Brighton Beach

What a lovely place to be on Memorial Day.  I had no idea that there were so many beaches just a subway ride away in New York.  The ride there was actually half the fun.  Caroline belting (trying hard to not sing at the top of her lungs as we asked her to be a little quieter) Highschool Musical numbers the entire way and Olive looking out the window showing her toothy grin.  Everytime the subway stopped she would giggle and look at me and sign and say excitedly, "More, More!"

We wondered if we were crazy to attempt a beach trip on the holiday, but it turns out there were just enough people there for some very entertaining people watching.  Is a piece of material crisscrossed and barely covering one's body considered a swimsuit?  I am pretty sure here it is, luckily there are tiny waves.  It was a very clean beach, with beautiful soft sand. There were hundreds of seashells which Olive worked so hard to "clean up" and kept trying to throw them all back into the water.

Caroline didn't like the idea of being buried any further than her belly.  She loved that her little legs disappeared.

I don't know if there is anything sweeter than a toddler on the beach.  Watching those chubby little hands dig in the sand and try to grab huge handfuls was priceless.  Seeing her run and run on her sturdy legs up and down the sand with the biggest smile.  Hearing her loud belly laugh when the cold waves caught her little feet.

Brighton Beach is connected to Coney Island.  We were so glad that we decided to soak up the sun and relax at Brighton Beach because as we walked down to Coney Island at the end of our day, it was a madhouse, just a sea of people.

As we walked on the boardwalk, I kept seeing Caroline's eyes following something like a hawk every so often.  After about the third time she said, "Can I have one of those big cotton balls?"  She had been eyeing cotton candy.

As nasty as they are, I couldn't resist such a sweet request for a cotton ball.  

It was fun to take in all of the rides, and shops, and places to eat as we walked at our leisurely pace through the crowd.

Here is the ocean of people that was on the boardwalk.  Even as we were leaving around 4pm, mobs of people were headed off of the subway to go enjoy their Memorial Day bbqs.  

I heart the beach and can't wait to find another great one soon!