Cruising the Boardwalk in Ostend

Now that “everything is allowed except that which is prohibited,” the Kruegers were no longer limited to day trips centering around a museum. Not that we minded—Chris and I love museums, and the kids will complain about whatever or enjoy whatever with absolutely zero connection to how boring the activity is. They also have a great time and then later report it was terrible, and vice versa. So anyway, we set out for the Belgian seaside, ready to do many fun things and put up with The Whining That Knows No Bounds.

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As soon as we popped out of the underground parking lot Eloise said, “Where is the ocean?? I can smell the ocean!!” Sure enough, it was a block away. I was afraid it would be cold, windy and closed up. Instead it was sunny, breezy, and hopping! We immediately all got ice cream, which melted very quickly in the breeze, then walked north toward a breakwater that extends out into the North Sea and protects part of the harbor I think. There’s a big green shell at the end. We’re walking along when something falls out of the sky and almost hits us. “Mom! Mom! A seagull just dropped that!” Isaac and a Belgian family were sharing surprised sentiments and poking the four-inch plastic dinosaur that was apparently not a tasty snack. “Ew!” said Chris. The kids wanted to keep it. “I mean, it’s a gift from the sea…gull. I guess you can keep it?” I said. “Gross.” said Chris. Before we left the pier the adventurous dinosaur up and disappeared. Easy come, easy go, I guess. The seagull gives and the seagull takes away.

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We brought some stale Cheerios and the kids’ slingshots and tried firing cereal high in the air for the birds to eat. They were completely uninterested. They were eating fish out in the water, squawking along after fishing vessels, collecting dinosaurs apparently and generally annoying the fair number of beach goers braving the not-very-warm sand, but not a single seagull was interested in our offerings. We did spot some seals on our way over to investigate some shells.

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Then it was time for everyone’s favorite part of the day—Peddle cars!! These were very fun. The kids of course complained because we didn’t let them get electric cars (after watching someone else’s kid kneecap someone). Chris and I got a double and the kids each fought over the blue Ferrari. After awhile, Eloise announced she couldn’t peddle anymore. I didn’t want to go back yet so I took her tiny car and she peddled with Chris. I felt absolutely ridiculous. We were already past the most crowded part of the beach so at first it wasn’t that bad. I wordlessly challenged some kid to a drag race and he creamed me, but then he had to stop to stay near his parents. Peddling as fast as I could helped me realize how very far up into my armpits my knees were. The worst part was when we turned around and the wind was blowing in our faces. At first, Isaac and I raced and wove through the arched arcade of the hippodrome, and that was the best. But after that, as we got back into the main restaurant stretch, I ended up stuck behind a wide, slow-moving peddle cart, suddenly feeling ridiculously conspicuous as I cruised the boardwalk in my tiny wheels. People weren’t even pretending not to laugh. Oh, the things we do for our kids.

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After that we had beer and mussels! I did anyway—I earned it! We left after 8pm and it wasn’t even almost sunset yet. We saw a double rainbow on the way home and when we got home after 9:30, the sun was finally setting on our first day at the beach since we got here!