Samantha's first blog

Posted By pamelamyers on July 14, 2014

Sunday was our first real beach day. Mark did take Sam down on Saturday to look for seashells, but I never manage to make it down that first day, with all the unpacking and whatnot. It is always so great that first time you head for the beach, book in hand, and look at the ocean, smelling the air, and just enjoying the view. It was a busy morning for us. There were so many things Sam wanted to do, but first things first – head for the jetty! Sam loves looking for hermit crabs, clams, minnows, and anything else we can find.

Like last year, Sam had to build clam houses for them to live in. That idea was all her own. I don’t know where she thought of it, but I think it’s so cute. A few months ago, I found seashell bags in a catalog and Sam just had to have them. I bought one for each of us, Sam’s is red and mine is green. She loves them because they have a neck strap so she doesn’t have to carry a bucket which leaves her hands are free.  We spent a lot of time picking up seashells. The shells at the Jersey shore aren’t the most exciting, they are all pretty much the same shape, but Sam loves them anyway. She picks up more broken shells than anything, but she is so excited about them, that it doesn’t really matter. I never try to get her to put them back to find better ones.

I really find the small pebbles and rocks at the beach much more interesting than the shells, which I think are kind of boring, honestly. I would definitely be the kind of person to be always looking for sea glass if I lived in the south. The pebbles are so smooth, and in so many colors, from purest white, to black, to red, to pink, to yellow, to even almost clear. I have a jar of them at home that Sam loves to look at so I promised her we’d make her one this year. Every rock I found she’d ask me, “Is that for my jar?” and when I told her yes, she was so excited.

Sand castle construction was definitely on the list this year! The house we were staying in had a lot of beach toys, including a giant castle mold. We used it pretty much every day during the week! Eventually, I found one in a store so we have one of our own for next year. The whole day was spent digging, and building, and collecting. Oh, and also eating ice cream! Boy, as soon as the ice cream cart came by, Sam saw him. I think she ate ice cream on the beach almost every day. That is one thing that she definitely learned from Mom Mom. We all really missed her this year. It just wasn’t the same. But watching Sam go running for the ice cream cart always made me think that her Mom Mom is smiling down on her and saying, “Get one for me, Samantha!”

Whew. All that playing is hard work. Time for a rest to sunbathe on the blanket.

We really wanted to make sure that we hit the Ocean City boardwalk a few times this year so we went right away that night. Sam remembered everything and went happily trotting along. She kept pointing out all the things she saw last year.

Mark saw something very exciting in front of the kite store so he took Sam to see…a pirate! Sam went to talk to him and he gave her a gold coin! She was grinning from ear to ear. I don’t know how many times she said, “I can’t believe I got a real pirate treasure!” She told me later that now all she needs is real pirate jewels. Smart girl. Go for the diamonds. 🙂 You can see in her hand the orange hair of the little plush mermaid she talked me into buying for her. She is very into mermaids right now.

I love the boardwalk and always have. Before we had Sam, Mark and I would go there so many nights and walk literally from end to end. We can’t quite do that now, and we come home a lot earlier, but there is something amazing about seeing it through my little girl’s eyes.

By the end of the night, we were ready to do some rides. Sam is always so hesitant about getting on rides, even the ones that I think are pretty mild. This year, she couldn’t wait to ride the balloon ride. I thought there was no way. It spins around in an orbit that leaves you sometimes up and sometimes down, and the individual balloons you ride also spin. Think of the earth revolving around the sun and you get it. She was very insistent and I was going with her so I thought, why not, the worst that will happen is she will cry and that’s not so bad. She LOVED this ride. LOVED it. I kept telling her that she didn’t have to spin the balloon if she didn’t want to, but she wanted to all right. The smile never left her face. She yelled to me at one point, “I just KNEW it was going to be fun!”

It definitely was fun, I will say that. I am not one for crazy rides, but this was a kid ride after all and I was so proud of her that she was willing – no, eager, to ride it.

Next ride on Sam’s list was the boats. She was so cute. She wanted to ride in the front, and I have to say, I almost had to push some poor kid out of the way to grab the last car for her without someone in the front seat. It was worth it. She loved “driving” and told us she really was driving, because there was actual water. Yup. You were driving the boat, Sam! It kills me, last year she went on this same ride with Maddox and she looked scared to death. I think it moves about 1 mph around in a circle.

After that, she wanted to ride something with both me and Mark and she loves the bears. We have ridden that before at carnivals. Oh boy. Again with the spinning…Mark’s dad took the pictures of us in there. How he got such good shots when we were flying around in circles is amazing. We commented to him about it and he responded, “Well, I do pretty well with sporting clays, I’m used to moving targets!” True, true. 🙂

One ride we insisted on was the Ferris wheel. It is Mark and my favorite, something we do every year. It is pretty hard for us to resist a Ferris wheel anywhere we go. Sam was up for it of course but Pop Pop didn’t know if he was too thrilled! Heights are not his favorite thing, but since we all were going, we talked him into it. The line was a bit long but Sam was patient, just watching it go round and round.

We finally got on and Sam couldn’t wait to take in the view. She pointed out everything she could see – the rides, the boardwalk, the ocean, the city, you name it. It must be so incredible for her to see so far when normally she is so short that it is hard to see much of anything without assistance.

Pop Pop did ok up high….although he did hang on to the center pole with a death grip!

Me and my man, enjoying the ride, just like old times.

Sam and her Grandmom, as always, cuddling up and having fun.

Kitty had come with us to the boardwalk and Sam made sure that she didn’t miss out on the sights.

Sam really wanted to ride the train, but it was getting late and we told her we only had time for the carousel. She wasn’t too upset since it is one of her favorite things to do. This particular carousel has a fun feature. There is a guy feeding “brass” rings into a chute and when you go by you can try to grab one. I managed to get one or two back in the day. Sam was on the inside, but her dad managed to grab one and passed it along.

We all rode and had a great time!

I love seeing the excitement on Sam’s face every day when we are on vacation. She looks exactly how a little girl should.

Thanks for sharing the fun with me, Sammy. You make every experience better.

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