Short’s Beach

First things first… don’t go here!

It’s not often that I do a blog post in which I tell you not to follow in our footsteps, however we found out the hard way that Short’s Beach does not have public access. We made it work because we had two antsy boys in the back seat who were getting very impatient. There are quite a few other nearly identical bay beaches that do have public parking, so although we had a great adventure there, it isn’t worth the struggle of trying to find somewhere legal to park. We actually only ended up there because we were attempting to visit Fowler’s Beach, but at this time, it is closed to public access and Short’s Beach happens to be the next closest. Bay beaches are fabulous if you have little littles because the water is calm and shallow and the beaches are generally less crowded. As a parent, you can give them more freedom to play independently without all the fear that goes along with rough waves and undertows. At the ocean beaches, I feel like I have to practically leash the kids to us because the boys have no fear and are overconfident about their abilities.

We went on an unseasonably warm Spring day and despite being an experienced adventure mom, I didn’t intend for the boys to go swimming. They, of course, had other plans and what started as getting their toes wet ended up as up-to-the-neck dips in the water. Don’t make the same mistake as me. If you’re going to the beach, even on a milder day, just put them in a swimsuit or bring a change of clothes and ALWAYS have a towel in the car.

I actually don’t like going to the beach. I get bored easily. While most people could spend all day laying out on a towel, I can barely stand sitting there for longer than 15 minutes. That being said, seeing how much fun my kids have makes it a whole different experience. We usually try to go for a walk to see what kinds of treasures we can find before the littles get tired of walking and just want to splash and play. I decided that from now on, I’m just going to embrace the salt and sand and invest in a comfy chair and a big umbrella and make myself as comfortable as possible. We have hit the ages where the boys are constantly pushing each other’s buttons, but when we were visiting Short’s Beach I noticed that they were actually getting along, interacting with each other and truly enjoying each other’s company. I see many more beach trips in our future! (Just not to Short’s Beach!)