More Ocean {City}

We made one more trip to the beach before the end of the summer. It was a trip of highs and lows.

The view from our balcony.

The first day it rained for most of the day. See that picture above? There are no people on the beach because it was raining. And this was not just some little drizzle; it was major thunder and lightning that shut down all the outdoor attractions and pools.

So, we went to the boardwalk and did the indoor rides. Why is it so fun to put your child on rides? We had such a good time. Beckett got to ride a little train, a car, a boat, and the carousel.

Beckett really, really wanted to ride the adult bumper cars. When he found out he was way too little he wept.

 I really loved the carousel. The animals were so interesting and gorgeous. Beckett rode a cat.

 

 Felix watched Beckett ride the rides.

The next day the sun came out, and it was a perfect day at the beach. The last time we went to the beach Beckett couldn't get enough. "More ocean." This time, bizarrely, he wanted very little to do with the beach. He didn't want to touch the sand. He didn't want to touch the water. He wanted to go back to the hotel and "get dry." (translation: remove all the sand from his skin.) Here he is running back to the hotel. The whims of a three-year-old?

In order to get him to stay on the beach (and not run back tot he hotel), we had to give him the iPad. How sad is that? We must have looked like the lamest parents in the world, but it was either iPading on the beach or running, screaming back to the hotel.

After lunch Beckett perked up and started having fun. We brought out a couple cars, and he drove them around the sand. We built a lot of sand castles (some with tunnels) and dug deep holes and watched them get swept away by the water. We played all afternoon in the sand and then went swimming in the hotel's pool. So, I think, in the end, the beach regained its charm.