For those who don't live near Mandyland, Morro Bay is really close to home. As in, two of my sisters work there and we can drive there in under 30 minutes. At first I thought it would be a little lame, but after this weekend, I have to say that we can't wait to go back.We arrived early afternoon and found our site. I made a lot of rookie moves this weekend, which I'm going to blame on Gertrude* sucking all the oxygen out of my brain and rendering me with Pregnancy Alzheimer's. For the first time ever, I forgot Joseph's hat and sunblock. Normally I have a tube of sunblock in every known location. Ditto for hats. I tore apart our duffel bag, camping boxes and the cars searching for either item. The whole time, I was aware that the boy was playing outside the tent, exposed to UV rays. (Seriously...the kid takes after me. Two seconds in the sun and we're lobsters.)
Chad took me aside and said, "Look, why don't we just run over to Rite Aid." That's when I realized, there's a lot to be said for being literally less than five minutes from Rite Aid and Albertson's. (As was also noted when I realized I'd forgotten butter and orange juice.)After a quick trip to procure sun deflecting devices and yet another bug catching kit, we went to what we affectionately referred to as Seaweed Beach. We ran, we frolicked, we tried to catch bugs. Well, Chad and Joseph did all that while I waddled behind as Joseph yelled, "HURRY, Mommy! We have to catch Captain Daddy!" (Chad and Joseph were in full pirate mode brought on by a drive through the marina and a brochure for kayaking.)
After the beach, we went back to the campsite and chilled. Joseph sang songs while standing on a tree stump and played tee ball with Chad. I lounged around with my feet up, watching the show. After he tired of being athletic, he decided to take pictures of Mommy. We called Becky to invite her and Michael to come visit us the next day for our scheduled kayaking adventure.I forgot to mention that we brought Maggie Dog. Long story short on that front, she's too much a diva to enjoy camping. She pouted when she got tied up, paced when the wind blew the tarp and growled when the deer visited. She was not a happy camper.
The next morning, after breakfast, Joseph and I snuggled in the tent telling stories and waiting until Becky and Michael arrive.
Side note: Only my sister would show up to go kayaking wearing jeans and cowboy boots.
I thought Joseph was going to bounce all the way to the Kayak Shack. Chad was a bit hesitant about the whole thing. The water was choppy and the sky socked in with fog. But Joseph was so excited, he went along with the plan.
I brought my camera, but after looking at the water, I decided it was safer to leave it in the car. I'm glad I did. Between the salt water and the sand, it would have been destroyed. I did get one picture of Joseph in his life jacket before we left. The rest are mental pictures that I will always remember.We rented a tandem kayak with a child's seat in the middle. We only took one paddle since Chad was going to have to do the paddling. (Rookie move. We should have taken two just in case.) The best part came when it was time to get in. The dock hand held the kayak steady while Joseph and Chad stepped in. Then it was my turn. Imagine if you will, a heavily pregnant woman lowering herself and The Belly into a tiny piece of fiberglass floating level to the dock. The big questions was: Would I capsize us before we left the dock? Followed by: If not, would I sink us?
No to both, thank God.
After we got settled, we took off across the bay to Morro Strand. The wind worked against us, while the waves crashed around. The water was too choppy to see the bottom. If it had cleared up, we would have realized that for most of the trip across, with low tide, we were only in about five feet of water. Without being able to see the bottom, we might as well have been heading across a bottomless bay.
Chad got tired half way over so I took over. I know it's not Chad's favorite thing to do, but I love kayaking. There's something so zen about the paddling motion as you cut through the water. I love the quiet and the feeling that you're almost part of the water instead of trying to defeat it. It's what I imagine swimming would feel like if I could do it well.
Chad thinks there's a reason boats with motors were invented.
It took us 45 minutes, but we finally made it over to the strand. We let Joseph "paddle" the last two feet and then got out to explore the Strand.
Oh dear...looks like this is going to take two parts...
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