Laguna Beach, CA

The day after the Fiske wedding, Joel and I headed over to Laguna Beach, just a few minutes north of Dana Point along Highway 1. The town has a sort of Santa Cruz feel to it, with lots of funky shops and people wandering the streets in flip flops and bathing suits, boardwalk craft fairs and guys stripping out of their wetsuits in the middle of the beach... it was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect, and we decided to have a quick walk-around before starting the long, long drive back home. Joel tore off his shirt to try for a quick burn and jump-start his tan for Burning Man... not that I minded, of course.


The water was gorgeous, the weather was neither too hot nor too cool, and we just played around in the morning air, wishing we could stay longer.


And wishing we'd brought Ethan, too. We saw other toddlers there having a blast, and decided that we'd take him to the coast as soon as possible once we got back home. We also brought back some souvenirs for Stefanie, who was babysitting Ethan and loves collecting shells:


The only thing to mar our fun was when I stepped on something-- probably a bee or wasp-- and stung the bejeesus out of my right foot. It burned something fierce, and then when I stumbled away in pain to sit down on a nearby rock, I slid off of it and slammed into a scratchy outcropping, scraping my entire arm into a bruised road rash. Ouch! Lesson learned: wear water shoes at the beach, and look before you sit. Think I'll remember that for next time?