Yes, the beach is a couple of hours drive away, and I would be all by myself with the two children, but it sounded fun and exciting and I was up for the challenge to be supermom.
First order of business was figuring out what to pack. I needed to be able to transport everything to the sand entirely by myself. Luckily, I'm a natural minimalist, so it wasn't too difficult. I brought along the shade umbrella, a couple of towels, sand toys, and packed a lunch. I was going to attempt to push everything (children included) in the double stroller.
The drive down was uneventful, which is what I was hoping for. Both girls slept for most of the drive, and nobody got carsick (which actually happens quite often).
We arrived at the beach and I drove along the coast until I could find a parking lot. I unloaded everything, packed the stroller up nicely, and began the long walk to the beach.
This is the view from our walk.
Pregnant me pushed the two girls and the stroller full of stuff quite a ways to the sand. I knew a beach that had a ramp to get down, so that's where I headed. I got to the sand and made the older one jump out (my stroller isn't built for off roading). I then grabbed the front of the stroller and dragged it across the sand until I found a good spot to park. I'm sure I was a sight, pregnant belly dragging a stroller with a frightened two year old in it.
The view of the ocean over my big belly. This thing is growing fast!
We set up camp and the girls went to town playing in the sand. We were right next to an abandoned sand castle, so they also had a good time playing Godzilla and obliterating that thing.
The girls started getting antsy and I really had to use the restroom. I hadn't quite figured out how to make that happen. I couldn't leave the girls and the stuff, so I packed us all up again and headed to the nearest restroom. The closest open one happened to be on the pier, so we wandered down the pier, enjoying the view of the ocean and the people.
At the end of the pier are cutouts where you can look down and observe the sea lions sleeping and playing and barking.
We grabbed fish and chips and some candy to snack on while we sat on a bench and observed the ocean.
Then we packed it up and headed home. Overall, I was extremely proud of myself for taking the trip to the beach with the two girls alone. My oldest was such a good helper and all three of us had a great time.
