Eat Your Heart Out, Wordsworth

Today was a very warm day on the Central Coast. My town, which only occasionally makes it out of the 60-degree range, hit 80 today. After dinner, my husband proposed a kayaking adventure across the bay to the dunes. Actually, he had planned to just take the boy, but then the girl was rather alarmed at such an adventure happening without her. So, in the end, after much discussion and boat adjustments, we all four headed out.

We live just a few blocks from the bay, and we got there just before sunset. We lauched just as the sun dipped below the dunes, and as we paddled, the sky turned pink, purple, and orange--as did the water. All the while, the moon (full?) was rising behind us. We saw bat rays, otters, seals, birds, and fish.

When we got to the dunes, it was pretty dark, and the kids were giddy. It was so funny watching their little silhouettes running around with that excited little run they get. You know that run? The straight-armed one? The boy asked if his friends were probably asleep and was thrilled at the idea that he was scrambling on the dunes while they slept. We made it to the top of the dune where we could look out and see the ocean and a long stretch of coastline.

We headed back down to the bay's edge so that the boy could fish for a bit while the hubby had a beer and the girl had a juice box. Then the girl did lots of log rolls down the dune hills.

On the way back across the bay, the moon was directly ahead of us, and the water was just about as glassy as it could be. And it was still close to 70 degrees. We made it back to the shore and the car just before the kids (read: the girl) got too tired and too uncomfortable. After a bath and a bit of The Secret Garden, they were out.

All in all, just incredible. (And although I didn't take this picture, it is a photo of the place where we kayaked tonight.)