Hot Water Beach

Our first morning on Hahei Beach dawned bright and beautiful.  These photos illustrate the single-minded focus of the twins nearly the entire time we were at camp:  down the path to the beach, up the path to camp, down the path to the beach, up the path to camp....someone always had to be keeping a close eye on them, but nobody minded.  We all enjoyed seeing Luke and Landon so delighted and filled with wonder at their surroundings. 

Because there were pine trees all over the campground, there were pinecones here and there on the grass and even on the beach.  Luke and Landon liked to carry them around, and called them "pineCORNS"-- so cute.

After breakfast, we headed to Hot Water Beach.  On our way out, we picked up a few shovels at the campground desk and double-checked the time for low tide that day.  Hot Water Beach has a hot spring below it, so if you dig a big hole at low tide, you can make your very own little hot tub!  Sounded pretty fun to us!

Since we were still a few hours from low tide, we played for a little while near the "surf" end of Hot Water Beach, a short distance from the hot water area.  I mentioned a few posts ago that we were all so excited to actually be able to wear swimsuits at the beach...our wish was finally granted!  The water was pretty chilly, but otherwise the weather was warm and clear and beautiful.

When I tried to put Landon's swimsuit on him, however, this was the reaction I received:

Luke rushed over to say, "Landon!  Don't cry.  Be happy now!"

Emily insisted on wearing her goggles, even though her head never went under water.

Even the photographer sometimes gets photographed.  Mother Duck with some of her little ducklings close by.  Makes me smile.

Father Duck makes me happy, too.

We noticed quite a crowd forming down-beach, so we headed in that direction.  Steve and the kids dutifully dug and dug and dug....

...but our water never felt warm.  We realized that the truly hot water was concentrated to a very small section of the beach.  You can see in this photo that we were just a bit too far from the heat...those people in the distance are digging in a better spot.

It was still a fun experience, and we would take turns walking back and forth in front of the hot springs area, feeling the very hot water on our feet.

Not sure what Rachel is doing in this last photo -- I think she might have actually been losing her balance on that rock, but to me it looks like some sort of ritual hot-water dance.  Better luck next time, honey.