A Day at the Beach

I'm smarting a little from sunburn after yesterday. It was roasting at the beach and we were enjoying it so much we stayed for four hours. The 20 factor sun cream just wasn't enough, as I discovered once we were home and showered. I am now slathering creams and lotions on the burnt bits - chest, hands and feet - every couple of hours.

It was worth it though. The first wonderfully sunny day of the year, and we didn't have any work that couldn't wait. We chose to camp near the quieter far end of the dog beach, taking our two with us and building them shady corners where they snoozed most of the day away. I sat in a folding chair and we had a pop-up tent to get changed in lying down. We had a sandy picnic and cold drinks, then ice lollies from the ice cream boat that came along about lunch time. Quite a few people were swimming but I didn't have a swimsuit so contented myself with dipping my feet in and paddling.

Also I actually played  badminton for about 5 minutes before I was too out of breath to continue. Sadly, these days I can't walk far let alone run and jump, so I have to make the most of what I can do. Fortunately I have my lovely daughter to ferry me around and generally watch out for me.

I wouldn't say the beach was peaceful at our chosen spot. We were very close to the harbour entrance and there were so many craft buzzing around, some silently but others roaring at us. We watched the grand Condor ferry heading out for the Channel Islands with most of its passengers standing on the deck and near enough to wave to us, while the much smaller chain ferry that crosses the harbour entrance sat and waited for it to pass.

In the picture,  you may be able to make out some of the water scooters that are also very loud as they zip along. At one point there was a fleet of them moored near to us. The little figure at the waters edge is me getting my feet wet to cool down.

So all good things come to an end, and we packed up and drove home pleasantly tired and ready for a cool shower and a rest once we'd sorted out the detritus of the day.