Our beach trip on Monday was 100% a re-do of our beach trip for our two year anniversary. In case you missed it:

We found a spot up toward the back of the sand, and from that moment on, all of our hopes and dreams were crushed. Josh opened up the case for the pop-up tent and goes, “Uh, where’s the tent?” and I said, “What do you mean?” 

We had the metal frame for the tent but not the actual tent for the top.

Cue panic.

I put in a call to headquarters, aka my parents, and told my mom we didn’t have the tent part. She rummaged through the shed and found it; for some reason, it was stored separately from the case and no one realized it.

Two Year Anniversary

I made sure I went to my parents’ house over the weekend to get the blue tent covering, and Josh and I both double-checked before we left the condo to ensure it was in the case with the metal frame.

Here’s a final shot of our set-up—soooo much better than no covering at all.

We also packed differently this time around, meaning we packed up all of our beach stuff and even made our food/snacks Sunday night so we’d have less to do Monday morning. I wanted to get to the beach earlier than we have before; usually we get there around 12:00 p.m., and I wanted to take full advantage of the beautiful day on Monday.

Departure time Monday morning was just after 9:30 a.m., and after stopping for ice for the cooler, we were on our way. My mom texted me while we were en route making sure we had everything or if “I’d be calling headquarters”—told you she reads my blog.

I wish that walk to the beach was more graceful. You’re already awkwardly carrying most of your life with you and then add in the sand and it feels like you’re walking through molasses and then you get a shell in your sandal and all bets are off. I believe the correct term for that feeling is “schlepping”.

Throughout the day, we noticed that a lot of people just set up shop right in front of the sand dune opening; I’d much rather walk 50-100 feet and not be all up in other people’s business.

The weather was perfect: warm but not humid and a bit windy. After set-up, I immediately started reading. It was nice to have the option to sit outside the tent or underneath. Josh spent most of the time under the tent while I did about half and half.

We went in the water twice: the first time, the waves were aggressive because of the wind, so we didn’t go out too far. Or at least I didn’t, so I didn’t get swept away in a wave. The second time was during low tide, which I never experienced before. We went so far out and were only at our waists.

We packed up a bit before 5:00 p.m.; we stayed later since we were eating dinner at home (leftover mac and cheese from the crockpot on Sunday night). More schlepping from the beach to the car, quickly changing and cleaning up in the bathrooms, and then we were on the road.

Our sunburns aren’t as bad as last time; actually, I don’t think Josh got burnt, only me a bit. But we loved the day on Monday to just relax. I’ve been super busy at work, and Josh has been covering on the morning shift at work, so we’ve both been all over the place. It was a great day to just hang out together.