There’s no place like home

When you are on vacation, do you look forward to returning home — or do you want vacation to last longer?

Quest for the best dolphin video

This was the winner of y best dolphin video quest during our recent beach vacation.

My husband and I named our August 2022 beach vacation, “The summer of dolphins.” Despite the sadness of sea lions infected with toxic Domoic Acid, that I wrote about HERE, the dolphins were thriving.

Every day we saw dolphins. I was mesmerized watching them. I love to watch them cruise, leap and play. One teenager was swimming along with mom and dad. He’d roll over on his back and do a backward flip — showing off.

This video was taken on our second to last night. The water was like glass, the sunset shimmering pink reflected on the sea. You can see the dolphins tails as they dive.

We decided the best times of our vacation were:

Evenings at the beach during our last week

The visit with our son and his girlfriend

Farmer’s market fruits and vegetables

Dinners with friends

Fresh seafood

What are your best memories from vacations?

We’re having a heat wave!

Showing off my new boogie board.

It’s hot. Hotter than at my home in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona and we are at the beach. It topped 104 degrees in Santa Barbara yesterday. The only cool place to be is in the ocean.

Taking the advice of fellow blogger of Living in the Gap, Cheryl Oreglia, I bought a boogie board. She didn’t say “buy a boogie board.” She asked if we’d done anything spontaneous lately. If you don’t follow her or read her blog, you’re missing out. She has her first book under contract that will be released in 2023. You can find out more from her latest posts.

I haven’t been in the ocean for several years. First it was my knee surgery from a ski accident. That was 2018 and I was sporting the heavy ACL brace you see on NFL players. Not a good thing for the ocean. Then I worried about waves and babied my knee the next year. The following year there were the Great White Sharks.

I watched my son’s girlfriend surf for hours every day while they visited. She inspired me. I remembered the days when I’d ask the lifeguards to watch my kids while I swam out to a buoy or did a bit of boogie boarding. Then I boogie boarded with my kids as they got older.

The other day, I was hot and I wandered into the ocean knee deep to cool off. It dawned on me — my knee is okay. Also, I had cataract surgery. I don’t have to worry about losing my hard contact lenses that I wore from seventh grade to age 59! Woohoo! One drop of water on my eyes and I’d lose my contacts. It really restricted my ocean adventuring.

I decided to rent a boogie board where my son’s girlfriend rented her surfboard — at the surf shop a quarter mile down the beach from where we hang out. $15 for one to three hours. But I was at the grocery store when I saw a boogie board on sale for $15 because it’s the last weekend of summer. Tough choice.

So I did it. I got back into the ocean after four or five years and I feel like a kid again. The perfect end to our beach vacation. Even with the heat wave. Or especially BECAUSE of the heat wave.

I caught a wave! A little one, but I’m back!

Heatwave, Ella Fitzgerald.

Are you having a heat wave? How do you survive the heat?

Have you done anything spontaneous lately? What was it?

Amazing sights!

This is what a sea lion does when it’s stressed. It raises its neck and head off the sand.

Sea lions, dolphins and terns — amazing sights I’m enjoying.

I wrote about the Domoic Acid poisoning that is affecting the sea lions last week. If you missed it, you can read it HERE.

My husband and I encountered a second sea lion in distress a few days later. I called the marine life rescue hotline to report it. Within minutes, volunteers were out staking signs and yellow crime tape to cordon off an area around the sea lion. One woman was the same volunteer I had met the week before. She reminded us to leave the sea lion alone, because they often die from stress if they are suffering from the toxins.

I was infuriated to watch people who let their dogs off leash, walk in front of the signs and tape with their dogs barking at the sea lion.

This is the sea lion in a relaxed, non-threatened position.
I called the rescue hotline for this sea lion.

Now for the truly amazing sights of a flock of terns at the beach:

My husband walking down the beach with the terns.

I spotted the terns way down the beach. They looked like a solid white stripe across the beach where the sea lion sat the day before.

I was afraid they were munching on the sea lion’s carcass, but fortunately that didn’t seem to be the case. I’ve read about terns and they like lagoons and canals.

The terns were in front of this canal. Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’s home. Here’s an article with more pics.
Another view of the terns.

What amazing sights have you seen this week?

Life at the beach

Another foggy day at the beach.

People who live here year-round complain it’s been too cold this summer. We’ve had foggy days with small slivers of sunshine peeking through. On some days there’s no sunshine.

That is fine by me. I’m loving the cool weather for beach walks. It’s such a contrast to our desert life. Also, the tiny house doesn’t have AC, so it’s better to have cool weather than hot.

I read in the news that Interstate 10 washed out near the border of Arizona and California. We missed wild weather.

I’m hoping the road will be fixed before we drive home. The alternate routes are hours longer! Plus one alternate route closed due to downed power poles and lines.

Maybe we’ll be stuck here at the beach in the tiny town of Summerland.

What has your August weather been like? Is it unusual or more of the same?

We watched a pod of dolphins playing during our afternoon walk.

Beach Scenes

beach umbrellas
We made it to the beach!

Here are a few photos and videos from our Southern California beach vacation.

Santa Claus Lane beadcg
This is our favorite beach for walks, swimming, and hanging out. It’s also home to Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher and at one time Ellen DeGeneres.

The beach below our Vrbo. I love watching the dog herding its horse.
White egrets social distancing at the beach
Social distancing.
Carpinteria mural. World's safest beach.
A mural on the side of a building downtown Carpinteria.

driftwood wedding arch on the beach
Beach wedding. The groom made the archway for his bride.

Waves.

What are your favorite things to do at the beach?

It’s all about the sea

Cloudy day at the beach with sun peeking through
Evening at the beach during a cloudy day, looking north. University of California Santa Barbara is at the furthest point of land in the distance.

Our vacation is centered around the ocean. Every morning we start the day with a long beach walk. Then after the strong rays of sunshine and crowds leave the beach, we head back to sit, read and walk some more.

Yesterday was cloudy and I wasn’t sure about going to the beach in the evening. I thought it would be too cold. But it was quiet and peaceful, except for the roar of the ocean. I sat watching perfect wave after wave curl into a barrel. Only two other families were at the mile long beach. I felt so thankful to be here on vacation.

beautiful blue sea and sky that matches
Walking south during the cloudy day. I loved how the blues of the water and sky matched.

One thing that surprises me is that our friends who live here don’t take advantage of the beach. One friend said she’d like to join me for a beach walk this weekend. That she hasn’t walked on the beach since last time we were here! I think that was last August. To give her credit, they do own a sailboat and sail one day per week.

I know if I lived here I’d make it to the beach every single day. At least for my morning walk. I wouldn’t take it for granted having lived for 35 years in the desert.

Where you live do you take your environment for granted? Or do you try to enjoy it to the fullest?