Life's a Beach

Today, with a million and one things yet unchecked on my to-do list, I decided it was a fine time to go to the beach.  I am one of those terrible Californians upon whom the beach is entirely wasted;  I cannot tell you the last time I set foot in the ocean.  I live fifteen minutes from the shore but rarely visit.  Strangely enough, I find it immensely reassuring that it is there.  I have recurring nightmares about being landlocked and am glad to wake up knowing that the coast is close and clear.  As infrequently as I visit the beach, I truly appreciate the beauty and activity of nature.  Therefore, we motored down the coast to Calafia Beach in San Clemente.  The thing that I love about beaches in south Orange County is their feeling of remoteness and timelessness.  To get to this beach one must drive through a neighborhood, go down a winding hill and cross the train tracks.  The beach was populated by only a few surfers and photographers and was the perfect setting for the near-perfect weather we were enjoying today.

As soon as the train passed, we decided to hike a short ways back into a miniature canyon.

The walls of the canyon were very soft and upon closer inspection, they were heavily carved by others who had taken the same trail.

Knowing that we would not cause permanent damage to the canyon walls (we could see previous carvings that had been diminished by the rain), we thought we should leave our mark on the canyon too.  Ever the Girl Scout, Mary whipped out her pocket knife and we started carving.

On a good day my level of humor is "3rd grade bathroom."

We ended our mini adventure by hitting up some of the local thrift stores.

I found this Frankoma Pottery refrigerator jug

 I also found these two vintage neckties for just $1 each!

We also stopped in at Pedro's Tacos; hands sown, the BEST potato taco I have ever had.  I'm thinking maybe it is because the potato content is hashbrowns.

I think I'm going to have to visit San Clemente more often!


Cheers!

Mr. Tiny