Returning to Rockaway

We made it back to the Rockaways on Tuesday just a week after our first adventure there, and it was just as much fun. I dare say the beach was even better. The tide was out as we pulled in and there was a nice long expanse of sand with a little shallow water rushing in for Carolina to play.  Much easier than chasing her down the sloping sand into the surf every time at high tide. And Elisa was completely at ease playing in the water, rolling around and acting like she's there every day.  At one point, a group of girls near our blanket were looking for things to dig with and Elisa asked me if it was okay for her to share her bucket and shovels. Of course! And just like that, Elisa found some playmates and took off for the water again with them. She didn't even look back at me. At first I was a little irritated that she just up and left without asking me. But then I realized she was so comfortable with them and the oldest girls were about her cousin Mia's age (11 or so).  The water was shallow enough and they weren't getting in the waves. It was a delight to watch, actually, so I let it go. When it was time for lunch, we said our goodbyes and headed up to get more arepas on the boardwalk. The day was working out beautifully...

We returned to the beach for a couple more hours after lunch and it was even more relaxing than our last trip. I wasn't as worried about Carolina napping and Elisa was having fun. She found another group of girls to play and frolic with and it gave me a reason to think that in another few years, Elisa and Carolina will be the ones jumping together in the water.  Only at the very end around 5pm did Elisa start acting really tired. And for good reason--she was running up and down the beach all day. I think the crowds were a bit thicker that day because the temps in the city were up (near 100 degrees), but on the beach it was lovely.  It clouded up a bit later, but the winds were nice and cool and we enjoyed just hanging out on our new beach chairs. Now that our beach canopy arrived, we're planning another beach day this week. So far, July is turning out to be a good beach month afterall!