The Great Out of Doors.

New Brighton Beach was a great place to camp. We didn't actually pitch our tent on the beach, it was on the bluffs above the beach. It was a lot more work than camping in the mountains because of all the sand. Tony and I spent lots of time cleaning sand off of kids. It was all worth it of course because they had the time of their lives, but you wouldn't have known it to hear me as we packed out and drove away. I made my customary claim of "I'm never doing that again!" Emily quickly reminded me that is what I always say after camping is over. Somehow, time plays tricks on the mind and I am again up for it year after year.

One of our days there, we drove a few miles down the coast to spend the day at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I had not been to Santa Cruz in more than 15 years. I made countless trips over there in my late teens and early 20's with my girlfriends, in the old carefree days of my youth with spontaneous beach adventures in unreliable cars. Whoops, where did that come from? Back to present day: Driving into town from highway 1 seemed like deja vu, it has not changed a bit and I felt as though I was in a time warp! We spent most of a day there and even met up with Rafi, Miriam and the kids. It was a big 'ol giant load of fun.

The best part of the camping for me was that all of us, including myself, slept great. It could have been pure human exhaustion but I think it was the sound of loud crashing waves all night long that provided a natural tranquilizer. In the middle of the night when all the other campers had stopped making noise and there was perfect quiet, all you could hear were the waves. Air mattresses and warm cozy sleeping bags deserve a little credit for the excellent outdoor slumbers too.

OK, maybe sleeping wasn't the best part. I adored watching my kids do all of those fun things that make them squeal with delight; playing in the ocean and in the sand, amusement part rides and cotton candy, exploring camp and walking on logs, running around the campfire and roasting marshmallows.

I just asked each of them what was the best part of our trip:

Emily: the boardwalk.

Sarah: going in the waves.

Wyatt: playing in the waves.

Eva: when the water was getting me and I was trying to run away.

Surf Notes: Eva never actually got in the water, though it did get her a few times! The other three kids got in the water but only when the waves knocked them down. Tony was the only one of us to fully swim in the ocean. You should see him out there, he always makes friends with the other body surfers as they give each other tips on how to best ride the next wave. We stayed so long playing on Saturday in the water, long after we should have gone back for lunch, the kids were ready to go up and it was Tony that I had to pull out of the water last!

Wildlife Notes: From the beach we saw plenty of sea lions a short distance out in the surf. A couple next to me said they saw a whale spout, but I didn't see it. We smelled a skunk our second night. We saw lots of spiders and ants, but none of them got close enough to bother us. The first and the second night Raccoons nibbled their way into our trash because we didn't put it away properly. The third night Raccoons got into a loaf of bread that was in an unlocked wooden food locker. I threw away the five or so slices they nibbled and we ate the rest for lunch. I never heard the stealth raccoons as they pilfered our waste and bread, it must have been the waves that squelch all the other sounds.

This is our last week of summer vacation, back to school already next week for my first, third, and sixth graders. [!]

Tony's last day off was yesterday and unfortunately he spent it tearing out most of our plants around the pool, [as it seems we had made some silly choices] and replacing them with more appropriate poolside shrubbery, landscape fabric, and river rocks. It looks good, not as bushy or exotic but nice and clean and definitely lower maintenance which is worth the trade off.

I still need to find the motivation to get myself outside and pack away the camping paraphernalia but first breakfast, and absolutely, more coffee.