Santa Cruz, part 3

Or, How the Pastor Lost His Clothes

(scroll down for parts 1 & 2)

Finally, on Saturday, I was able to just sit on the beach and relax, watching the waves crash on the sand. Well, sort of. I had to keep an eye on Ethan and Tristan, who were playing tag with the waves; especially Tristan, who has no fear, and thinks he could run right into the water and keep going, all the way to China, or at least to Monterey, on the other side of the bay. They were having fun, though, and I was enjoying watching them.

It was Saturday, and I had to admit, it had been a pretty good day. The older boys had watched the younger boys while Ginger and I went to our Miracle Day meeting. Garfield Park Christian Church is just a few blocks from the ocean, and they walked down there and returned 2 hours later covered with sand and sea-water. Spencer's shoes were wet, and they were the only shoes he had, so I gave him mine for the rest of the day, even though they were a little big for him. I grabbed my sandals out of the car and wore them for the rest of the day.

Next, we drove to the boardwalk, and rode the rides. Not too many, but enough. Our ride tickets spent, we headed down to the beach to play in the sand before heading home.

After about twenty minutes, I watched Tristan get knocked over by a wave. He wasn't very happy about it, either. When a 3-year old spends the day playing in the ocean and riding rides on the boardwalk, and misses his nap, it doesn't take much. He complains that he's cold and wet. I tell him to take off his shirt (should have done that before he went to play, I know), and I give him his older brother's shirt. A short while later, older brother Ethan returns and wants his shirt, so of course, I give him mine. Now I've lost shoes and a shirt in just a few hours.

We walk back to the car, and wait for the older boys to finish riding rides so we can go home. (For teenagers, 100 rides wouldn't be enough.) I'm happy that we ended up at the State Park, which worked out perfectly. I'm happy to have spent a day with my family. I'm happy to now be heading home. And I'm happy that this too-mushy post is over.