Ocean Side Holiday

First I'll point out that this post is pretty late, but I'm a busy girl. Also, I'm a beach lover and despite all the warm weather, not once had I made it out to the beach, at least until now. The decision to cram all possible beach activities in one day was obvious. You should have seen the grin on my face as I realized that this day would be the opportunity that I'd been looking for. Seeing as how I had a day off, no plans, and willing participants, well that's all you need for a fabulous day/night at the beach.

I wasn't kidding when I said my day on the sand would begin at 7, well it was more like 8am, but you get the point. The immediate mission was to locate and claim a spot worthy of our intents. This process is like staking your flag in the sand as though you have discovered this area for the day. Looking around we weren't the only ones taking part in this ritual. Some left a lawn chair or sleeping bag out, while other claimed their area with a simple beach umbrella. The tedious part is hulling all the goods from the car to that designated spot, but it's worth it.

It was a beautiful day accompanied by friends and family. The most eventful part of the day was watching my nephew Xavier fearfully discover the ocean water. This was his first encounter with hot afternoon sand and cold water. It took some convincing, but he finally stopped trying to run away from the tide.

Below are my favorite captures from the day...

Xavier and his Godmother, Veronica

Grandma's lesson

Little Angel

Serene

Despite the cooking and busy bee things that I do, I'm thankful for moments like this. Thank God for beautiful sunsets that are capable taking us to a happy place if only we take the time to notice.
To close out the day we fired up some logs and roasted marshmallows. It was a perfect oceanside holiday.

Joys of the Open Road

I love to get bitten by the spontaneity bug because the aftermath is always so much fun. One of my favorite places to drive up to is Big Sur in Northern California. It's about a 5 hr drive, but every minute. Getting there is half the fun when paired up with a great set of friends!

Our first stop was Nepenthe a Greek Cafe that sits atop a cliff. Due to the sporadic rain we were force to dine indoors.

Any road that leads to an ocean view is fine with me :)

This one is just plain silly....

Ian was taking advantage of the quickly rising tide.

Ryan actually got trapped in the water while standing on a single rock! This was the precursor.

I love this candid portrait of Elyse. This is definitely my favorite from the trip.

Thanks Elyse for this lovely picture of Ryan & myself.