Life's a beach - II

To the lady at "The Beach" in Cloquet who suggested the water there is as cold as Lake Superior, let me just say: No. No, it is not. While I agree the water was quite chilly, it didn't make you stop and inhale "huh-huh-huh" the first time it lapped through the holes of your rubber shoes.

That was Sydney's reaction to her first encounter with the icy temperatures of the greatest of the Great Lakes. But she quickly warmed to it.

On Friday, with temperatures in the upper 80s, we loaded up our three "kids" and headed to Park Point.

Sydney first wanted to throw rocks, which required her to wade in and reach down to grab the small stones that had washed almost to shore. Thankfully she never lost her balance. A head first trip into 50-degree water probably would have ended our visit right then and there.

A little later she plopped herself down and splashed the water around her. That didn't last long. She scooted herself to shore and instead asked for help building a sand castle. I have no idea how, at two years old, she even knows what a sand castle is, or that that's what you do at a beach. But that's what she wanted to do. Lucky for me, with my limited sculpting skills, she's easily impressed.

Meanwhile, one of us didn't seem to mind the numbingly cold water.