"Smell the sea, and feel the sky..."

...at least until you get wind-burned and sun-kissed.

A few days in mid October we took a trip to the coast. We stayed in a place in what is technically Corpus Christi, but actually what anyone would consider North Padre Island. It was pretty much the closest we could get to Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) without beach camping... which I was not willing to do right now.

We got there after lunch, unpacked and then went to PINS.

They played with their boogie boards the entire time.

I didn't have my camera out that afternoon/evening, so that's all I got. We did however document this cutie in a sink later that night. She's still afraid of bathtubs.

The next day we were at PINS from about 9:30-4ish? It was a long day of sand and sun and playing. We set up a play pen for Autumn to camp out in and she seemed to enjoy watching her Daddy fish and the boys run crazy...

Always wants to touch the camera.

My man, doing his thing. I could watch him fish all day. And I did just that.

Catch documentation.

Two crazy peas in a pod.

Proof that Mama was there.

They were grumpy about the forced water/shade break. I'm quite certain they would forgo food too if we just let them run and play all day.

Another catch documentation. There were others but I was unable to get to the camera in time.

On the third evening we drove over to Port Aransas, ate dinner and sat out by the water at Robert's Point Park (the one by the ferry). It was a beautiful evening. The boys played around on the rocks, we watched dolphins hunting in groups and Autumn was pretty excited about the boats and birds, and anything that moved really.

Pointing out boats.

A short video of her getting excited about a barge...

3/5 Family photo, courtesy of Aaron.

 Speaking of...

The next day was our last at the coast and we'd be headed home later that afternoon. But before we went, we took the boys to the U.S.S. Lexington for the first time. Alan and I had gone through the ship many years ago (pre-kids) and thought it was awesome and knew that the boys would love it. We've been waiting for the right time, and it was either now or in a few years (as taking a toddler would be a nightmare). So, with a baby strapped to me and Aaron carrying his sister's gear in a backpack, we took to the ship...

Inside a large gun.

Emerging from the large gun.

Proof that Mama (and Autumn) were there. I packed her big sunhat, so she was stuck with a tiny hat and no sunglasses. Alas, she survived. 

Said large gun.

They would have stayed in there all day if we had let them. In fact had this plane been in the parking area, we could have just by passed the ship and let them play on this for the duration. Their imaginations were running wild.

One level down to the other big guns.

Fun times with the big guns...

On the lookout, I hear the Japanese are in view.

Hangar bay.

A renovated bunk room. This one was for the ladies.

Adam would have fit right in with his recent buzz cut.

All those years ago, Alan and I had fun with the bars over the stairs. I couldn't do it with Autumn in the pack, so I asked Daddy to demonstrate for the boys, who were a little short.

Fun time. I'm glad we went. The boys share our interest in WWII and it was cool for them to see a "real life" air craft carrier after all these years of playing with toys and die-cast models.