Hazel managed to keep her mind off of how far away the snorkeling excursion was by fully enjoying her time at the beach. She constructed an architectural masterpiece out of sand (Will's words, not hers) that she was quite proud of.
Over the years she had refined her sandcastle technique on the days she had gone to the beach to paint. It kept her entertained once the lighting changed too much for her to continue.
Will was amazed at how she managed to shape everything so well without even using a bucket. She told him it wasn't terribly different from working with clay. They had both originally come from rocks, after all. Though admittedly the wet sand was a bit looser and grainier.
He insisted on getting pictures of Hazel next to her artwork. She was a bit embarrassed by how much he was praising what, in her mind, wasn't even that spectacular a sandcastle. She was coming to realize Will was overgenerous with his compliments.