A Weekend at the Beach

Last weekend we came up with a spur of the moment plan to go to Pajaro Dunes. It's located just west of Watsonville, halfway between Santa Cruz and Monterey, and we last went there when Jackson was six weeks old, so four years ago. We called last Wednesday to see if they had any available condos for the next night, and they did, so off we went! We arrived just before sunset on Thursday night, and stayed until checkout at noon Sunday. It was a true vacation: we played on the beach, and didn't leave except to buy groceries once or twice. Andrew and Will were not able to come since they had previous plans, so it was just the four of us: Trace, Holly, Jackson, and Caroline. We went for lots of walks down the beach, collecting sand dollars, practicing our letters in the sand, and we built sand castles and played in the waves. Every day. That's all we did, and it was completely relaxing. Jackson and Trace watching the sunset Thursday after our arrival. Both kids had some trepidations about the water at first, but in the next three days they certainly overcame their fears! Looking at a shell perhaps? Caroline and I watching the sunset with our shades on. We saw a lot of pelicans, sandpipers, and seagulls, with or without the sunsetting. The kids loved the bunk beds in their bedroom. They both slept through the night every night--no worries about new beds with these two! Caroline slept on the bottom bunk, and although Jackson played on the top bunk all day, and called it his, he slept on the queen bed also in their room at night. That was fine with me, since I didn't have to worry about him falling. I packed their warm pajamas, which they haven't worn much since last winter, and Jack found a hole in his foot. Our first full day at the beach was Friday, and it was a sunny, beautiful day. Trace and Jack built a sand castle together, which surprisingly lasted the whole trip, although hit by waves a number of times. Caroline built her own sand castle, further back on the beach, because she was a little intimidated by the waves coming close to the big one. The kids loved playing in the big sand castle, and spent time in it every day.

Jack did a good job with his shovelling! The next day dawned foggy, but still warm, and the fog didn't slow us down much. This is the view from our condo.The kids spent a long time running in and out of the waves, and Caroline would run back and forth between Trace and I. She always held a hand, but Jack by day two was pretty fearless, and he got soaked falling down in the waves, perhaps intentionally.

They even did ballet in the water, and their shadows were pretty cool too! For dinner that night Trace made fresh oysters. Both kids tried them--this was definitely their first oysters, but contrary to her face, Caroline actually asked for more.Caroline's first bite of oyster. Her reaction.

Then we finished up with clams for dinner, which everyone enjoyed. Eating seafood sitting outside at the ocean. What could be better than that?

Sunday morning I didn't take the camera with me, so that I could get a little further in the water. It was cool that morning, and the kids had on sweatshirts with their shorts, but as you can imagine, that didn't stop them from getting soaked to the waist. We had a lovely trip, so much fun that we're hoping to do it all again soon. Want to come?