Category Archives: sand castle

S is for Shovel & Pail Set

What’s the one thing you have to take onto the beach with you? A shovel & pail set, of course.

Since early childhood, you learned you always need a shovel and pail to play in the sand. There have been some amazing sets available to children over the years from the metal set with cool art on the pail to designer plastic pails with decorative handled shovels.

Kids are fun to watch with their shovels and pails. They dig and dig and dig. They run to the water to fill the pail and then back to dump the water in the hole. Most of the time the water sinks into the sand but they keep running back for more water in  hopes to fill up the hole one day.

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My boys, growing up on the beach, had shovels of all sizes. There were some that broke easily, others that never broke but ended up at friends houses so we just bought more. Short handles, long handles and some with long wooden handles; we still have these.

With a long-handled shovel you can conquer the world or dig a hole for your brother to fall into head first:

Shovels and pails are necessary tools for sand castle building. There are fancy tools and molds you can buy but the classic sand castle is built using a shovel and pail.

So next time you go to the beach don’t forget your shovel and pail.

S is for shovel and pail set.

 

Sand Castle Friday #21: S is for Sand Castles

I used to live at the beach: Surfside Beach SC, Siesta Key FL, and close enough in both Houston TX and Fairhope AL. I always liked seeing the sand castles that visitors would make. It always seemed that the majority of sand castles appeared as day-old ruins on Saturday mornings. My hypothesis is that vacationers staying for the week have to check off “build a sand castle” on their list of things to do before they leave to go home.  Next time you are at the beach, check it out.

Anyway, I have been doing a Sand Castle Friday post for the past 20 weeks in honor of these to-do-list vacationers.

Sand sculpture competitions are all year round. You can find one near you at SandSculptingEvents.com. The International Sandsculpting Championship event is in September in Virginia Beach. You’ll see all kinds of sculptures made of sand. Of course if it was a sand castle contest, entrants could only build sand castles. All others would be disqualified.

Do you remember the Nickelodeon “Rocket Power” cartoon? There was an episode where all of the kids entered the sand castle building contest. Wow… were they all competitive and creative?! In the end, though, the winner was the littlest member of the crowd because she was the only one to build a sand castle; a simple castle.  Moral of the story: read the fine print when you enter a contest.

Sand castles are awesome and fun to build. I think just playing with the sand, the tactile experience is relaxing.  And, if your mind wanders and you end up building something fantastic, it’s a great day!

Don’t know how to make one? Want lessons? Or, do you want a sand castle for your beach-front wedding ceremony? There are professionals in many beach towns that can help you. Just internet search “sand castle lessons”. I’ve found several in Florida.

IMG_2069 (1)When was the last time you made a sand castle? I built one this summer; little but fun and made with my empty coffee cup.

S is for Sand Castle.

Sand Castle Friday #20

Sand Castle competitions have turned into Sand Sculpture competitions. I guess people feel they can be more creative by sculpting anything they can think of out of sand.

As we approach the Fall and Snowbird weather, beach towns will be hosting sand sculpting competitions. Beaches are less crowded than during the peak summer seasons so sculptors can spread out and create without infringing on someone’s beach blanket space. I hope  you can find some to enjoy.

Here’s a photo I took several years ago on Siesta Key of a sculpture I really like. Its a sculpture of people building a sand castle.  Or, they could be hugging it.

Sand Castle Love!

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Happy Sand Castle Friday!

Sand Castle Friday #12

Looking through some old family photos from our life on Siesta Key several years ago. I found this of my youngest son making a sand castle with a boy who was on vacation. These young boys didn’t know each other but had a great time playing together that day and made a cool castle.

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Happy Sand Castle Friday.