VACATION :)

Family vacation is back!!! J J J

SAT. NIGHT

It was an evening of unbelievable beauty! The ocean air was full of the sound of surf, compelling a short evening walk beachside to watch the breakers roll up onto the shore. As the sun began to set, a soft bloomy dusk descended and the heat of the day diminished to the cool evening breeze. The sky was cloudless. The sea, driven obliquely into the curve of the bay, lay streaked before us various shades of blue; while silhouetted surfers speckled the water out just beyond the waves. The day’s high tide softly lapped the bottom of the staircase and we resigned to watch the sunset from the top of the stairs, where the view seemed to stretch into infinity. It takes zero effort to understand why we return every year...

DAY ONE

The absolutely gorgeous weekend weather seemed to beckon a sizeable part of southern California’s populace to their favorite beach spot; coaxing them to take advantage of their dwindling summer days. Inadequate streets were jammed with cars, the pavement overflowed with underdressed humanity and shops spilt over with sales on the summer’s remaining post-cards, sun-hats, sandals, and surfboards. The beach full was of children launching themselves onto boogie-boards or playing with their countless buckets and spades. For us, the day was spent sunning, reading and sleeping… J Appreciating the recent big swell atop our boogie-boards (at least for the most part) brought our first beach day to a close.

The giant sundae for mom’s belated birthday celebration was icing on the cake…

DAY TWO

Vacation mornings are my favorite! They are comprised of sitting in the sunshine, drinking endless amounts of fresh coffee at the large kitchen table, and my open Bible. As we claimed ample amounts of our day’s sand and set up the beach umbrellas, momma Jean noted the fog hovering out over the water’s edge. Within the hour a thick, misty haze rolled in and we accordingly buried our toes a little bit deeper into the warm sand. Then, with equal swiftness, a small breeze got up and blew the clouds away, leaving the ocean to sparkle beneath a pellucid blue sky.

Matt made the greatest guacamole ever and, I confess, made me fall in love all over again. Standing shirtless with his freshly tanned skin the kitchen of an empty house; nonchalantly tossing in the perfect combination of cilantro, lime, avocados and tasting faintly of salt… I fell in love all over again J

DAY THREE

With our dearest Uncle Rob and Aunt Vicky leading the way we happened upon a new killer beach spot, which we designated “the oasis” and continued to claim the rest of the week. All other beach-comers were definitely green with envy.

Uncle Rob took my new surfboard out for its maiden voyage, but he didn’t think attempting to stand up was a “worthwhile effort” and instead chose to ride the waves in on his belly, providing us with some excellent laughs. I mistakenly thought my new board would magically make surfing easy. While actually catching the waves was no problem, (courtesy of Matt) standing up and staying up = another story.

Best vacation dessert = Leucadia Pizzeria carrot cake!!!

After dinner Dan and Eric steered us to one of their favorite beaches, “Pipes” in San Elijo, to watch another incredible sunset. The tide was out, leaving the bay an arc of newly washed sand. We watched, in the calm, paling light, the sea turn shades of deep inky blue, till the sun dipped below the horizon. Leaving us to pile into the car, at the end of a wonderful day, sleepy from all the fresh air.

DAY FOUR

Following an overcast afternoon of shopping, we were surprised to find the beach seemingly empty and quite warm. The bright burning sun, which was scarcely tempered by a soft breeze, made dipping your toes into the icy Pacific quite refreshing. The tide was out, our inlet full of clean sand, seaweed and screaming seagulls. The bright blues of summer noticeably manifest against the white-capped ocean waves, everything dazzling in a glaring sunlight. Another day filled with rest and relaxation!!!

DAY FIVE

After downing “man-hole” sized pancakes at The Potato Shack (SO GOOD!), we felt it was in our best interest to peruse the shops of downtown Encinitas before planting our beach chairs seaside. I determined, despite the afternoon’s cooler air and water temperatures below sixty degrees, that it was finally time to try again with Moby, my recently purchased paddleboard (the last time it was in the ocean I almost died). It was comparatively easy to paddle out past the frothing white breakers and, after falling a few times, I found my balance and was beginning to actually enjoy paddling across the bay. Relaxing a bit more, I began to look around; to the left I could make out Matt who was watchfully pacing the shore in stride with my board; to the right, an endless stretch of sea; to the front, I did a double-take, my second glance confirming that two FINS were headed my way… FYI: I do not want to die by being torn apart by sharks. The only thing I could think about was our car ride where Matt recounted the surfer, who thirteen days prior, filmed two great white sharks with his own waterproof camera while paddleboarding off the coast of San Diego (the clip is on YouTube). I drop to my knees and freeze as the two fins continue to travel directly towards me. They veer to the left to avoid Moby and I’m now pretty sure the two fins are dolphins. My thought is confirmed as one comes up for air within arms distance and sprays me with water. Phew! Dolphins really are beautiful creatures, especially in the ocean.

Eager to be in front of the waves, rather than out beyond them, I high-tail it in where Matt and I act like we are ten and use the paddleboard as a surfboard. Fun!!!

Best vacation dinner = Sushi Do

DAY SIX

We loved the little donut shop a street down from us, some days even required two trips because we “needed” more…

The hazy morning didn’t dissuade me from riding my bike down to the Oceanside harbor where the tide was full and the harbor itself grey and choppy, fleeced with frothing white-breakers and boats bobbing rhythmically from the heavy swell running out beneath the pier.

Then, it was back to our patch of sand for a last perfect, full beach day where Chris’s sandcastles brought in quite the crowd (all week actually), young and old both stopping to peer into his various sand sculptures. Personally, I was a fan of the drip castles…

And we had the best ever beach farewell, which I suspect the Lord sent especially for Jean. What must seven or eight wild, free dolphins emerged from the brilliant, blue water; energetic and ready to play. They were pure fun to watch as they performed spectacular tail stands, somersaulted out of the water, leapt through waves and even executed their version of simultaneous topside 180’s. We strained our eyes to watch, till they eventually drifted off quietly into the endless blue.

I couldn’t think of a better way to conclude summer vacation.