Beach Mode

Last week was one I’ve been looking forward to all summer long.

We spent seven days here:

This is Hammock Beach, about 30 minutes from Jacksonville.

It’s our second time visiting and I think our entire family is in love with this place.

When we went two years ago, the kids were eight and five. They were afraid of the ocean, as well as the pool’s awesome water slide. They couldn’t really swim. Or bike. Or kayak. We spent most of the week in the resort’s Lazy River, going around and around and around. And around and around and around. It was a fun week, don’t get me wrong, but there wasn’t a whole lot for us to do with the kids.

What a difference two years makes.

This year, we spent almost all of our time in the ocean. The kids weren’t fazed by the gigantic waves caused by a near-ish tropical storm. They LOVED them.

They reveled in the ocean’s unexpected violence.

And they learned to boogie board on those big waves– which was good, because this has always been my absolute favorite thing to do at the beach. I can happily catch waves for hours, and I’m so glad my kids now share my obsession.

 

We did other things at the beach too, of course, like combing the sand for shells and examining sea turtle nests and taking long walks…

…and getting buried in the sand.

 

We circled the Lazy River a few (hundred) times for old time’s sake…

 

We discovered the Bantam Chef in nearby Bunnell, Florida- a little dive of a restaurant with this amazing fish sandwich. One sandwich could easily feed my entire family!

We also found a great seafood market, where we bought fresh wahoo and delicious gulf shrimp for our dinners.

We went kayaking and watched baby dolphins swim with their mothers just a few feet away from our boats. We watched an entire island of fiddler crabs do a mating dance, all of them waving their claws in the air like they just didn’t care. And we banked on a deserted island and went for a swim in the water.

 

We got the all-important family photos at sunset. We make time for these photos during every beach trip and they always end up being our very best pictures.

 

But mostly? We just relaxed.

 

We dreamed and played and swam and held hands.

 

And we had the time of our lives.

School started the day after we got back and I’ve been running around ever since, trying to get everything done that needs to be done. My head is filled with to-do lists and errands and work and the endless details of running a family…

But my heart is still at the beach.

I’m just not ready yet for summer to be over.

Are you?