Sharkeologists

OK, so I made up the term, but it works, right?! Today I had the brave notion that I could handle taking all three kiddos to the beach by myself. It was only a little over an hour away, and we were just planning to stay for a couple of hours to hunt for shark teeth and fossils at a great spot we read about on this blog http://www.kidssavingnature.org/ . It's called Brownie's Beach and is near the town of Chesapeake Beach, MD, which I had never heard of. As I scrambled out the door with three kids, extra clothes for them and me, snacks, colanders for sifting, sunscreen, bugspray . . . you get the picture--I turned to Dave and said, "This is either a great idea or an astronomically terrible one."

Fortunately, it turned out to be a fantastic adventure for all of us! The beach was a nice little slice of clean and natural shore line on the Chesapeake Bay. It was not crowded at all, and the water was calm and shallow. Friendly people, beautiful weather. We'll definitely go back again soon. This time I'll bring: my zoom lens, a bathing suit (had on quick-dry shorts & tank, but a suit would've been better), more snacks, and some friends!

A highlight for me--I met a mom with 4 kids (ages 2, 5, 7, and 10) who had just returned from a cross-country journey with her kiddos, sans hubby. He is in Afghanistan and she wanted to do something special with the kids, so they drove & camped all the way from Fairfax to Yosemite and back. My new hero. Dave better talk some sense into me before I pack the kids and head to Maine to check out Acadia!

Here are some pics from the day, including our collection of finds. There are tiny sharks teeth, one dental plate from a ray, and a few other interesting things. The kids looked in the sand for about 10 minutes, then let themselves swim, run around, and climb the cliffs like the nature-loving kids they are.













I had to include this picture--I mean seriously, how much would you pay to have abs like this kid?!