Yesterday, our plan was to go to Ferry Point Park on Kent Island. It is a fav spot of ours, and the kids love the sand and shallow waters! We got to the lot shortly after ten am, and found a lot of open spots. That should have been our first clue. We grabbed our gear and started the walk to the beach. That is when I spotted a sign asking people to please refrain from going in the water! Umm, that isn’t going to work for our crew! We stopped, briefly, on the boardwalk when we spotted a Great Blue Heron in the water below us. We also saw a water snake glide across the water, and there were gigantic fish swimming through the grasses. Then we reloaded gear and kids into the car and regrouped!
We went to Matapeake Beach instead. The place was more crowded than I have ever seen! We got one of the last spots in the lot, and that has never happened before. Everyone grabbed the gear, and we followed the path past the clubhouse and down to the beach. Fortunately, people had spread out up and down the beach, and we were able to get our favorite spot. What is this spot? It isn’t close to the water, but rather at the back of the beach in the shade of the trees. It is the best location on a hot day like yesterday! No sooner had we set up our spot, and slathered on a ton of sunscreen, than the girls were off and running!
The tide was out, and people were able to walk out a fair distance. The first few feet near shore is rocky, but it turns to soft sand further out.
Stormy didn’t hesitate to head right in! I think she is part fish! Pebble stuck her toes in, and promptly headed back to the beach blanket. She was happy to dig in the sand and collect rocks. Rainbow walked out with me a few feet, got scared and turned around. Then she tried it again, and we walked way out with Stormy. Water was a great temp and felt amazing under the hot sun.
We spent about three hours here yesterday. Stormy was in the water more than she was out. I should have reapplied sunscreen to her face after lunch, but I forgot, and today she looks like a raccoon with red circles around her eyes! Oops!
Pebble spent the majority of her time rock collecting. She didn’t work up her courage to go into the water until the very end, and only then by holding on tight to me.
As for Rainbow, per usual, she made fast friends with a child the next blanket over. The two of them played in the sand and water together for quite a while!
When Pebble started shivering while playing in the water, we decided to pack it in. She was tired, and the sun was hot. We were all cooked, despite a ton of sunscreen. Plus, more and more people were still arriving. When we got to the parking lot, we were followed to our spot. People parked everywhere, some illegally, and others on Sonny Schultz Blvd, leaving them with a very long walk to the beach! There was a portable potty in the lot, and the restrooms closer to the beach were back open again. We love this beach, it is one of our favorite places to go, although only when the jellies are not out in force… Check it out if you can, and def go early! Happy trails!
