The Opening of the Beaches is a weekend full of fun activities for kids and adults alike. There is a late night movie shown beachside at the ampitheater, a sandcastle contest, and a parade, all to signify (and celebrate!) the start of beach season (when lifeguards are on duty at the beaches - not because the beaches are ever closed). We haven't been to the Opening of the Beaches since 2008 (because after 2008 I had to use all my leave for maternity and taking care of sick kids for years and years), so we were really excited to take the kids for the first time! We skipped the movie, but the sandcastle contest was top priority!
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| Parents weren't allowed inside the building squares. But we WERE allowed to carry the heavy water buckets for our little ones. Lucky me ;-) |
They were adamant that they needed go-bys for their creations (since they had seen daddy and the other guys with their pictures while they were practicing this morning). I thought their sand drawings were adorable.
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| This is what the first few minutes of the boys' creation looked like |
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| The kids spent the first HOUR (of two) simply filling their buckets with sand and occasionally watching the other kids. I suppose they don't outgrow the "fill and dump" stage by age 7?... |
She found a ladybug in her competition square and asked me to keep it safe.
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| Finally building UPWARD. Honestly though, I was impressed they were even willing to sit in the hot sand for almost 2 hours, regardless if they were building or just playing in their water buckets. |
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| James created a guy on a boogie board (saying "Ahhhhh") behind a "curling wave", with a whirlpool behind him |
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| Cora created a sandman snowman (she gave up on trying to build it up, so she made him flat). His stick arms are mostly buried by sand because she was worried they would blow away. |
When I checked on the boys at the 1.5 hours mark, they were already nearly done and were doing "hot and dry conditions" maintenance (sprinkling/misting water on their creation to keep it from crumpling). They had the biggest crowd (throughout the entire competition) and it was fun hearing everyone ooh and ahh!
I walked around for a bit checking out some of the other creations (these are all from the group or family categories):
And then the contest ended and it was time for awards!
The boys took Best Of Show AND 1st Place Group (the first time double awards have ever been given, so theirs must have been just that good!)
After the competition, we were all ready to cool off with some ice cream, so we walked over to Rita's for gelatos!
Congratulations to Jay and John and the rest of the guys for their big win!
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