Sun, Sand, and Saltwater

This summer we had two separate beach vacations with both of our families. In June, we hit Jekyll Island with my parents and siblings. While there, we spent time enjoying the beach, looking for sea turtle eggs, learning about the local wildlife, mini golfing, exploring the island, playing games, and eating too much food.

Our first evening we went to watch the sunset at the pier. Jessa's friend Kaytlin joined the McCollum kids for the week. Still, we were missing three sisters on this trip.

The four of us girls headed out on this bike-like contraption to explore the island on our second day. This was a little more difficult to power than it seemed at first glance. But, it was still super fun.

This was an awesome tree in a beautiful park. We had some fun while taking a break from pedalling "Big Blue" and eating a frozen lemonade.

I fell in love with the sea turtles there. We visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Rescue while there, which led to us hunting down some nests. Unfortunately, on the last morning, we found one nest where a wild animal had dug under the protective netting and ate many of the eggs. :(

Here we are posing outside the Jekyll Island 4-H Wilderness Center. I had sunburned my legs so badly the day before that I could not wear shorts for a few days.

One night, we all went out to eat at a local seafood restaurant. There was a wide variety of food, and all ten of us ordered something different. It made for a fun meal.

After getting full and happy, we posed for one more picture outside the restaurant. I love that Tanner wanted to stand with the "guys" despite being the shortest one there. This was an amazing week, and I can't wait til we all get together again for Christmas!

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In July, we spent a long weekend at Hilton Head Island. This trip led to my first real sampling of sushi, late night conversation, amazing waves, and relaxing in the sand.

Our first night there we went for a walk on the beach. We did the same thing when we visited Tybee Island two years ago. (See http://beckyleighwv.blogspot.com/2008/08/beach.html)

On the beach, we saw a fun sand sculpture someone left behind.

However, it didn't compare with one on display in the hotel lobby.

Both days on the beach, we managed to catch a good high tide. I tried to learn how to boogy board but just kept getting large amounts of salt water up my nose

And, Devin of course turned goofy during one of the photos we tried to take. It turned out to be my favorite one from the weekend. It was great for all of us to be able to get together for the few days. This was definitely the beachy-est summer I've ever had!