My first trip to the beach!

This is maman and I as we get ready to visit the beach for the very first time. Here we are in the parking lot and at this point I had really no clue what was going on because the day had been rather uneventful up until that point. For the last week or so, maman and papa kept talking about going to the beach and my only experience with sand was in my little box and I had no idea how you would mix sand and water together. Wow, was I in for a big surprise.

One of the cool things about our trip to the beach was the kilometres and kilometres of boardwalk. Arriving at the front gate, I must admit I was still rather confused about what was going on but I was excited about the new experience awaiting me. Maman was carrying me so I knew I was safe, but there were no cars, there were no toys, there were no people waiting for me. All I could see was a lot of blue sky and I could hear the soft crash of the waves in the distance.

The Bouctouche Dune is located on a breathtaking piece of real estate not far from grand-maman and grand-papa's house. When it is sunny and clear, like it was on Monday, you can see Prince Edward Island from the beach. So when we started walking down the sandy trail, I was starting to get really excited because I knew in a few moments I would be playing in the biggest sandbox of my life, not to mention get close to real water, not some overly chlorinated version at the YMCA.

Being too cautious has never hurt anyone. The waves were getting closer to my feet and I was beginning to reconsider my newfound appreciation for the sea. The ocean is a lot colder than my bath and the sand was starting to sink around my feet. Good thing I had maman and papa next to me because I was suddenly swept over by a paralyzing fear of movement. All I wanted was to be held by maman. I love maman. Slowly, I started regaining my confidence.

One step. My foot sinks in the sand. Two steps. Uh-oh, I'm losing my balance a bit because these nerves combined with the uneven curves in the sand are not a great combination. Three, four, five steps, now I'm growing a bit more curious as to what happens if you put your foot in the water. This is getting a lot more fun.

Ok, perhaps I spoke a bit too soon. Did I mention how cold the ocean is? I mean, can someone adjust the temperature? Papa has a little duck that tells him when my bath is too cold, perhaps he can lend it to the person responsible for global ocean temperatures. I sat on maman's knee as the waves kept coming in. The small ones were ok, but the bigger they got, the more they spooked me. I'm not afraid to say that for a few moments, I was not enjoying myself. Maman and papa kept assuring me that everything was going to be fine, so I hung in there and gained more confidence.
Papa said he has a gazillion more photos to share with everyone, so there will be more blog updates in the next few days.