Popham Beach, Once Again!

Hey guys! Today I went to Popham Beach again! What can I say? It's one of my favorite summer spots!

I started out my day by setting up camp in the hot, dry sand. I laid out my towel and put up my umbrella to shade my skin from the sun. (I also lathered on a generous amount of sunscreen--every sunburn you get increases your chances of getting skin cancer! No thanks!)

I also pulled out my book and did some reading.

And more reading.

After a while, I realized my eyes were moving across the pages, but I wasn't really reading the words. The sound of the ocean was so relaxing, and the breeze was so warm...

...I leaned back and closed my eyes, and before I knew it...

...I was asleep! I only rested there for a few minutes before my brother and Skye (my mom's friend, who my brother and I live with, for those who were wondering) woke me up by asking if I wanted to walk over to the island.

Of course I wanted to walk over to the island! You can only go out when it's low tide, and the last few times we've been this summer it's been really high tide. You can see it there in the background.

One of the first paths you get onto is surrounded by these tall grasses. Luckily, there's no poison ivy! 

In fact, most of the island has this vegetative growth. These grasses are really good, because their roots help hold the soil down so it doesn't erode away.

Look at all that grass! Isn't it pretty?

As the path progressed, we got to the small beach between some of the rocks.

I carefully climbed down this steep rocky face so I could go investigate the little hidden-away beach.

I jumped down from the rocks and landed in the cold, wet sand. There were lots of little caves all around in the rocks.

I decided to take a closer look inside this one! It looked like there was some water sitting in it. 

I was right! Though the water wasn't very deep, it was definitely filling the bottom part of the cave. And by the looks of it (and the smell...pee-ew!), it had been sitting there for a while!

I crawled down from the cave and looked through the thick seaweed for crabs. They love to hide in the dark, wet habitat the seaweed provides! I lifted up little pieces here and there, but didn't have much luck finding anything. 

I walked up the beach a little bit and then trekked to the top of the island. I had to climb a lot of rocks to get there! 

After climbing a couple rocks and scraping my knee a few times, I made it to the top! It was super windy and the air was salty, but I was glad to be there all the same.

I took a seat on some of the smoother rocks overlooking the water and watched the waves crash into the island. 

As I was walking back, I came across this neat little rock fort.

Of course, I had to sit under it! I felt like some sort of sea bear, and pretended that I had lived on the little island in the little fort for hundreds of years, running across the rocks at seagulls. My little brother joined in, too!

It was starting to get late and Skye told us we had to get going. We trekked back across the land bridge to the main land, but not without enjoying the scenery.

The sun was so bright on the water, I had to squint my eyes!

Aren't those rocks so cool? The waves crashed up against them and would spray you if you got too close!

My little brother and I fell asleep on the ride home, we were so tuckered out from all that climbing around on the island! I had a blast at Popham. It makes me sad to think that this will probably be one of my last trips there this season...but that means I get to look forward to next summer! And everything between now and then! And I have a feeling there is an awful lot to look forward to. How has your summer been? Have you ever walked to an island? Let me know in the comments!
This has been Dani, dabbling yet again at Popham Beach. Over and out!