Beaches and Book Guilt

Here is what I am feeling guitly about at the moment:

And wait, there's more..

Here's how it happened...

In keeping up with the routine that has sort of found us, we were off to the beach at about 4 this afternoon. We decided it was too late for the shore, so we kept it local. Growing up on Long Island, I was used to some pretty lovely beaches. In the past, I may have considered myself to be a bit of a beach snob. These days I am not quite so picky. I guess spending ten sticky summers in the city made me appreciate a simple body of water and some sand.

Today's beach was by far the "best" we've been to here on the island. This beach is located inside a national park and what a difference that makes! There was actually clean, yes clean sand. Quiet, too. The bathrooms were nearby and clean. Yes, clean. Girl cub was in her glory and made two friends within the first five minutes of our arrival. She has definitely acquired her mama's love for the surf, sand and (late afternoon) sun. The water however, was another story. I have to say, I have never seen water that brown. The cub's daddy joined us today and he said the brown stuff was just, "everything churning up from the bottom." Gee, that made me feel so much better. I wouldn't go near it. But Daddy took Cub and her new friend in and they had a blast. Ewh. Yuck.

Fast-forward to the conclusion of our late Indian dinner. I am on a mission to get a cranky cub back to the car and I know what's coming..."We're not going in here. Don't even think about it," I say quickly to the daddy. Forty-five minutes later, I am exiting Jim Hanley's Universe and have spent over $30.00 on books I don't technically need...but oh, they make me HAPPY in that little spot that only art books like these can tickle! Why, oh why, do comic book stores still do this to me? Is this normal? Apparently, it is to the cub's dad. (I knew there was a reason.) And she, as tired and full of sand as she was...got it! She only nagged a little bit at the end when we told her we wouldn't buy her the Buffy the Vampire Slayer doll. Oh, yeah...there was a comic book involved, too. Optic Nerve.