This is quite an old post that’s been sitting in my drafts – August 8th! It was the first time this summer that I went to the beach. It’s just crazy because now it’s the end of September, and it’s going to get cold soon here. The boyfriend and I went to Crystal Cove State Park and spent the entire day there, from morning till evening. The weather was perfect for a beach day since it was scorching hot at home (but definitely cooler at the beach since there is water and breeze ).

Besides lounging around in the shade of our cute umbrella (which belongs to my mom – oh the many years that umbrella has provided fun under the sun…and shade!), we had fun splashing around in the water. Isn’t it fun to just indulge in the things you used to do as a kid – or *gasp* never did as a kid, but should have? I never built moats or big holes in the sand when I was a kid. Letting the inner kid out sometimes is fun.

After a long walk on the beach (ha ha, love how dating ads always throw in the long-walks-on-the-beach part), we finally got to the tide pools I had been wanting to visit for a long time! I could never go there before since it would be high tide covering the area up. There were all sorts of little critters – tiny crabs, fish, sea urchins, sea anemones, and TONS of barnacles & mussels. It killed me to see parents and kids just picking them up though – remember, look but don’t touch!!! The intertidal zone is a hardcore area where the waves crash, and it’s variably wet/dry! So when these little guys latch onto a rock they call home, you might be leaving them to death after you pry them off of their rock.

I just love the rocks; they’ve been shaped so delicately by mother nature’s waves.

There’s a huge hill you have to trek up and down from to reach the beach, but it makes a great spot for looking at the entire beach. I’m gonna say it might be our tradition to just take a picture of ourselves there in the same spot every time we go and see ourselves age progressively.

We had a picnic dinner in a cute little lookout spot. Cold leftovers just taste so yummy when you’re at a gorgeous beach and hungry! We finished up eating & cleaning up and then we just sat together on a picnic bench to watch the sun go down. It was really sweet seeing other families and old couples doing the same thing. I hope to be like those old couples one day and be able to happily watch the sun go down with my life partner.