Fall on the Coast

After Labor Day, things get much slower at the beach -- We spent the weekend down at the beach and the time was well-spent. I took Friday off since the kids were out of school and we headed out right after breakfast. There were hardly any people there on Friday during the day, and the beach traffic barely picked up the rest of the weekend.

The tide was way out low when we got there, and the beach was incredibly clean. I think the storm surges from TS Matthew a few weeks ago cleared everything out -- it certainly raised the dune sand level. Tide was so low that there was almost 100 yards of beach between the condos and the surf. There were even tide pools filled with hermit crabs! We spent a couple of hours playing with the hermies and hanging out on the sand-bar, looking for shells and sand-dollars.

Friday night we had a camp fire -- the boys have been asking for one lately, and I figured it was about time. We stopped at Buckees on the way down and got some firewood, just in case there wasn't much to be found on the beach. I got the fire going with help from Jackson and Porter, then they headed up for dinner. By the time they were finished, we were ready to roast marshmellows and make 'smores. Later that night, I cooked a steak and Katie a salmon fillet. Nice way to start the weekend.

Saturday was nice and clear, but a bit warmer. We spent most of the day hanging out walking the beach, looking for firewood, shells, and playing on washed-up logs. I took the boys for a drive all the way down the beach, towards Treasure Island, and we found enough wood for the evening. The drive was great -- just cruising the beach, nice and empty, waving at fishermen and people just trying to get away from it all, just like us.

That afternoon I watched the Astros game -- a win to bring the NLCS standings to Cards 2 / Astros 1. After the game, we got the fire started, but the wind made it a tough night for a campfire. Once it got started, we had enough flame and heat to do 'smores, but the wind really kicked up smoke and made it hard to just hang out.

Katie fried some chicken for us that night, which was great, along with the nice garlicy mashed potatoes and some greenbeans. The boys even stopped watching their movie to catch some fireworks being shot off over by the bay.

Today, we got up and Porter had a cold -- he had a hard time sleeping, and I kept getting up to give him medicine, prop him on his pillow and try to comfort him. We took a ride down to the fishing pier (they've really done a good job rebuilding -- more to go, though) and looked for sand-dollars. When we got back, it was clear that Pid was about done; we ate lunch, then packed up. Both boys were asleep by the time we were to Surfside.

Now Katie's making some crab cakes with some crab we had stashed at the beach. I'm already packed and ready to head out in the morning -- not really ready, but packed. We won't be able to head to the beach probably until Thanksgiving. Lots of stuff the weekends between now and then.

I love fall at the beach, especially with my family.