California Trip

For many years growing up, my family would go to California for my dad's family reunion. Most of his cousins live there, so we'd all go and spend a week camping, and playing on the beach. For different reasons, I haven't been able to go in about 5-6 years and have really missed it! My parents, Maggie, Me, Levi, and Walter all decided to save our pennies and go this year. My parents rented a mini van and we hit the road! Renting a mini van was a really good idea. The west coast is full of terrible-aggressive drivers all driving cars that cost more than my house. And the parking is next to non-existent. I would have been very stressed out if we had been in two cars. It also saved a lot of money to only pay gas for one car.

Walter was a gem on the way down. He slept most of the way and loved to run around during bathroom breaks. 

We spent the whole week at the beach. It was fabulous. I'll say this about the coast--I love the weather. Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall-the weather is always around 50-70 degrees. The mornings have a beautiful, salty fog that fades away by mid morning for a day full of sunshine and swimming. If only it wasn't so crowded! But since we were used to the hot, dry Utah weather, it took a little bit of time to adjust to the warm, wet California weather.

Here I am trying to warm up by sticking my legs in my jacket.

Walter was NOT a fan of the water on the first day. It was too loud and too scary. If anyone tried to leave and play in the water he would start worrying and crying. I think he got that trait from Levi...Seeing Levi run into the water would be met with cries of, "Daddy?! Daaaaadddddddyyyyy!" He did not enjoy it at all. And he would have a conniption if he saw me trying to sneak away.

But you won't find a better audience member than Walt. He loved clapping for the ocean. For a long time, whenever a wave would hit the shore and he was paying attention, he'd start clapping furiously for the water.

Since it was super cloudy the first day and he spent most of it under the umbrella, we weren't great about applying sunscreen... The next day, he woke up looking like a raccoon who'd had a hard night. Under his eyes were burnt and stayed that way the rest of the week. It was so sad! We were a lot better after that...

We ate tons of good food! We went to Joe's Crap Shack, a bunch of tasty food stands, and a place called "Chronic Tacos." The first time we went, I got some delicious fish tacos, but they were way too hot for me. I ended up losing feeling in my lips. I could only eat one and it made me sad, because they were so good, just a little too dangerous for me. The next time, I just got a bland burrito. Boring and safe. 

Our camp site was right next to the coastal highway  (super busy) and the campground had about 1000 lights, but we all had the best nights of sleep. Walter was a great alarm clock. Every morning right around 7, we was patting my cheek saying, "Momma... Momma!" Waiting for me to get up. 

By the end of the week, Walter was a California boy. He would cry when we'd try to get him OUT of the water! I had thought it was too bad that he didn't like the water in the beginning...oh how I was mistaken. He got to the point where when he saw the water, he would run as fast as he could into it! We had to keep an eye on him constantly to make sure he didn't get tumbled. It was so cute! He'd still get worried when someone went out too far, but he had a lot of fun digging for sand crabs with me (even though he thought they were too scary to touch).

Levi, Maggie, and my dad hardly ever took a break from the water. And my mom and I spent a lot of time digging in the sand with Walter. We had so much fun and can't wait to go back, again!

 Walter loved to pick stuff up from the sand, put it in his mouth, and look at me for a reaction. Trouble.

 Sneaking treats from grandpa...

 He didn't like sand on his hands so he'd come up and have me take it off. However, he didn't seem to mind the sand in his treats. Needless to say, there were sandy diapers for about a week after the beach...

 The week before we went, my great-aunt, Phyllis, passed away. We weren't able to make it to her funeral, so we went and visited her grave on our way home. Here is a picture of me with my grandpa Jenkins and uncle Patrick.

Here's Walter's first encounter with the ocean...

And a few days later...

Our trip was so much fun! I can't wait to go again.