Toes in the Sand

At the last minute we planned a Labor Day weekend getaway to the beach! My parents, sister, Ella and I went. My husband absolutely hates the beach so he stayed at home.

We were all so excited to see what Ella thought about the beach this year. Last year she was about to turn 1 and she loved the water but hated the sand. She loves playing in the pool at Nana and Pop Pop's so we figured she would like the ocean again this year. Boy were we wrong :)

My sister, Ella and I got to the beach first and my parents came later in the evening. We first went up to the condo we rented to check in. As soon as we walked into the condo you could see the ocean out the massive living room windows. Ella shouted "WaWa!!" We quickly changed into our swimsuits and hit the beach!

The ocean terrified her! She would point her finger to the ocean and say "No! No! WaWa! Way!". Translation "No! No water! Go away!". She would get so scared if she saw one of us walk towards the water and just scream for you to come back.

She was much more a fan of the sand!

MiMi and Ella

Hanging on for dear life! She did not want to go near the water! 

We then went back up to the room so she could take a long nap while we waited for my parents to arrive. We ended up having to wake her up at 7:30 so we could go eat! The ride and the beach had worn her out!

We went to the Marsh Walk in Murrells Inlet to find somewhere to eat. There were a bunch of bands playing outside each restaurant. Ella would sway back and forth and slap her knee to the beat. We sent a message back home to daddy that Ella was out late going to honky tonks lol!

At the suggestion of our friends we went to River City Cafe and had the best burgers! Then it was a late night stop to Krispy Kreme :)

We were hoping that Ella would like the beach better the next day when Nana and Pop Pop were with us!

But it was pretty much the same reaction. Poor baby would just cry and hang on for dear life!

So it was back to the sand :)

All the other little kids on the beach are out playing in the water or building sandcastles. My child gets out the iPhone and turns on George (Curious George).

A short while later Ella came up to me and said "Bye Bye Please!" I asked her where did she want to go and she pointed back up to the room. I said you want to leave the beach and go inside and her answer was a quick "Yea!" Someone is just like her daddy!

After another long nap, we went to dinner at Sara J's (a yummy seafood restaurant on the marsh). They have the BEST hushpuppies!  Ella sported her Clemson cheerleading outfit as we had a big game against Georgia that night (which we won!). Lots of other Clemson fans were at the restaurant and lots of random people asked if they could take her pic to send to people that were at the game.

What a cute tiger :)

She hugs everything! Even trees!

Day three on the beach went much like the others. Ella came down for a bit in the morning and played in the sand and then she was ready to go back inside to nap after lunch.

Hanging on to Nana to avoid the water :) 

Pretty girl is happy to be back in the room! 

After nap time we walked down to the pier. Well I say we walked but a certain little someone refused to walk on the beach and hence got carried on PopPop's shoulders the whole way. At the pier, Ella enjoyed peering down through the cracks and seeing the water underneath her. A fisherman asked Ella if she wanted to touch a fish he had just caught. She didn't hesitate for a second and immediately reached out and grabbed it. No fear!

That night we ate outside at Bubba's Fish Shack. It was also really good!

 I love her hugs!

Big girl with her Pop Pop!

In the end we still had a great trip even though Ella wasn't that big of a fan of the ocean. Andrew says just to let her stay home with him next year but I have a feeling a certain Nana and Mimi won't allow that :)