Playing hooky

We played hooky today.

We went to the beach in Gloucester.

Beautiful nature and scenery.

Seagulls scouting for unguarded snacks.

Soft sand dunes touching the sky.

Headed over to Rockport for a late lunch.

Admiring shop keeper's miniature gardens.

Lots of nautical decorations.

Cute little lobster shack.

Supply of lobster traps.

Just colorful - like our day off.

Heading to the beach

Today is supposed to be a real summer day here in Massachusetts. Sunny, 90˚F and a bit muggy. It's 8 AM and no one is up yet, but yesterday we were talking about going to the beach on this gorgeous day. I can't wait, I'm a beach person. Love the ocean.

The views of waters that go on forever.

The soft sand underfoot that gets cooler the closer you get to the water. Fun to dig your feet or hands in to.

The salty smell of the ocean with a hint of seaweed.

The sound of seagulls gawking, circling above on a hunt for something to eat.

Walking along the shoreline looking for original or perfect shells.

Sharing moments of excitement with your children over little treasures that were found.

I think it's time for this beach girl to wake up the family. Time to pack up the car and head to the beach. Time for some fun in the sun.

Shells and Phlox

While on the beach in Newport, me and the children collected a lot of shells and rocks. One of our favorite things to do at the beach. We all have our favorite kinds. I always search for perfection - whole shells with beautiful colors, or originality in some way. My boys on the other hand, while it appears that they are carefully selecting shells, they often pick broken shells, or shells that have some kind of (in my eyes) imperfection. Very peculiar. Perhaps even more peculiar is that these broken imperfect shells played beautifully with my pink phlox in a little photo shoot fun.