The sun was warm, the sand was soft, and the air smelled like popcorn! Well, maybe not popcorn, but it smelled like the beach, which is almost as good! William and Grandpa were going to the beach! William loved the beach! He loved to build sandcastles and splash in the waves. He even liked the seagulls, even if they did try to steal his snacks!
"Grandpa, can we play beach volleyball today?" William asked, bouncing on his toes. William loved sports! He liked to run and jump and throw things. He was very good at it, too, because William was super strong!
Grandpa chuckled, "Of course, William! But first, we need to build the best sandcastle ever. It will be our fortress!" Grandpa had a pirate hat perched on his head, and William giggled. Grandpa loved pirates!
They arrived at the beach and found the perfect spot, right near the water. William helped Grandpa unpack the beach bag. They had shovels, buckets, and even a pirate flag for their sandcastle! But wait, what was that? A little brown dog with floppy ears was sniffing at their beach bag!
"Hello, little dog!" William said, his eyes wide. The dog wagged its tail and licked William's hand. "Can he play with us, Grandpa?"
Grandpa smiled, "Of course, all beach bums are welcome on our team! Let's call him Sandy."
And so, William, Grandpa, and Sandy the dog started building their sandcastle fortress. William was very good at packing the sand down tight with his super strength. Sandy, it turned out, was very good at digging a moat around the castle. Grandpa was the best at making the castle flags flutter in the wind.
"It's perfect!" William shouted, planting the pirate flag on top. He was so proud of their sandcastle.
Just then, a group of kids walked up to them. They looked sad.
"What's wrong?" asked William.
"We were going to have a sandcastle competition," said one of the kids, "But a big wave came and washed our castle away!"
William looked at Grandpa, and then at Sandy. An idea popped into his head!
"Don't worry!" William said, "We can build another one! We love building sandcastles! We can even be on your team!"
The other kids cheered. So, William and Grandpa and Sandy helped the other kids build a brand new sandcastle, even bigger and better than before. They had so much fun working together! When it was finished, everyone agreed it was the best sandcastle ever!
After all that building, it was time for some volleyball! William, with his super strength, could hit the ball so high it looked like it was going to touch the sun! Grandpa, even with his pirate hat on, was a surprisingly good volleyball player. Sandy chased after the ball and barked with excitement.
As the sun started to set, painting the sky with pink and orange hues, William, Grandpa, and Sandy packed up their things. They even left the pirate flag on the sandcastle, a reminder of their fun day at the beach.
"That was the best beach day ever!" William said, snuggling up to Grandpa in the car.
Grandpa smiled, "It sure was, William. And you know what? We even made some new friends today."
William thought about all the fun they had. He knew that he, Grandpa, and their new friend Sandy would be back again soon for more beach adventures!
