Tybee Island Adventure, Day 2

[Composed 7/31/2021]

After a year of waiting, months of planning and a day of driving we finally had our first day of fun at Tybee Island. We walked the three'ish blocks to the beach where we were met by prisitine sand, delightful waves and warm water. It. Was. Awesome.

The kids were just as thrilled as I to be at the beach and they played non-stop for hours.*

We knew we needed to bring some sort of shelter to the beach. In the past, we'd used a pop-up tent, but it was too small to hold the 5 kids and too bulky to bring in our suitcase. Instead, we picked up a two-pole canopy. This type of shelter has two poles and expects a steady stream of wind to keep the back-half billowed out. It came in a small carry-bag which did fit in our luggage, so in that respect it was a win.

When we got to the beach today I went about setting it up and was humbled to find that no-matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get it to fill with wind and be stable. To add insult to injury, down the beach, two groups had similar shelters to ours and theirs were working fine. It was all very humbling. Part of me looked at this as a new skill that needs to be mastered, and part of me wants to return the tent and pretend the incident never happened.

After beach time, we made our way back home for lunch and some game time. The older kids played 5 Minute Marvel while Gavriella and I played dominos. To get used to playing, we played with our hands visible. I was delighted to see Gavriella was looking at my hand before she made her next move. She realized that if she had multiple tiles that could work, she'd have a better chance of winning if she picked one that had I didn't have a match for. Nobody told her about this bit of strategy, she just figured out. After a few games of standard play, we invented variations. One especially fun version was cooperative dominos. Here the goal is to work together to form the longest possible domino chain. The whole experience was a lesson in how fun and powerful old school games can be.

Last night, at 11:30pm we still had kids awake who were too jazzed up to sleep. Tonight, by 9:00pm all the kids were asleep. Such is the power of the beach, it wipes you out! Tomorrow we start to explore the sites of the area. I can't wait!

*For the record, Shira hates the beach. The scorching sun, the sand that gets everywhere, and the waves that threaten to pull you out to sea are just a few of the reasons. She can't imagine why anyone would think this is a good time. It's an act of true love that we found ourselves on a beach vacation.