Just Beachy

As per tradition since moving away from California, we spent one of my visiting days on the coast! Monday morning, SheShe, Omi, Parker and I hit up Starbucks, then headed to the Sunny Beach!

Is the Sunny Beach an actual location? Well, no. But whenever we did beach days when I was little, my mom would refer to our destination as the Sunny Beach. It wasn't until I was probably ten that I realized the Sunny Beach was a made-up name. SheShe is still very disturbed about this, and repeatedly told Parker while we were on our way that we were actually headed to Santa Cruz, you know, lest he grow up confused like we did :)

We made a stop at not-so-sunny Moss Landing on the way over.

Here we took Parker for his first meal at Phil's. 

He approved of the clam chowder. 

And I'm still dreaming of my crab salad and garlic bread.

Next it was time for the beach! Little man loooooves the water, and thought that the ocean waves were the best thing ever. He would wave at the Pacific, then make the bird sign at the seagulls.

Just pure happiness!

We had actually only planned on looking at the water this first time down, since Parker didn't have his swim gear on...

However little man made it clear he wanted all-in when he plopped himself down and proceeded to put his face in the water (I'm guessing he wanted to blow bubbles like he does in the pool and in the tub). 

So we changed Parker into his swim gear and he bee-lined it back to the ocean. Speaking of bees, I was stung by one out on the beach! Not a single sting in thirty-one years, and just as we were cleaning up my sister pointed to me and informed me I had a bee on my leg. As soon as she said it I knew I felt something, and looked down to see the stinger! I was surprised that the sting didn't hurt, but I felt pain afterward. When I told husby about it later, he said some insects have a numbing agent that's released when they sting, which is why that part I barely felt (#husbyknowseverything). Kudos to my mom for getting the stinger out!

Parker could have stayed by the water all. day. long. He is such the beach baby, and is totally living up to his Pisces label! He would have run straight into the Pacific if we had let him.

After the water, Parker and SheShe did some sand play, and Parker got nice and messy. I had read online that baby powder helps take off sand. I even think someone had told me this back in college when I was living on the beach in Santa Barbara. For some reason I never tried it until this day. Hello, life changer! Clean, sand-free baby skin instantly! Y'all, if you haven't tried this yet, you must! 

We ended our time by hitting up the Boardwalk for our favorite rides, including the Carousel and the Log Ride (me and SheShe only for that one). We had to make one last stop before heading home, ice cream cones from Marianne's which is a must on our traditional beach day menu. Not five minutes into the drive back, Parker was fast asleep.

My sweet California baby!