Swept Away

Summary
It is summertime! Arthur, D.W., and Buster are spending several days at the beach where they discover the simple joys of building sand castles. But can they save their beloved creation from the inevitable ocean tides?

Plot
The intro begins with Arthur asking how so many people have different senses of time and proceeds to show instances of this. In the car, D.W. was being impatient, much to Arthur's annoyance. At the Sugar Bowl, Arthur tries to remind Buster it is still breakfast, but Buster wasn't paying attention. Back at the clock tower, Arthur explains that time goes fast, like a carnival ride. After Mr. Ratburn gives him sheets of paper, Arthur explains that time goes slow. He also explains that you can't stop time (or can you?), and tried to give an example, but it is not working.

At the beach, Arthur, Buster, and D.W. are about to go into the water when the lifeguard blows the whistle and points to the red flag. They look to see the ocean surfs are rough and they can't go into the water yet. While waiting to go into the water, the trio are busy playing cards. Soon, Arthur, Buster, and D.W. choose to build a sandcastle.

First, D.W. wanted to be a fairy princess castles but Arthur and Buster refuse to be that since it too girly so they agree to just make a regular sandcastle.They spend hours building it even as the lifeguard blows the whistle letting everyone understand they can go in the water. Soon, they are done completing the castle and Grandma Thora suggested to give it a name. D.W. wanted "Princess Misty Merimad Mansion" but Buster and Arthur said no. Buster finds a starfish and suggests they call it "Starfish Enterprise." but D.W. mentioned she can hardly say that word until Arthur pointed that she just said it perfectly. D.W. still doesn't like that name suggests "Castle Starfish" which they all agree with the name.

It is soon time for them to go to sleep. When they return to the beach the next day they find the castle is partially damaged, but still intact, so they then make a moat and make slight improvements to the sandcastle. Arthur's mom then takes a picture of the sandcastle along with Arthur, Buster, and D.W. posing for the picture. To make sure the tide doesn't damage the sandcastle, they add a huge piece of wood to block the water. The next morning, they see the sandcastle mostly gone and they try to rebuild it, but the sand is too wet to do so. Then, they have to leave the beach. They then come back to the location some time later to find the sand castle, but they don't see any remains of it around although D.W. finds a seashell from the castle. Arthur's mother calls out to the kids and tells them to hurry up as she doesn't want them starting school with a cold. The three kids then walk back towards the van.

Major

 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * D.W. Read
 * Sharky

Minor

 * Jane Read
 * Thora Read
 * Ms. Albright

Cameo

 * David Read
 * Unknown Male Adult Rabbit (Number 3)
 * Unknown Female Adult Rabbit (Number 4)
 * Pal

Mentioned

 * Emily

Trivia

 * The Bear Lake Lifeguard reappears in this episode.
 * This is one of the episodes that focuses on water. The others being Arthur Makes Waves, Feeling Flush, D.W. All Wet, The Shore Thing, D.W. Swims with the Fishes, and Water and the Brain.

Cultural references

 * When Arthur and Buster want to call the castle the "Starfish Enterprise" it is a reference to the ' spaceship '.
 * In the fantasy the seahorse Seabiscuit is named after a famous racehorse.

Production notes

 * This is the first episode in which Robert Naylor voices D.W.

Home Video
DVD:
 * Arthur: Season 11
 * Germophobia (DVD)