beach boys (or not)

The massive heatwave currently engulfing most of the country has reached the East Coast. In an effort to make the misery a little more enjoyable, we joined some friends yesterday on the beach at Coney Island. As you can see below, Garrett had a blast. Caleb, well, not so much.

Garrett loved the water. Even though he'd occasionally end up on dry sand building sand castles and digging holes, he was always drawn back to the water where one of his favorite things to do was "catch waves," a term I'm pretty sure meant something very different to him than it does to surfers. Even the larger wave that caught him off guard and knocked him off his feet couldn't divert his love of the ocean. It was a struggle sometimes to keep him from going out too far.



Caleb, on the other hand, didn't want anything to do with the water, preferring instead to just dig in the sand (that is, until he kept rubbing sand in his eyes, consequently ruining the little bit of fun he was having on our outing). I tried a few times to take him out to get his feet wet, but each attempt only terrified him more. He hated the feel of wet sand on his feet, and the water, coming at him in gentle waves, sent him right over the edge. He'd wriggle loose from the grasp I had on him and make a mad dash for safety, where he'd hold onto the stroller and beg to go home. We couldn't leave fast enough for him.



Believe it or not, this was my first real beach trip since we moved here. My first impressions of Coney Island as a beach destination, formed four years ago, were of sand littered with trash, broken glass, and too many people for comfort. But it turns out that there are some stretches that are clean and not nearly as crowded, which is good because all of the other "nice" Brooklyn and Long Island beaches are a little too far away for me to easily get to.

Despite the difficulty in trying to keep two boys with very different opinions of the beach safe and happy, as well as the real challenge of cleaning up the sand that manages to get absolutely everywhere, I really enjoyed myself. The breezes coming off the ocean felt sublime. Even so, I don't know if I (or more accurately, Caleb) will be up for another beach trip this season, but hopefully by next summer I will have two beach loving boys instead of just one.