Sole Searching

Our visitors have come and gone, and come and gone.
What next we wondered?
At a few hours notice, three decided that they would run away to the seaside for a few days.
Clothing, bucket and spade, beach shoes, the water filter and an odd assortment of food, was packed, and we set off at a surprisingly-early-for-us time on Friday morning.

Like many families, we have our little routines - like trying to guess if the tide will be in or out as we cross the river at Avonmouth.
The KHT voted emphatically for "out",
I just had to vote for "in", to explore the parameters of possibilities.
DH got "half in" by default.
As we passed over the bridge, we had a clear view of the state of the tide, as no thoughtless lorry obscured our view. The KHT was declared the victor, to her immense satisfaction.

The second game we play is to guess how many cars we will pass going the other direction between the main road and the campsite.
The KHT guessed "15", DH opted for "25" and I thought it might be closer to "40".
Over 80 cars passed us. Technically, victory was mine, as I voted for the highest number, but as the total was more than double my guesstimate, I can hardly claim that my prediction was accurate!

As we managed to leave respectably early, we were onsite soon after 10:30am! The van is on a seasonal pitch for the summer, so minimum set up is required. We made lunch and hit the beach just after midday.

A wedding was taking place at a nearby church, and the bride, groom and bridesmaid appeared with the photographer, to take photos in this picturesque spot.
In my view, more memorable shots would have been those showing the bride walking on to the beach alongside a kayak, or past a BBQ, but I don't think that those were the effects they were after.
It was lovely, but a tad bizarre, seeing the bridal party alongside more informally dressed beachgoers!
Fortunately, it isn't a nudist beach...

As we sat and chatted, the conversation turned to footwear, with one of the KHT's favourite conversation themes - keeping everything forever
"Wouldn't it be good if I had all the sandals I have ever owned?"
"Well, you haven't had THAT many pairs of sandals in your life - perhaps four... Your first pair were a lovely pair of white leather sandals. They went with everything, and came with a red plastic elephant attached, which I kept. It's not strictly a Christmas decoration, but we still put it on the tree each year. Your current pair are green. You may have had one or two more pairs, but over the years you haven't often wanted sandals, as you prefer to wear trainers..."
"Then I had a pair of clodhoppers, for the funeral. You know the pull-ups.."
"You mean slip-ons. Pull-ups are nappies!"
"Oops!"

Meanwhile down on the beach, some aquatic creature is causing a stir. A group of people gather to pass opinion.

We observe two females return from their dip in the sea. The taller of the two is limping. Maybe she banged her ankle on one of the many rocks that litter the beach and lurk beneath the waves, ready to ambush those who venture into the sea.

Later when we walked down the beach we spot a fish burying itself in the sand and decide that this was most likely to be the earlier item of interest, and is probably a weever fish.

As we leave the beach we see signs recommending beach shoes are worn as there are weever fish on the beach. We recall the limping lady and wonder if it was one of these that was the cause of her discomfort.

Sadly, it looks like barefoot exploration of the beach is a big no-no this summer - or more sole searching will be required, to treat the wounds!
Better safe, than sorry!