We got there a few days early. Our beach house was not available until Saturday and we arrived VERY early Friday morning, so early that it was only an hour from Thursday. See my previous post here for info about that night�??s milestone. I couldn�??t wait to show Zoe the beach in Saturday but I did. We mostly hung out at Grandma Shirley�??s rental house until it was time to move to the beach. My Dad and Step mom were sharing the penthouse with us right on the water. They drove out on Saturday. Fred and Rachel (My oldest brother and his wife and my nephews had a small beach rental for just a few days and were already there when we moved to the beach.

When we traveled over, I took Zoe to the beach right away and was so excited to watch her contemplate the ocean. Whether or not that is what the look in her eyes was, remains a mystery. She could have been, for all I know, contemplating a poop. But I enjoyed the moment none the less. I even told her, �??This is the Pacific Ocean, someday I�??ll show you the Atlantic Ocean, too.�?�

The week started off OK. We were all systems go. Fred and his family hung out and we had a good time with all the family being together. I have fun with my nephews Alec and Jake but unfortunately am not able to see them as much as I would like.

Sunday morning we got up and I took Zoe for a walk to our favorite donut shop that is about 8 blocks form the beach house. It is a perfect walk distance and the donuts are big, VERY tasty and cheap. Best donuts ever. I even got the �??what a cute baby�?? discount. If you have a chance to try their apple fritters, do! They are 3 times the size and twice the flavor of the Starbucks ones at half the price. OK, the do look like a big cow pie but still are good eating.

The next big event of the week was finally taking Zoe down to the beach for the day. Momma bought a little inflatable play pool that I filled with fresh water each morning so it could warm up in the sun. All I can say is WOW! Zoe had a great time on the beach and loved the surf. The water was very warm for this time of year. There was one moment when I was putting her down in the water and picking her back up as the waves came in. Well, in classic Oldenburg fashion, I was telling myself how easy this was when a second wave came in just past the one I was concentrating on and SPASH, the wave rolled over her head soaking her and giving her a mouthful. I picked her up and said very, very quietly, �??don�??t cry, don�??t cry.�?� Because Momma was a few feet away observing the whole thing. Zoe gasped a few breaths and started smiling again. Whew! Dodged a bullet there. I thought Zoe�??s mouthful of sea water was gonna get Daddy a mouthful from Momma.

Other key points of the trip-

I got sick as a dog and was up all night on Sunday night with a gastro-intestinal issue. All I can say is �??how the @#$% can bulemics do it?�?� What a nightmare. I shook it off by Monday evening.

We went to the San Diego Zoo and Zoe had a BLAST! She loves animals.

The trip was too short, as usual. But I sure am glad to be back in the Arizona oven!

Lots of pics in the July album if you havent already seen them.

Categories: Rantings
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