Second Beach, Rhode Island

Today we visited the beach. We needed to get out and use up some of that toddler energy. I was looking forward to seeing the coastline. Sand and water? Yes! I wasn't certain about our plan when we set out but I did think enough to bring along her swimsuit and a towel. Unsure of what the beach would look like I was willing to go explore. I'm glad we found this beach. The most perfect location for small kids. The bay side of the Rhode Island coast is much better for the littles. The waves are so gentle that the water is not going to frighten them away. Janie was so happy to be out in the sunshine. It was the most perfect day. Warm and breezy with ample sun. Why not dance at the beach?

A seagull was stalking us or more specifically our beach bag. It thought we had food and was poking its head inside the bag a few times. They are persistent. This gull was going to find food and even was clever enough to know how to pull our towels off of the bag to get a better look inside! I knew I should have brought our zippered beach bag. Janie decided to give chase to the seagull and it realized that a toddler was an opponent not worthy of fighting. And I thought the gulls were persistent. Toddlers are far more so. Good thing because I didn't want to have to deal with bird poo all over our blanket. Janie took much joy in scaring off those pesky birds.

Sand covered hands pave the way to discovery. We forgot to bring any shovels with us today. That didn't stop her. It made the digging so much more fun. A 6 year old little girl was on the beach with her grandmother. They came down from Massachusetts for the day. It was half day for school there and the day was just perfect for swimming. The little girl was just as happy as Janie to have another child to play with on the beach. They were really the only kids there. I was glad to talk to a local New Englander about the area. I had a great conversation with the grandmother. She reminded me of a friend of mine. The girls played together as if they had known each other forever. I could tell that Janie missed her sister, Adelynn, dearly. I learned that the Rhode Island beaches are a favorite spot for Massachusetts locals. The water is warm and off season is a great time to visit to get the beach to yourself.

We found plenty of clam shells. It's clam country up here. Some were bigger than we have ever seen before. There are not this many clams on our Virginia beaches. A bucket would have been a great idea to bring along but we made do with our beach bag. Between the shells and her bathing suit I think we'll be finding Rhode Island sand in our van for a long time. We could have stayed here all day playing until the sun set but by 4pm we needed to head back home. Snacks were eaten, drinking water all gone, and the need for a nap was setting in.