I love the beach. I love the sound of the sea, the feel of sand in-between my toes and the fresh air filling my lungs with goodness.
Of course this is how I imagine our days to be. The kids digging in the sand while I sit there catching the rays and reading a book. Adam sitting by my side having meaningful conversations.
The reality is a little different.
We decided on a day out to Weston-Super-Mare. The kids were bouncing off the walls with excitement about having a day at the seaside. The drive should take no longer than 1 hour 45 mins from where we live.
Cue first problem of the day the M5. It was silly busy and it was a really hot day so we felt like we was being cooked in the car. Adam had had enough so we decided to detour through Bristol. This was actually a really good idea from the hubby as we got to see the dock with all the big boats. Even one that looked like a pirate ship. It was also a much nicer drive than watching the same caravan pass you multiple times on the motorway.
When you arrive at the beach with the kids i have wonderful visions of running down onto the sand throwing out a blanket and lying down. The reality with kids is all the crap you have to take with you.
Cue. second problem. Loading The Pushchair. With four little ones the snack food and bottles of water/ juice is enough to tip the pushchair add-on a bag with towels and swimwear, bucket and spades, camera bag, nappy bag it’s quite the balancing act. Then of course you can’t actually park by the beach so we then have multiple roads to cross.
We made it though onto the golden sands with beautiful blue sea. Oh wait I’m in Weston the sand is wet we can’t really see the sea and what we can see is brown .
Oh well it doesn’t matter the sun is shinning the picnic blankets are down and the buckets are out. Shoes off and the kids are off having fun while me and Adam try to set up.
Cue third problem. Sand. Yes i know were at the beach but what planet was I on when I thought the sand was lovely?. They have already run across the picnic blankets there now covered in sand, they have grabbed their juice bottles which are now covered in sand and i swear i already have it in my mouth. Sand is the devil!!
Not to worry though we can brush it off I have bought talc powder with me (which actually really works and is brilliant at getting sand off) and a little shake of the blanket its all good again.
Cue fourth problem. The sun. Yes I know were at the beach but I didn’t really think through how intense the sun was going to be. We are in the middle of the beach no shade and suntan lotion only works so much. Not to worry there is a handy little shop not far. Off I go and buy a tent. Such an impulse buy but I love, it’s best thing we have bought. I Would really recommend getting a tent if your planning a day at the beach brilliant to give the kids a little shade.
Cue fifth problem. Eating lunch. Yes most people get off the beach to go eat but we didn’t want to move. The seagulls OMG they were actually landing on people and trying to rob their food. Not to worry though we had our new fab tent all of us were able to sit inside and eat our lunch and of course we had chips. Seagulls couldn’t see us lol
Cue sixth problem. Packing up. The kids are all running in different directions we are trying to gather everything up including new purchases (we might have bought a few more buckets and spades and the fab tent) trying to de sand the kids (brilliant talc) and stopping the kids from crying about leaving.
It may not have been the picture perfect day I had imagined in my head (realistically I knew I could never actually sit and relax) but we had some brilliant family time we dug a hole got some fresh air and just had fun.
We do love the sea-side even with all the problems we face there is always a way around them and it is worth it just to see the kids happy.
