Beach Trip part 3

We finish up at the creek, and start piling back into the car to get cleaned up and go to dinner. I notice ds #3 is bleeding on his shin. I ask him what happened, and how did he get hurt. He reaches down to feel of his leg, and calmly tells me he isn't hurt, it's a leech. Ds has this uncanny ability to remain perfectly happy on the outside, even if he is panicking on the inside. This was one of those times. It didn't appear to be bothering him, but on the inside, he was pretty upset.

We leave there and head to the beach. What a different day than Friday. The beach was wild. The flags weren't out, but I'm sure they would have been red (rip tides, no swimming) if they were. The beach was covered in seaweed. Red tide, the ocean was doing some cleaning up shop. DD pulls out the sifter we'd gotten in a pack of beach toys, and went to sifting the sand. We found shells, crabs, shrimp, and a baby horseshoe crab.

We also found a dead Ramora, which is a sucker fish that attaches itself to sharks. I caught one when we went deep sea fishing last year. I was picking up sand dollar pieces as I strolled the beach. DD found me an entire sand dollar, but it broke when she grabbed it. I treasure it so much.

When it started getting dark, we packed up and headed for dinner at our favorite restaurant-The Crab Trap. We always eat outside on the deck, right on the beach. Last year, there was a bird in the restaurant, and he was swooping down trying to eat people's food. They give kids buckets with little shovels on them, and they have a playground right off the deck. We love this place. I think it was the most expensive meal we've ever eaten, but it was worth it. There were 7 of us, and we only go here once a year.

Sunday morning, back to Turtle Creek. This time the kids swam and floated down the creek twice. I was the holder of stuff. Quite a bit of stuff, by the way. Towels, shoes, phones, drinks, and whatever else the kids had with them. I logged 3 miles that day in the heat on the boardwalk. The kids had a ball though, and no leeches this time.

There is a side path to the boardwalk that someone donated to Turkey Creek. It curves around, and empties to a quiet sitting area maintained with beautiful hanging baskets. It overlooks the creek, and is a very calming place. It is a place for parents who have lost children. The archway coming in says:

I found out you can buy a plaque to have placed there in memory of your child, of any age. Sometimes places offer these for $300. Turkey Creek only charges $5.00 The first time there, we didn't see any plaques. Of course, we were looking at the snake College kid found. Sunday I sat down and rested, and noticed the plaques are on the ceiling.