If you are like me, you LOVE summer. I love the warm sun, the outdoor play, ice cream on a hot day, the sounds of children laughing at the park, and most of all, the beach. However, due to the pandemic that is happening all over the world, I am so worried about bringing my daughter anywhere.
That is why I started looking for alternative ways to enjoy summer with her, without feeling like we are missing out on the fun and or putting our family at risk. The biggest draw of summer for me is the beach. I grew up with my mom taking my brother and I down to Leddy almost daily. I went to college in Tampa and was on the water ALL THE TIME. Now, Leddy is beautiful and the sand is SO nice. If you hit it in the morning hours you can miss the crowd. (I am a big believer in social distancing and Leddy morning are our jam.) The afternoon hours is where these well visited public beaches get a little hairy for me and my germ-a-phobic ways.
Let me tell you about the little beach that has been a life saver on these hot afternoons! A beach off the bike path near Starr Farm Park. Yes, there is a little walk associated with it, and parking is not right there. HOWEVER, you can miss the large crowds here. If you park at Star Farm park and take the little trail off of the parking lot down to the bike path, it is a short 3 minute walk to the overlook for this beach. There are two ways to get down. The first, a set of stairs that look like they could use some attention with rock stairs at the bottom to get to the sand. The second is if you keep going down the bike path a little ways, is just a hill to walk down. (It is a gravel path on the hill that is meant for you to walk down.)
The water is shallow and warm and our little one loved sitting in the water playing with the sand, rocks, and of course dumping water on herself. This is also a really cool place for older children to explore. There are a lot of weathered trees and logs for them to climb on and get their imaginations going. We went in the early spring and L loved climbing on the downed trees. Now if you are looking for the picture perfect smooth sand, this would not be the place for you. This beach is rough around the edges. If you are looking for a place to take your children to safely (away from other beach goers) cool down this is your new best friend.
Another recommendation for this place is to collect some driftwood and take it home for your children to do some art projects with. Later this summer I will be doing a driftwood craft tutorial for you all! You can have a beach day and a rainy day craft all on one swoop!
I hope that you all stay cool and healthy!
~Macaroni Mom Alex
