The Sun, The Sand, and The Silly

Bug has always been a free-range child. As a baby she violently eschewed the standard confinements of crib, stroller, and grocery cart. There were a lot of back-arching, screaming protests in her first two years of life. And I spent a lot of time bouncing a crabby anti-highchair baby in restaurant lobbies, while the rest of the family finished their dinners. It was a party. After several attempts, we gave up trying to eat out until she was two and a half.

After three hours of driving around Cape Cod, when we pulled into a beach parking lot, it took her about .07 seconds to shed her seatbelt and shoes and make a beeline for the ocean.

This one (the calm one who was content to sit in a restaurant highchair and gum Cheerios while I ate) was not too far behind. I guess riding around in a car all morning listening to your mother coo and exclaim over precious seaside houses and charming rock gardens bursting with daffodils will do that to a kid.

They positioned themselves a quarter inch from the waterline. "See, Mom? We're not getting wet!" Bug hollered to me. I gave her the thumbs-up and waited...
Three seconds later, she did this:
I'll bet this beach is packed in the summer, but on a cool April afternoon we had it all to ourselves. Just water and open sand as far as the eye could see...lovely.

The girls struck off down the shore, examining shells and laughing with the sheer giddiness of being out of the car.

Bear challenged Bug to a race, and they were off.

Notice how Bug has hiked up her skirt to run. To keep it out of the water? Because all of that jumping into the surf certainly didn't get it wet already or anything.
The friendly foot-race turned into a wild whooping game of chase.

Which ended with Bug tackling Bear in an enormous hug. I need to look at this picture the next time they have one of those days where they bicker endlessly about how Bear is breathing too loudly or Bug keeps hogging the sofa. Right here: proof that deep down, they love each other.
I include this last photo only because I thought it looked so quintessentially Cape Coddy (seagull! water! lighthouse!), and it took me roughly sixty-eight shots to get that damn bird even close to in focus with my telephoto lens. Also, the wind was blowing like crazy, and I got sand in my hair. So, here. Enjoy. I suffered for it. And it's nowhere near as cool as I thought it would be when I was taking it.