Life's a Beach

There are many things I love about going to Del Mar Beach at the south end of Camp Pendleton. For one, it is not as crowded as many other public beaches in Southern California because you have to have base access to go there. Second of all, they have the traditional crashing waves beach divided for body surfers on one side of the lifeguard station and surfers on the other and then they also have what they call the cove, where rock jetties keep the waves away creating a great spot to play in calm ocean waters. We spent one day with the kids playing in the waves and one day where they played on the shore of the cove. The kids can never decide which they prefer because they love both!

Every year I am amazed at how fearless the kids are in the waves, especially Jadyn who may be younger but is definitely the thrill seeker between the two.

Different reactions upon being told to get out so we could get back for lunch.Jadyn says, "That was fun!"

Jake says, "Do we have to get out and why are you taking my picture again?"

And every year I am amazed at how many ways the kids can have fun at the cove. Splashing in the water, making friends,playing catch with a variety of balls and frisbees, finding and examining various crabs and seashells and making sandcastles. Furthermore, since we have little to worry about with the kids in the calm water of the cove, Joe and I can sit back, relax and enjoy a good book (Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was my official beach read for 2012).

Jadyn ratting out Daddy who buried her legs in the sand:

 Jake showing off his sand castle, which looks a lot like a scene from Star Wars to me:

But by far, the kids favorite part of going to the beach has nothing to do with getting wet. It's taking morning or evening walks along the rock jetty, going beyond where the gravel path has been destroyed by endless beatings of "mad waves" as Jake likes to call them, climbing the rocks and looking for treasures, enjoying the view. I guess you can take the kids out of the desert but you can't take the desert out of the kids. Rock climbing will always be at the top of their list. At least we got a break from the 100+ degree temperatures of the desert, which had heat advisories the whole week we were gone. Meanwhile, we had to wear our sweatshirts in the earlier evening because to us at least, the ocean breeze was chilly!

But spending time at the beach is really only half of our trip. Because the other half is spent doing fun things that are close by, the details of which will have to wait for another post.