This Little Egge: Beach

Summer is sand in the car, freckles on our skin, sunglasses in photos, evenings at the Boardwalk, long afternoons poolside, sunshine past dinner, the smell of sunscreen, hikes on dusty trails, singing along to pop music, driving with the windows down, hands sticky from peaches, bonfires at dusk, skipping rocks from river banks, popciscles after races, star gazing on your walk home, brightly colored beach towels, waking up in tents, cooking on grills, crisp salads and cool slices of watermelon, thighs stuck to seats, big brimmed hats, grass blades indented on your palms, graham cracker crumbs and tangled wet hair.

We passed this summer in California--at the lake, at the river, in the woods, at the beach . . . It was filled with all the stuff that summer should be. It was the first summer I didn't get to spend any time in Washington but I feel like we made the most of it. And luckily, a little bit of home came to me this year (my sisters).

Below are some photos from my middle sister's visit to Santa Cruz:

Summer was good to me . . . But there's a chill in the air and it has me giddy. I'm ready for fall--I always am this time of year--for bare branches, steps that crunch, spices in my coffee, zipped up jackets, wet pavement, rainy blue dusks, heat on in the car, pumpkins on porches, piles of gourds in the grocery store and a thousand other things. So good bye California summer, I'm sure I'll be missing your pretty face real soon, but till then I'll be bundled up in a sweater and taking my marshmallows in hot cocoa.

(photos 11 + 12 taken by C)

A couple weekends ago, C and I decided to spend an afternoon at one of the many beaches up Highway 1--we packed a beach bag, loaded Buckwheat in the car, picked up some sandwiches on the way out of town and embarked on a beach adventure. We were shooting for a beach that our friend had recommended but the directions were vague so, after realizing we had missed it, we decided to stop at Greyhound Rock Beach instead.

The beach was reached via a descent down a narrow trail and was home to a enormous rock jutting out of the water just offshore. It was also fairly unpopulated. We walked south past a couple groups of people and selected a spot that we thought looked sheltered. C proclaimed himself starving and ripped into his sandwich as soon as the blanket was down. Moments later, Buckwheat, in a burst of excitement, kicked sand all over the blanket (and all over C's sandwich). It was our first lesson of day: always keep your dog secured or at a safe distance while eating at the beach (or your sandwich might end up with some actual sand in it!).

Soon after we finished our sandwiches, it became clear that our sheltered location was actually not that sheltered. This was most evident when I found myself chasing a brown piece of paper 100 feet down the beach (it kept blowing away just as I was about to grab it!). A bit of scouting solved this problem. Beach lesson #2: figure out which way the breeze is blowing before unpacking your beach bag.

Our last lesson of the afternoon came when we sat down to play backgammon. Neither of us had played in several months and there was zero cell service to assist us. I set up the board to the best of my recollection. It was not right. The game felt clumsy. It just wasn't as fun. Beach lesson #3: know how to set up a backgammon board before heading out of cell phone range (this lesson proved useful for our trip to Tahoe).

The rest of our afternoon was uneventful (which was just how we wanted it). I read Ender's Game (because we had recently seen a preview for the movie and I hate to see a movie before I read the book). C read The Great Gatsby (because he had somehow made it through high school without reading it and we wanted to see the movie later that weekend). We ate some chips and salsa and a bag of Skittles Blenders (I don't even like original Skittles but these things are delicious!). There was some exploring and some snoozing and some goofing around. C and I agreed we should do it more often. We're talking about exploring a different beach this weekend. I hope we do!

Below are some photos from our Saturday afternoon at Greyhound Rock Beach: