the tables (ok, maybe she IS still the same kid ;) ).  Daddy was offered a ride to our car from someone who'd been super-lucky and had snagged a nearby spot earlier, so the Munch and I just hung out for a while and waited with the remaining friends who were starting to pack up.  And I finally remembered that I'd brought our camera...

Meanwhile, the would-be beach-goers continued to multiply, roaming through the parking lots in their various vehicles, trying oh-so-hard to find parking that was just not to be had.  The funny thing was that the beach didn't feel that full...It was just the parking...Such is a perfect beach day in this town...You gotta get there early, or find something else to do, apparently!