Visiting the Jersey Shore and Making Sandcastles

We wrapped up our Summer of Fun with an overnight trip to Avalon, NJ. The kids love the Jersey shore, so spending two days on the beach and in the water, is their idea of heaven. It's been a while since I've been to Avalon, and I was happy to find it's still a gorgeous and relaxing beach destination.

Last week, we loaded up the kids and headed to the Golden Inn in Avalon, NJ for the Blogger Beach Bash, hosted by Joey Fortman from Real Mom Media. The Golden Inn sits right on the beach and is only a mile from the shops and restaurants of Stone Harbor. We arrived in the late afternoon, checked in and hit the beach. It was fun to see so many families from Philly Social Media Moms already enjoying the beach and pool.

We ate a late, delicious dinner before heading to bed to rest up for our sandcastle workshop the next morning. That's right, a sandcastle workshop . . . with Sandman Matt.

According to Sandman Matt, who has traveled the world, New Jersey beaches have the BEST sand for making sand castles. He assured our group that he could teach any of us to build a better sandcastle, all you need is tools and knowledge and he supplied us with both.

Sandman Matt was happy to share all of his tricks with us, and by lunchtime, kids all over the beach were making amazing towers. Some grown-ups were giving it a go too!

According to Sandman Matt, here's what you need to know to make a better sandcastle:

• Wet the sand
• Pack the sand
• Work from the top down
• Go slow
• Pile the sand high and wide
• Have fun

We certainly had fun, and while our tower didn't look as great as Sandman Matt's, we can't wait to hit the beach next time and try it again!

catch you soon -

disclosure - as part of my participation in the Blogger Beach Bash, we received a discounted room, breakfast, lunch and a workshop with Sandman Matt. I was not compensated for my time, nor required to write a post and as always all opinions are my very own.