In some ways, last week was not our first trip to the beach.  We went to several beaches in Greece.  They all looked like this:











So after moving to the US, we didn't make a big effort to get to the beach.  Partially that's because it *IS* a big effort.  Unlike any beachy place I've lived before, we would have to drive for at least 3 hours, thus find a place to stay, etc…and we justified that by pointing out how much the kid hated being anywhere near ocean.

I'm not sure why he did.  Maybe he was just too young and would get overstimulated.  Maybe it was the lack of sand (the beach in the photo is lava rock).  Maybe it was the lack of friends.  Mostly I think he was scared of the enormity and sound of the ocean.

Last week we accepted Fran's invitation and joined her family at their beach house for a couple days.  It was 180 from previous beach experiences.  Keeping the kid OUT of the water was the new problem.

He's now tan and talking about "going into town" in the evenings, and how the dolphins swam by us every day, and how the sand was excellent for digging, and how he and his friend made footprints when they ran in the wet sand.  Having a friend his age made him braver, but mostly I think it was being the right age, and having parental accompaniment with no adult goals but to sit on the beach and stand in the surf.