On Monday Neil went on a field trip that ran until 6 pm. Kelly was too young to tag along if I were a chaperone, so we had our own field trip and went to the beach.
Everyone has a favorite beach. Peter loves the windy overcast beaches on the coast south of Half Moon Bay, where he can take pictures, we can fly kites, and follow it by squelching in with wet shoes to a British pub where we can drink good beer and dry off in front of a roaring fire. Some people like the Santa Cruz Boardwalk beach, because it’s close and easy to get to, and gives you an amusement park behind you. Some people like Capitola Village where you can get an ice cream cone, or browse boutiques in between beach time. Some people like Seacliff Beach because it has a nature center and a lot of places for picnic barbecues. And some people like Sunset or Manresa beaches because they’re not so crowded, and you can easily find seashells and sand dollars on it. But my personal favorite is New Brighton Beach. It’s just past the Capitola Village beaches, making it close in for me, and it’s just pure beach: all sand and surf, and a view that stretches from the boats moored at the Capitola Village beach all the way to the edge of Moss Landing.
I was feeling a little blue. Kelly’s not going to Neil’s school, and I don’t know what the teachers and parents will be like at her new school. And the fact that she was near the very bottom of the wait list had me feeling she’d somewhat been rejected, even though the placement had more to do with circumstance and luck than anything personal. The beach is the perfect place to have fun and forget your worries.
It was a gorgeous day at the beach: warmer and sunnier than it often is in the summer. Kelly and I built sandcastles, looked for sea shells to decorate them, and skipped through the surf. It was time to go back home all too soon. If Kelly weren’t sick today, we’d be back at New Brighton again today.