Arcata, California: The ocean

Our hotel was about 15 minutes from Mad River County Beach. We ended up checking it out right as the sun was setting. I only had my phone for a camera. I managed to snap these of the kids before Louisa and Jack tangled up while running from the surf. They both went down in waist deep water. Louisa had sand so thick in her ears I was still cleaning out grains several days later.

The exact same thing happened to Jack when he was this age--he ran right into the ocean and fell face first into the surf. 

Sunny beaches are overrated. These misty shots are ethereal. It felt like we were the only people on the beach. The following morning we went first thing while the tide was leaving so that Sara could collect more shells. The beach has a charcoal-colored sand with some great dunes. It was chilly, but such an adventure for the kids.

 She was so brave when we first got there--Jack is such a good brother for her adventurous spirit. They both loved racing together in the waves.

 He has his mother's skill for collecting.

 And then this happened, and she had to be rescued by Aunt Sara--cause I was laughing. It was the last time she got wet for the rest of the day. It was "too scary."

 Scorned by the cruelty of the ocean, she dug a thousand holes and filled a hundred buckets.

 Brooklyn learned about strong waves, too. This is her face as she came up from underneath the water.

 Jeff tried to convince Jack to go out into the deep surf. Jeff said it wasn't too cold once everything went numb. He stayed out until he stepped on "something gooshy" and got nervous about an inquisitive sea lion. Shane has a good eye for spotting wildlife--he spotted that seal through some pretty serious fog.

 Near the end of the day as it was reaching high tide a bunch of crabs started washing in with the surf. Most of them buried themselves immediately in the sand, but this guy was on his last leg. We tried several times to put him "back in the ocean" but eventually we watched the sea gulls eat him. It was so cool and a highlight of the whole trip for Jack and Lachlan. Louisa refused outright to even touch it.

 Rescue attempt.

 Rolling right back in on the surf. Jack said, "well, circle of life."

 This picture does not adequately display how long it took for us to get Lachlan to pick up the crab. She wanted to do it, but "not with her hands"--can you feel my brain screaming? How else would you pick it up? We finally convinced her to do it with her finger tips. Serenity now.

So many great memories from this trip. The kids are finally getting to the point where their memories will be permanent. This trip also reminded me how important it is to travel with cousins/family. It added another level of excitement. I remember hiking Mt. Timpanogos with the Carver cousins--and those are still precious memories for me. I want them to find strength in those extended relationships like I have--I think these vacations have a huge impact on making it happen. 

I've also realized that spending the time in the car isn't wasteful. I thought that Jack was over his "talking to himself" when he begins to daydream, but he isn't. Not by a long shot. I got some great video of him chatting it up with some Legos. It's probably one of my most favorite things.

Lachlan asked Jeff if Santa was real on this trip. She told him, "Dad, mom says that you buy more stuff on Amazon than any other man alive. And if that's so, then did you buy our Kindles on Amazon?" Then she told him that if he bought the Kindles then he must be Santa. Jeff didn't even try to cover it up--he just told her to keep it to herself. I told him that he should have asked her if she thought Santa was real, but he said he couldn't think that fast. So the cat is out of the bag--and here's to hoping that she won't get mad at Jack during the holidays and tell him just to be mean. She's a terrible. Terrible. secret keeper so I think that the Polar Express will have a few less bell ringers this year. 

Next summer--we're going all the way to Ohio.