Sea Isle City, NJ

Over the long weekend, Rand and I (and the kids of course) got to go to the shore for the first time. Thanks to a friend of a friend we got a serious hook-up and a 2-night stay at someones beach house, just a block from the beach. It. Was. Awesome! It's been a while since the kiddos have been to the beach. Westport, WA, Summer 2006 was probably the last time. I'm sure Wyatt doesn't remember and Brendan only remembers a bit. They were excited and a little nervous about what the beach would hold. Mostly, we talked about sharks all the way there.


For Rand and I, it was our very first look at the Atlantic Ocean. I grew up in a West Coast State and spent most of my Spring vacations with my family on the Oregon Coast. Rand and I went to college in L.A. and spent our entire college experience exploring Southern California beaches. I've known nothing else as far as beaches go, except for a 3 month adventure in Hawaii and 3 months in the Philippines. Those beaches almost didn't even feel real to me. I didn't think much about the comparison because there wasn't any. Those were tropical islands. My beaches at home were the "real" beaches.
Enter East Coast beach experience:

SOO, all that to say that this weekend was trippy for me to be standing on a beach on the EAST coast. I guess I didn't realise how much I used "the beach" (on the West) as my point of reference. The ocean (W), Mt. Rainier (E...most of the time), Canada (N) and California (S). That's how I always knew where I was. Staring out at the Atlantic Ocean....besides knowing the sun would never be setting on that great big ocean....just thinking about Europe on the other side...or that South was actually to my right....felt soooo weird.

This, my friends, is EAST.................................................And this, is looking towards home, WEST.


Rand and I went for a walk on the boardwalk one night around sunset. It was so bizarre. I kept finding myself wanting to look toward the sunset and realizing it wasn't that great of a view...and then back to the ocean...and something just seemed missing. I was looking for all that color to be on the water...for the hot, firey sun, melting into the cold blue ocean. Not so much. The ocean just slowly faded away without much color at all and it was almost as if the sun was running from it in the opposite direction.



In defense of the beautiful East Coast....the mornings on the beach were magical. The ocean was practically alive with sparkly color. Intense, bright, excitement all over the surface of the water. It was definitely a different feeling than a West Coast morning on the beach.





The kids were a fury of excitement the entire time. The water was cold, just like in Washington. Once you were numb, it was quite enjoyable. The air was warm on Sunday and Monday so the boys spent a lot of time playing in the ocean. Brendan, Mr. No Fear, grabbed a board and hit the waves without an ounce of hesitation. Wyatt followed suit, like he does. It was hilarious when Wyatt realized the water was salty. I'm surprised he didn't gag and throw up (that's what he does).
*Side note about barf: Wyatt recently barfed up his entire (non digested) hot dog into the bath tub the other day because he saw snot come out of Brendan's nose. It took 5 min. for him to stop throwing up. I could write a book about Wyatt and his gag reflex!

So we had a lot of fun. I found myself quite grateful that God has given me opportunities to do new things....to expand my horizons (even when the sun doesn't set where I think it should). Often, throughout the weekend, I found myself saying, "We're in New Jersey. NEW JERSEY!!!!" I just never thought I would be here. I mean, why would I? Yet here I am. Exploring new places.
Jersey Shore. Check!





















This is for Uncle Bubba! (fishing at sunset. pretty anti-climactic don't you think?)