Author: Lynn McKeown

I built and carved a castle on the beach late today – would have liked to have finished, but Irish Eyes was calling. Tonight was Danny Fisher’s last performance for the summer there.

We’ve had company from Houston, TX, and have taken them up to Pennsylvania, to see the Brandywine River Museum and Longwood Gardens, and haven’t had very much time on the beach.
We did get there for a little bit between rain storms.

I had a nice start on a castle today, but the storm clouds came rolling in fast, and I had to get off the beach fast. Luckily, Jack came down to save me!

The rain will help keep the sand wet for building tomorrow.

Here’s a photo of my yesterday’s castle, as I found it last night, when we went to watch the sky lanterns. And another today, when I went to build.
I just don’t understand why people would destroy and step on a sandcastle – it takes SO much work to do the preparation work before I can even think about carving. Very inconsiderate and destructive. I just don’t get it.
That’s one of the reasons I teach so many families and kids how to build them. I figure each one I teach will be one more creator (and not a destroyer!)

My brother, Bill, and his wife, Jill, invited us to watch them put their last three sky lanterns aloft last night. They are rice paper lanterns, about 3′ high, and 18″ diameter, with a small rectangular piece of paraffin soaked cardboard, suspended just inside the bottom of the lantern. The paraffin is ignited, and the lantern held upright, until enough heat gives it the lift it needs. They were mesmerizing, rising above the bay, reflecting the flame you could see through the thin rice paper. We watched them until they were just a tiny speck in the sky.

When I hear the life guard’s whistle blow way down at the public beach, I pay attention. It was thunder that made the beach be cleared, and I did, too.

It IS Labor Day weekend, but I always hope that people would enjoy seeing castles.  I am very glad that I take a picture before I leave the beach, because today, at 1 o’clock, there was nothing left – flattened just about as flat as could be.

I knew that I had limited time today, but took time to talk to parents and kids.  Two of my favorites were Kairy (called Katy) 5 years old, and also Juan Pablo.  Kairy doesn’t build, but comes and talks (and talks, and talks!) keeping me company.  She is in Kindergarten this year, and full of wonder and a delight to sit with!  Juan Pablo is 10, and quiet, but also full of fun!  I have been blessed to meet this children this summer!

I worked, building a castle from the almost flattened sand, from 1 – 3pm (when Jack came down to coax me off the beach.)  We planned to go into Rehoboth with Brendan and Julie, to go to Dogfish Head, for supper.

Juan Pablo is such a joker!  He snuck up behind me 2 or 3 times, and would clap his cold, wet hand on my back, and then laugh hard, because he surprised me!

He built another castle today that was even better than yesterday’s.  What a nice young man!

Zoe, 14 (not in this photo) and Ella, 12, are from Princeton, NJ, and worked with Chelsea 9 and Escher, 9, from San Antonio, TX, with Zoe and Ella’s dad, Ted, to make this very interesting creation at the water’s edge.