Island Beach State Park
We took the kids to the ocean for the very first time this last month. We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning and woke the kids early to hit the road. Island Beach State Park came highly recommended toys from a close friend that grew up in New Jersey, so that’s where we went.
When we first arrived, the park wasn’t allowing anyone else in but upon asking a ranger, they told us to check back in a few hours. So we went down to Seaside Park for our lunch and checked back afterwards.
Seaside Park was a nice stop. The admission was $10 per adult and kids were free to access the beach. The downside was there were no bathrooms for 4 blocks of the beach and parking was tough to find unless you paid to park but it was a nice stop for lunch and for the kids to experience the beach.
After lunch we headed over to Island Beach State Park where we paid $20 for our car of people (it’s per car not per person which is a perk!). We went to swimming beach 2 where there were bathrooms with showers and accessible. We were really glad we got to enter the park because it was the perfect place for us to go with the kids! 
He wasn’t sure of the cold water on his toes at first but warmed up to it later. He didn’t love when we told him fist fulls of sands to the mouth weren’t a good plan. ? He loved the sand toys and playing big seashells. I’ll admit, I was a little jealous when he indulged in a little beach nap. ?
The joy of the beach that came from our girl was the best part. Pure, untouchable joy. We promised her we’d take her to the beach before we moved here and she was thrilled to finally make it happen yesterday.
She frolicked and giggled and shrieked all day. It was like a wild freedom in her soul that of most of us adults crave but seems to get lost along the way the further we get from childhood. Completely carefree and soaking up every moment.
“Mama! Let’s go into the water!”
“Come with me, Mama!”
My cautious, yet thrill-seeking, little boy had the best day. He wanted certainty that “sharks in the water” wouldn’t be anywhere near him and once he knew it was all good – he was all in.
He dug in the sand and built things but his favorite part was running up for the thrill of the water splashing into his legs. The thrill of going out just a little further than he was confident in to shrill with giddiness, “mama! Pick me up!!!!!” whenever he was just out far enough not to be able to touch because that was where he was safest but still wanted to live a little on the edge. The giggles where contagious when the water would splash him. When I asked “what was your favorite part of the beach?” this morning, He said “when the water was splashing me!” with a giggle.
I found this last photo in Ryan and I’s photo stream. I don’t know what made him take it but I loved discovering it. My sweet littlest in my ringsling nursing as we ventured up to our next beach stop. I had stopped to just breathe it in.
I had a many thoughts flowing through my mind when this photo was taken. I thought about the work we put in into the wee hours of the morning to get on the road early. The pure joy of their first experience of the ocean where the waves knocked them gently out of balance and the shock of the cold on their feet. Gratitude for just being in this moment, on this beach, with our family. Perspective within the truth of how small we really are in this great big world God created full of such wonder (this usually strikes me in front of the huge ocean or atop a huge mountain range). And it was all just wrapped up with joy, the kind you feel into the depths of your soul.
Experiencing “firsts” with the kids is my favorite part of motherhood. We took the kids to the ocean for the first time yesterday and it was the best day. The thrill of the cool water on their feet, the splashing of the waves, the freedom and the shrieks of pure joy.
Our first Beach Trip was a total win and I can’t wait to take them again in the future! They are already asking to go back. If you are near Island Beach State Park, we HIGHLY recommend it!!
