Toes in the Sand

It's been six years since I've seen an ocean, but we remedied that while we were in California as much as we could. I feel like a part of my soul has been dying, living so close to the geographic center of the US. Peter and Nora of course had never been, and Benjamin's "memories" were from when he was ten months old. It was like seeing an old friend again.

Peter at Newport Beach, climbing the "booby trap" wall. 

It was not an especially warm day. The wind was crazy strong!

That didn't stop the boys from getting a little wet though...

...or Nora from getting soaked up to her waist. She was pulling Paul further and further in.

Poor girl was pretty cold on our walk back up to the car, so she needed to be carried at an arm's distance.

The next day, we found a playground with tons of sand, which seemed to satisfy the kids for a a few hours while Paul went shopping for a new phone.

It was much warmer that day, and there wasn't any wind. Perfect for bare toes.

When we got to Legoland a few hours early, we decided to make the most of it and check out the Beach in Carlsbad.

I was amazed at how different San Diego County felt from Orange. It was really beautiful, and a lot more "real" feeling.

We took a walk along the road, trying to find our best route down to the shore.

We found a bank of smooth rocks, and collected a bunch to take home with us. I still need to find the right jar to put them in.

The boys had a blast just throwing rocks. Peter, who had been having some rough moments throughout the trip (mostly involving wanting to go home) told me that he wanted to stay here forever.

Nora wandered down onto the sand for just a minute, but was down there just long enough to get soaked. Paul tried to rescue her, but ended up getting just as wet. They had to dry out in the sun for a while.

Later that day on our drive home, we stopped by a national park beach. The kids were fascinated with all the mussels on some of the rocks.

And we spotted some tide pools with sea snails and anemones.

But the real highlight on this beach was "Mordor," which the boys spotted just along the horizon.

The fiery reds of the sunset and the dark clouds just over a distant island really did look the part.

I already sort of miss the beach, but I'm so glad we went. I think we made some great memories there.