We found a little diner, The Purple Cow, that we loved. It had great burgers and the most amazing cheese fries with bacon. Oh so decadent. I just thought this was a funny one of the boy.
Calvin's obligatory beach "pensive, looking off into the distance" pose.
The second day we were on the beach we had just set up shop when this cute Indian man came and tapped me on the shoulder. He said that he and his wife had paid for an umbrella and cushy chairs for the entire day, but they were ready to leave, so they asked us if we wanted to use them. His wife gave us their room number and everything "in case anyone gave us any trouble." They were adorable, and we were grateful to have the use of their shade and fun chairs for a few hours.
The boys playing in the sand.
Calvin LOVED the sand. He liked to knock down castles, dig with his shovel, and eat it. He would have been content if we had just left him there for hours.
Riding the fish statue on the boardwalk.
My smokin' hot man, Mr. Nelson.
After eating what must have been pounds of sand. We tried to stop him, but he could not be persuaded to listen.
I adore this picture. Calvin loved looking at the water, but when we took him into it at first he was very apprehensive. I'm not sure if the water coming AT him seemed intimidating or if it just made too much noise and moved too fast, but he wasn't enamored of it like we thought he would be. He warmed up a bit, but he never loved the water as much as just playing on the beach.
A mama and her boy in the surf. Life doesn't get any better.
Things I wish I had pictures of but don't:
- The look of awe on Calvin's face when he saw the ocean for the first time. We arrived after dark, so we just took him down to the beach to get his toes wet.
- Andy jumping and splashing in the waves, laughing like a kid.
- Gigi the Hilton Greeter. She was bizarre. She loved Calvin and anytime we passed through the lobby we would stop and wait while she held him, talked to him, stroked his face, whispered in his ear, and so forth.
- The way the orange moon looked like half of an orange slice, tilted at an angle and hanging barely above the black ocean.
- The Surf Rider restaurant where EVERYTHING on the menu was battered and deep fried. And not in a good way.
- The pretty plates we ate at Catch 31. Andy had orange roughy, I had Mahi Mahi, and Calvin had Pepperidge Farms baked cheddar goldfish.
- "Waffles and Things." A dive of a restaurant, right across the street from the beach. It had horrible OJ from concentrate (I'm not snobby, really it tasted like Sunny D mixed with lighter fluid), all of the waitresses were 70+ years old, and they only accepted cash. But they had the best biscuits, sausage gravy and grits I've ever had. (Well, except for Connie Jean's, of course). Andy's waffles weren't too bad either.
- The last night we were there and Calvin was just sad and tired and wanted to go home. We tried to get something to eat, but he was just inconsolable. Across the street from the restaurant we noticed a Toys R' Us, so we took him in. I wish I had a picture of the way he laughed and jabbered as he played for 45 minutes with a Thomas the Train set on a table just the right height for him to touch everything, push the train along the tracks, and keep pushing the nozzle on the water tower to fill up and empty the "water" over and over again.
- That night instead of subjecting him to a long meal, we just ducked into a Texas Steakhouse and had an appetizer and dessert. The best brownie sundae ever. We weren't there long, but when we left, the floor was covered in goldfish, cheerios, and crackers. We left the best tip that waitress has ever seen for just serving up water and dessert. I wish we'd taken pictures of the floor.
