An Hour at The Ocean

So, if we've achieved one thing on our first family vacation it is that Pierce now loathes his car seat. After a cumulative of 13 hours riding in the car we finally arrived to our home for the week in Hilton Head, SC. We considered our first day a "travel" day. Everyone has been there: seven hours of driving, packing, loading, unloading, unpacking. At the end of the day all you want to do is grab a quick bite, some rest and a good night's sleep so that you can hit the ground running the next day.

After unpacking, Daddy took a gamble. I decided that we couldn't come all this way without at least accomplishing putting our toes in the sand on the first day. The only hurdle was strapping our boy back into the car seat. It took both arms from both parents and a foot to cram him in and he wasn't quiet about it. I couldn't blame him. For all he knew, we were buckling in for another few hours.

Ten minutes later (well past Pierce's bedtime,) we were walking down the winding boardwalk. The residual winds from Hurricane Katia and Tropical storm Lee were whipping through Mamma's hair. The water fowl were squawking and gliding across the aforementioned wind, the palm trees' branches were swaying, the salt water smell started to become palatable and the sound of the oceans relentless siege upon the beaches of South Carolina were all coming to a crescendo. The view to the Atlantic was not a straight shot, rather was guarded by several of the boardwalks' bends. With Pierce on my hip and Momma close by, we cut through the anticipation with each step.

Seeing Pierce's dimples as I held him, while standing on the sand, is a moment I hope I don't soon forget. I introduced him to the ocean (it's the subject of one of his favorite pop up books "A Day in The Ocean",) and stood him on his feet. Together we walked toward the Atlantic. He didn't know what to make of the new carpet squishing between his tiny toes or of the water that surged suddenly over top of them for only a moment before receding back into the horizon.

After the initial excitement ran its course, Pierce wanted to walk. We walked along Driesson Beach and I can say that, outside of his Momma and Daddy and grandparents, the atmosphere that I described elicited the most prolonged smile that I have ever seen him wear. I'm looking forward to the rest of our trip. Hopefully we elicit a few more smiles.