Back to the Beach

Today we decided to try tide pooling.  A cove just up the beach from the dog beach was supposed to have good tide pooling.  So we loaded up our stuff, locked the dog in the house, and walked to the cove.  It's a little further away, but not any longer than our daily walk to school, so it was fine.  Turns out there's no tide pooling there, but it's a nice beach set back in a cove with high walls.  There were more people, and it's much smaller than the dog beach, but seemed there was enough room.  Just no tide pooling at all.  I asked the kids do you want to go back and put on your suits and come back to this beach, or go to the dog beach with Kelso?  Thing 2 voted dog beach.  Thing 1 was frustrated with having walked to this beach and having no tide pooling, she got crabby and didn't want to go to the beach at all.  She wanted to go tide pooling (sorry, no car, sweetheart).  Then she wanted to go back and play at the house.  Sorry sweetheart, I didn't drive you all this way to sit inside and watch you do exactly what you do at home.  My vote counts for two, so that's three against one.  The dog gets a half vote, I know he'd rather go to the beach.  Three and a half against one.
So that's what we did.  I dragged Thing 1, with the threat that if she stayed back at the house by herself she might have to let the landlady in with a repairman to fix the dishwasher (which isn't working).  As I suspected, that was unappealing enough to get her out of the house.  
When we got out to the beach, it was beautiful.  Hardly any wind, much warmer than yesterday.  It was a little more crowded, but still not many people.  And the side we go to has fewer dogs than the other side.  It might not give Kelso as many puppies to play with, but it has fewer dogs galloping through our sand sculptures.
The dog had a grand time, we were out there for over three hours.  It was lovely.

For some reason Thing 1 loves to cover herself with wet sand and then dance around roaring, as a sand monster.


Thing 2 loves hunting for shells.


I thought collies in general don't like water, but Kelso was running into the waves up to his chest along with the girls. It didn't seem to bother him.


It was great to have all my charges happily playing in the sand.

So.  A funny thing.  In talking to my mother earlier in the week she reminds me I have a cousin and his family who live out here.  They've moved around a little and I lost track of where they are.  Turns out he's in San Jose.  I called to see if they want to do something while we're here, and his wife says she was planning on bringing their daughters - roughly the age of my kids - to Santa Cruz anyway.  And it so happens my cousin's mom, one of my favorite aunts, is visiting from Texas.  So they're all coming out tomorrow.  Kind of a mini family reunion!