Escaping the Heat

A couple weeks ago we were faced with a weekend of record high heat. Temperatures up to 106 where we live. Some naysayers may say that such a thing shouldn't phase a native Arizonan. But, mind you, I haven't lived in Arizona for nearly five years. I've gotten used to paradisacal temperatures in the 70s and 80s practically year-round. So for the one month out of the year when we are faced with such blistering heat, we haul ourselves down to the beach to cool off in the 55 degree water (yes, it is that cold no matter what time of year).


When we first arrived, Lily was skeptical about the sand. But once she realized it was nothing more than a giant sandbox, she was in love. This is her pointing out the ocean to me, just in case I hadn't noticed it out there.

She would run right up to the waves, but whenever it got too close she would wave her hand and say "No, go away!" before running away. No matter how we tried to cajole her into getting wet, she wanted no part of it. Smart girl. That water was cold.

We bought her some sand toys that she got to play with for about a minute before Ernie comandeered them.

He built a masterpiece complete with a mote to protect the castle (and Lily) from the evil waves.

Lily was his little engineer, ordering him about and choosing the perfect spot for the turrets and spires.

This was about as far as he got before a wave demolished it. I think he had more fun building it than Lily did.

The sand toys -- most especially the shovel -- were big hits. We were there for five hours on Saturday and seven hours on Sunday. And still Lily didn't want to leave.

Lily is showing off the giant hole she dug with Ernie. She was so proud of her hole.