Silly, sandy fun

I slept really well last night and hung around this morning for a while before deciding to take a ride to the beach. It was a hot day today but I thought if I went a little later than usual, it would not be bad.
Of course, I hit tons of traffic on the parkway because apparently everyone and their uncle thought the exact same thing I did. It took me longer than I anticipated getting there and then when I arrived; I noticed it was very crowded. I drove up and down a few blocks looking for parking and then finally gave up and parked by the lake, which, as you know I was aiming for the ocean, so the lake was not exactly too close by. I grabbed my chair, umbrella, towel and bag and walked the few blocks up to the ticket stand to buy my beach pass. There was a sign on the little ticket place that they needed singles. I looked at the man breathless from my walk and sighed. I told him I had no singles. He said it was okay and I paid him with a $20 for the $9 day pass and felt guilty when he gave my $11 change with what could have been his last single. I was juggling all my crap trying to get my wallet back in my bag when he went to hand me my wrist band for beach access he asked me if I wanted him to put it on my wrist for me. I smiled and with much relief I said yes, thank you.
I got to the usual spot and found my sister, brother-in-law, their two boys and my good friend Karen and her husband already there. Before long my other sister, her husband and their daughter showed. Then lastly, around 4:30 or so, my parents showed up with my nephew DJ. I got some great photos today despite the fact that the stupid sand flies were biting our ankles and legs whenever the breeze died down. One by one you would hear someone yell out **Ouch**!! Those flies take actual chunks out of you! Every once in a while the breeze would shift and give us a little relief from the tiny vultures!
The water was 72 degrees, which is the warmest it has been so far this summer. Almost everyone went in for a swim. I managed to get this great action shot when my brother-in-law Rob and my niece Annabella where jumping into the waves. I love the way it looks like the wave just engulfs them and swallows them up!
I got a great shot of my dad that I posted on Facebook. The sun was so perfect at that moment. We ended up staying there on the beach until sunset, which was about 8:15 p.m. I had fun and feel good and tired now.