The Anne Arundel County Library System often has fun events planned, and the one I spotted on their homepage in early May was a collaboration between the AACLS and the rangers at Mayo Beach Park in Edgewater, MD. Participants would gather at the picnic tables near the beach, and a librarian would lead a storytime starting at 10:30am. When storytime concluded, a ranger would do a brief talk on Mayo Beach Park, and then lead a nature walk. Pebble was so excited, especially when I told her that a friend of hers would be coming, too. Storytime and fresh air was the perfect combination. I originally planned to put Pebble in a swimsuit, but the day dawned windy and cool. We wore shorts, but needed sweatshirts on top to ward off the chill. I packed a picnic lunch, as well as beach toys and a beach blanket to play on the sand after the program. We had been to Mayo Beach park many times before, and it is one of our favorite Chesapeake Bay beaches. On this weekday, too, we didn’t need a day pass to enter the park. Please see one of my other posts about this amazing park for more information on parking, and the beach itself!
The librarian from AACLS was great! She kept the kids involved, and interested in a nature themed storytime. After storytime, every child was given a nature scavenger hunt. The group then followed the ranger through a nearby meadow, and out onto the beach, looking for the items on the scavenger hunt. The ranger was happy to point out the bug motel, explaining what a bug motel was, name some of the flowers blooming everywhere, and talk about varied wildlife in the park and on the beach.
When the program ended, Pebble and I, plus her friends, found a sunny spot on the beach to settle down and have some fun. The wind had subsided a bit, and it was warmer in the sun than under the trees where the storytime program had taken place. I soon regretted my decision to not put Pebble in a swimsuit. Yep, she went from being barefoot, to toes in, to whole self in the water, and was grinning happily! Eventually, the shorts came off, and she continued to splash and swim in her t-shirt and underwear. I had spare clothes in the car, she was happy as a clam, so I didn’t give it a second though.
We ended up staying at the park for several hours. Pebble did nibble on her lunch at one point, but she was having too much fun to ever stop playing for long. On our ride home, she finally realized she was hungry, and ate most of what I packed as we drove. We had a great time, the joint program was fun to attend, and we hope that the library system and the rangers plan another joint adventure sometime soon. Happy trails!
https://www.aacounty.org/recreation-parks/parks/mayo-beach-park