Beach Bums (or something like that)

My summer vacations minus a few when we went to see my brother Craig, wherever he was working at the time, consisted of going to the beach. The kind of going to the beach that meant packing snacks and drinks, bringing umbrellas so folks could be in the shade if they wanted, staying all day until you were so tired you didn't even want to do anything in the evening other than play cards and visit kind of going to the beach. And I loved it. I loved playing in the sand and water. As I got older, I loved reading a good (or sometimes not so good) book interspersed with taking little naps on the beach. I love the time I spent with relatives, whether it be Mom's side of the family in Fernadena Beach, or Dad's in Panama City Beach--lots of fond memories.

Tim doesn't understand a vacation like that. His family was always on the go. He couldn't imagine spending that much time in the sun for "no good reason." Most of our vacations are on the go. Each night (or sometimes in the morning) we plan the events for the day. Today looked a little different--not quite the kind of beach vacations I have been accustomed to, but a little hybrid of both a beach bum and an on the go.

We started the day at Torrey Pines Beach, just north of La Jolla, California. We walked the beach though there was little visibility due to the fog. We were there for a little over an hour. After that, we spent about an hour and a half doing laundry, then traveled up the California coast to Laguna Beach. This is were we spent the better part of our day...doing this...

(I know, clearly, I like being in the sun more than Tim.)


Looking at this...

...and this...

Yeah, those guys in the picture brought us hours of entertainment. They stood there with their skim boards for thirty minutes at a time (and I am not exaggerating) trying to find the perfect "wave." I wonder if they know just how much enjoyment they brought to us. At one point, this kid came through skim boarding like a champ. I overhead one say to another, "Dude, we're not that good." They also said it to the younger kid. The kid took it in stride. Neither would attempt it with the young kid showing them up every time he threw his board in the water. It really was funny.

From here, we drove a little further to watch the sunset here...

This is what we saw...

I have decided (and I almost feel like a traitor for saying it) that I like California beaches better than Florida beaches. In Florida, it's unbearably hot and humid at the beach. Like-so-hot-I'd probably-still-have-to-get-in-the-water-to-cool-off-even-if-someone-yelled-shark-hot. Not so in California. In fact, once the sun is down, it's chilly. During the day, there's a soft breeze that keeps you cool. The air is dry, and the water is cold. I could stay all day at Southern California beaches and never get in the water--it's a beautiful thing.

After sunset, we drove on in to Los Angeles (Hollywood, actually) toward our hotel. First we made a pit stop at Pink's and ate this.

From left to right--two chili cheese dogs and my favorite, the Emeril BAM! (hot dog, mustard, bacon, onions, jalepenos, and cole slaw). Now, I am exhausted after a day at the beach(es). Until tomorrow...