Beach Blanket Bingo!!

If it weren't for tornadoes and the utter remoteness of the place, I could spend a long, long time on this little island. If I had to pick one phrase to describe Edisto, it would be country-kitsch. Not quite the picturesque beach town that I envisioned, but still beautiful it its own, hodge-podge way. Men with southern brogues driving pickups and wearing camo, wandering the isles of a swanky boutique. Beautiful artwork and genuine antiques vying for attention with cluttered-up shacks sporting backyard junk for sale. Fine dining alongside crab shacks. It was lovely.

With as much as we packed into our days, we were determined to take at least one day to just kick back and relax on the beach. It was torture seeing it every morning when you went out on the balcony and not being able to go play. But when we finally did, it was a beautiful, sunny, warm day.

After very brief initial trepidation of sand, Lily really got into playing at the beach. She dove right into the water and had me dancing around her trying to keep her from being swept out to sea.

She particularly enjoyed "flying" over the water. She liked to get down low enough to skim her fingers over the water. I grew tired of this game long before she did.

She didn't quite get the concept of "building" a sandcastle. Ernie could only get so far as dumping the compacted sand from the bucket before she smashed it to smithereens with a giddily exclaimed "boom"

With powdery white sands, clear blue skies and warm water, it made for the perfect beach day. Apparently, the water can get as hot as 80 degrees in the summertime.

All the locals thought it was too cold in April to get into the water. But, being a west coast gal, I'm used to water temperatures that are 50 degrees year-round. The 70 degree water felt like heaven.

For those of you who enjoy shopping, art and fine cuisine, Edisto is not the place for you. With the ocean on one side and the river on the other, this place is all about the water. Could you think of a better way to relax?

Jaxon totally dug the sand. By the time we left he had eaten at least a pound of it.

Peyton built a fabulous sandcastle...with just a tinsy bit of help from Grandpa.

I made Ernie take over Lily duty, as I was too jittery keeping up with her around the beach. She got in as high as her chest before she gave up and turned back.

Sandcastles, salty breezes, warm water and dophins. Perfect recipe for a day of relaxation.

Or so I thought. With three young boys and two boys pretending to be grown-ups, I should have known better.

Before long, Gene and Ernie were going at it.

And their dad and other brother weren't too far behind.

They had a grand time and we got to hang with Grandpa and Gigi, which Lily loved. So even though the boys were rowdy, it was still a perfect beach day.