We're back

Please indulge me in a bit of a vacation-photo slide show. We're just back from a week in Bar Harbor, Maine.

It wasn't perfect.  Everyone wants you to come back and say "it was great!," but to be honest, there was hardship and sadness on this trip.

But there was beauty and joy, too, and sunny days amidst the fog.

Here are a few glimpses of the parts I want to remember:

Low-tide treasure hunts. Lucy is enamored of rockweed, which she treats like bubble-wrap: pop!

The view from "our" cottage on a gorgeous day.


Lots of delicious meals and treats.




A slow morning exploring "the bar."



Exploring water flow and erosion at Sand Beach.

A gorgeous hike with our brave, strong hiker.

(and these weren't even the most-beautiful parts of the hike; those came after the camera battery died)

Lots of gliding down big hills on Lucy's balance bike.


Watching boats and marveling at the juxtapositions: big and small, old-fashioned and modern, luxury and working.


Time on nearly-empty beaches with gorgeous views.


Spectacular treat choices for our dairy-free girl (blueberry-basil, here).


Taking time to check out the view from the tippy-top of this bridge's tower on the way home.

One last bit of summer

The calendar might say October, but it was 85 degrees yesterday, so I decided we needed one more trip to the beach.

I'd recently realized that we could get to the beach and still have the all-important nap if we left the house at nap time and packed a picnic dinner. That meant Lucy could sleep in the car, and we'd arrive as she woke up, have a few hours to play, a picnic on the beach, a quick change into pjs, and then drive home at bedtime. So I'd searched online for the nearest nice-sounding beach, and found one in Connecticut, an hour and forty minutes away (had Google's directions not led us astray, but oh, well, it'll be fast next time).

It was perfect. A small beach in a quiet neighborhood of modest homes, no walk from the parking lot to the beach (and yet, you didn't feel like you were beside a road), a long stretch of beach to walk on past gorgeous unspoiled land, and millions and millions of treasures to find. Seriously, the slipper shells were a foot deep in places, and we packed our whole picnic basket full of them!

And the driftwood! Ooh, I was in driftwood heaven, dreaming of mobiles and Joel-esque creations.

Today, Lucy and I set up a bin of beach treasures for the children to explore tomorrow.

(And I finally realized that I could bring home all those stinky crab shells I like so much, as long as I set them up for exploration outdoors, rather than trying to put them on our nature table.)

It was the perfect getaway, one I can't wait to repeat.

Still in vacation mode

I said I'd be posting more soon, didn't I? Oops. My brain is functioning in vacation mode. Really, I'm mostly just cleaning the house and enjoying the slower pace of a week without work. But we did escape to the Cape for two days on the beach. Perfect for me, because there was treasure-hunting along the shore...

And perfect for Lucy, because there was another carousel!

I hope you're playing and soaking up the end of the summer, too.

Treasure, revisited

What happens to all our treasure once it comes back from the beach?

Mama sorts it on the ledge of the cottage's front porch.

And re-sorts, and re-organizes, every night.

(It's kind of like therapy.)

Lucy un-sorts it all each day. And dumps. And pours. And throws, and drops, and scatters. And delivers some to us as gifts.

And re-sorts.

And examines.

And shares the joy with Mama all over again.

Treasure pocket

(Lucy and I looking for treasure at the pier in Bar Harbor, Maine.)

I finally made something crafty again...and I've been dying to show you! But we're on vacation with a lousy internet connection so it had to wait until today.

Lucy takes after me when it comes to picking up "treasures" on her journeys. Both of us stop frequently to pick up a special stone, an acorn, a feather, a stick... And just recently, Lucy discovered pockets. What a wonderful thing--a place to keep your treasures! But most of her clothes don't have any pockets. So I wanted to sew her a "pocket" she could wear at the beach (I knew we'd be doing lots of beach combing!)

Two days before we left--when I should have been packing or cleaning before our trip--I quickly sewed her a pocket. I used recycled linens for the bag (pinky-red ticking for the outside; orange and pink paisley for the lining) and a scrap of lace from an old pillowcase for the edging. The luckiest accident was the strap; I'd wanted something wide so the weight wouldn't dig into her shoulder, and when I sewed on this wide twill tape to this tiny bag, it made the bag stay open when hanging on her shoulder--perfect for a little hand to reach in easily.


Lucy loves it! Now if I ask her "do you want to look for treasures on the beach?" She says "Yeah. Poc" (pocket) and puts her hand down where her pocket should be.

(The best picture I got of the inside, as she's always on the go!)

(Looking for the perfect rock.)

(Tucking something into her pocket for safekeeping.)

(A collection of her treasures.)

I really can't imagine anything quite so wonderful as sharing this passion of mine with my equally passionate daughter. Now...what am I doing writing?? There's beachcombing to be done!

What's in your beach basket?: great beach reads for toddlers

Whenever I've had a moment this week, I've added something to the growing pile of stuff-we're-taking-to-Maine. Most exciting, for me, is the pile of books I've gathered to share with Lucy while we're there. I've been collecting picture books for about 17 years now, as a teacher, but always with the thought that some day, I'd be able to share them with my child. It is such a thrill to finally be pulling out these treasures to share with her. I love thinking about how these books that have little meaning to her at the moment will take on such richness next week when she's spent days on the beach, played in the ocean, held a shell, collected beach rocks... My selections are not (all) necessarily "toddler" books, because while I love a good board book and simple story line, I don't think that's all a toddler will read and appreciate. I choose books for their gorgeous illustrations or language, and at the toddler stage, look for concrete subjects that we'll encounter on our trip.

Here's what I'm packing for us to read together this time:

The Seashore Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown
Lucy loves books about sounds so much; she's going to adore this one. And these books about Muffin the dog are special favorites of hers. I love knowing, too, that they were favorites of my mother's when she was a girl.

The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown and Leonard Weisgard
Because Margaret Wise Brown has a rhythm of language that toddlers really respond to, and because these illustrations are gorgeous. I can just see Lucy's little finger reaching out to point out all the animals and flowers and that black cat...

One Sun by Bruce McMillan
For word play and simple photographs of a beach day.

On My Beach there are Many Pebbles by Leo Lionni
I am a beachcomber. I love to walk the beach, gathering perfect stones and smooth beach glass and interesting shells. Lucy takes after me here, for sure! She gathers sticks and rocks wherever we go. I can't wait to gather beach treasures with her, and this book is a gorgeous one we'll read surrounded by our loot!

One White Wishing Stone by Doris Gayzagian
A quiet book, perfect for settling in at bedtime.

What's in the Tide Pool? by Anne Hunter
Just the right size for tiny toddler hands, with simple illustrations of just one thing per page. Good for older kids, too, but I think she'll love it.

Wave by Suzy Lee
Oh, this wordless book is beautiful! It reminds me of me as a child, daring the waves of Lake Michigan to come and get me; threatening them with thrown handfuls of sand. The last time we went to the beach, Lucy was so excited by the approaching waves. This time, she'll be so much more able to run from them (or into them!). Can't wait to share this book with her afterwards. (I buy most of my books used, but this one was so incredibly beautiful, I had to buy it new on one of our previous Maine trips.)

Little Star by Antonin Louchard
Another wordless book (I love wordless books). This one is much less concrete than the last, and will be understood differently by her as she grows. For now, I think she'll love finding the star on each page as it travels through the ocean, onto a beach, and into the sky.

Beach Ball by Peter Sis
Oh, how I love Peter Sis. Once upon a time, I didn't appreciate his style, but I've come to recognize his genius. This book, too, is one she'll find more and more in as she grows, but for now, I know she'll love finding the lost ball on each page.

Counting Our Way to Maine by Maggie Smith
Kind of cheesy, but had to get it, since it seems we travel to Maine every year.

The Sea Shore by M. E. Eldridge
Because I love the detailed, large drawings of things we'll see at the beach, and know Lucy will, too.

Golden Guides:
Oh, how I love the little Golden Guides. (They have to be the ones from the 60s, of course, because those were the ones in my house when I was a child.) Just enough information without being overwhelming; great illustrations (I like it when nature guides are illustrated rather than photographed); the perfect size to tuck in your pocket or purse or field bag. Lucy's discovered where I keep them on our library shelf, and pulls them out frequently to flip through them (they're also the perfect size for little hands). This year, I'm bringing:

Acadia and the Coast of Maine
A great find at a used bookstore when we were up there last year.
Seashores
For obvious reasons.
Birds
Because Lucy's passionate about birds and loves pointing them out and hearing all their names.

(Wow. Some of those Amazon prices are insane! Clearly, I shouldn't be letting my toddler touch these $100 books. But guess what? For us, the value is in the reading and savoring, not in the collecting, so they're hers to love. Some prices are insane in the other direction, too. When I looked, that Seashores guide was 25 cents. Someone buy it quick! Those little Golden Guides books are awesome!)

Some fine print...I generally link to IndieBound because I hope you'll support your local bookstore. When I can't find a link there, I go to Amazon. If you buy a book after clicking over to IndieBound (you can order one from your local bookstore), I'll get some tiny commission (theoretically--it hasn't happened yet). But that's not really why I do these book lists; it's because I am passionate about children's books and love to share the great ones!

Road trip

Every January, I get an urge to go to the beach. One year, on our way to the nearest beaches, we made a wonderful discovery: the Book Barn (actually several barns and sheds and decrepit buildings, housing thousands of books and countless cats). That became our January beach-day companion destination. The next year, we brought friends, and they asked to go to Mystic Pizza. Today, we headed out for that same road trip, sure to become an annual affair.

The book barn is a dream for book-lovers (if you can handle the cat smell...). Here is just a tiny portion of the craft section:



And here are the Little Golden Books in the kids' room:



(I'll show you my finds tomorrow. Several came from these boxes.)

Once we'd filled our bags with books, we headed off to Mystic for its famous pizza.



Julia Roberts wasn't there today, but we got to watch her in all her big-haired glory on a silently-running t.v. while we ate. And they made Andi and Lucy a dairy-free pizza. Happy baby!



Finally, it was time for the beach. Unfortunately, by now it had started to rain, and the temperature was dropping. But nothing keeps me from the beach. Our first glimpse:



Ahhh...something about that vast expanse of sand and water just melts all my stress away.

We had different ways of exploring. Tim and Eric walked:



Lucy got down on her belly and put her face right down for a good taste of the sand:



We weren't quick enough to catch it on camera, but we were there just in time to watch a seagull try to manage its meal of a giant starfish.

By then we were thoroughly chilled and ready to get back in the car. But I can't wait to go back. Books, pizza, and the ocean...a perfect antidote for January.