Coast - Round Two

After any period of time following our blog, you will find that we love taking quick trips to the coast. The coast holds some really special memories for me as a child. My Granny and Grandpa Temple took us to the big water every summer and several times during the year. The joke in my family is that as a little girl (we're talking 2 years old), I'd sit up on the center console between Granny and Grandpa and yell "My Ocean, My Ocean!!!" And of course, for John Paul, the ocean is a great fishing spot and he can't wait to share his love of salt-water fishing with his family.

So we had the opportunity to take a quick trip south for some business. For this trip we extended the invitation to Mom (Grammy D) to join us. So we let her entertain Mason in the back seat (or vice versa) and we hit the road early Thursday a few weeks ago. We did our usual stop at Fins for lunch and opted for a fried shrimp platter for all of us to share. I was joking with JP saying I can't wait to introduce Mason so shrimp and well, just look below.

His eyes say it all...and no, I did not let him taste any of that fried shrimp goodness. That will happen in due time. If you remember from a previous post about the coast you know that we introduced Mason to the big water on our anniversary but we tried our best to limit his sun exposure. Fair skin and no hair is a bad combination in the sun. So this trip we decided to let him enjoy the birds, water and sand at dusk. He was mesmerized by the seagulls. And he was still overwhelmed by the shear mass of the ocean but by golly, he got his feet in the sand and surf. He was quiet and kept looking at his feet.


I know that mom got a kick out of watching her grandbaby enjoy the beach that she so dearly loves. She just kept saying, "Thanks for letting me tag along." Of all the people in the world, she understands the magnetic pull of the ocean. I know she must have been thinking of Granny Betty on this trip and I'm glad she is involved in continuing the family tradition of sharing the big water from one generation to the next.

One thing we have learned in our traveling with Mason...he is a mattress-snob. He is not very fond of his Pack-N-Play for sleeping. He apparently prefers softer surfaces to rest his little head. Seeing that this trip was a quick trip, we opted to leave the unpopular Pack-N-Play at home and decided we would just figure out something when we got to the condo (again, thank you Aunt Becky & Uncle Eddie for the generosity). I'm pretty proud of our sleeping solution for Mason. We set up a spot for him in the closet and he did fairly well in his closet-condo.


I mean he has a super soft pad, a blanket to keep him warm, some pillows to keep him from rolling around, his own doors for privacy and a plant for heaven's sake. Traveling like a pro wouldn't you say!