Day at the Beach

We decided while we were in California we would take our kids to the beach for the day.
Partly because we wanted more to do on our vacation.
Partly because our kids have never really experienced the beach.
And partly because Kate pretends to make sand castles all the time, and talks about making sandcastles all the time. I wanted to show her what it was really about.
So after leaving Disney we headed to Pismo.
Lets start by saying we had no idea where we were going and decided to rely completely on our phones map directions to get there.
It was not perfectly clear or accurate and when we arrived, we simply couldn't find the beach.
Almost giving up, Jake was persistant and found us some sandy shore, a pier and some quaint seaside shops.
After parking, and layering up for the wind, discovering Sam had no shoes he could wear, we found a little restaurant where we ordered fish and chips and clam chowder.
Next we walked along the shops, and purchased an $8 bag of salt water taffy. Thinking we would eat some, and share some with Jake's dad who we remembered liking the stuff.
Then we walked down to the shore line, laid out our towels, grabbed our buckets and got to work on that sand castle.
While I showed Kate what an actual sand castle was and found a few shells, Jake and Sam went to dip their feet in.
A few minutes later I went to see them, and as I approached I saw Sam fall in the ocean.
Soaking wet we wrapped him in towels and tried to keep him warm then the boys built a sandcastle along side ours.
We decided to all venture back down to the shore to dip our toes in. We did. Nobody fell in this time.
Then we headed back.
Jake started running back to our stuff.
The kids started chasing after him. I thought it was cute so I took a picture.
Oblivious.
Soon I saw that Jake was really trying to scare the 30 or so seagulls.
They had found the taffy.
The taffy that was wrapped, in a grocery sack, in my purse.
They drug it out, and scattered it all along the shore. We had eaten about 6 pieces or it.
Those birds would not leave. They made the kids mad. They kept yelling "shoot" copying Jake's "shoooo" as in go away. Though "Shoot" seemed an appropriate exclamation. They also kept re-telling the story about "those birds they ate all our candy"
At this point, we came to grips with our mostly hilarious, somewhat tragic, surely memorable trip to the coast and packed our things and drove to Fresno.
Though the trip wasn't perfect, I'm glad we went.

Fresno was a nice, relaxing, warm two days. I took naps, the kids played outside, and ate their weight in farm grown strawberries.

Home again.
Back to our house that still is needing to be put back together after the new carpet came.