Pura Vida, Back to a Quieter Life…..

After the last few weeks of putting boats, an rv, and vehicles to bed for the winter, last minute visits with friends and family that I won’t be seeing for months, and traveling to CA, NC, FL and finally CR, I spent a very mellow relaxing first day home. I leisurely unpacked, read the news, organized my sh*t, and took a beach walk with my favorite human and canine buddies. Cousins and neighbors, Maleska and Briana, who are quite good friends as they are now the rich old age of seven are with us. Gone are the squabbles and rivalry of the past, replaced by a shared exuberance for life and comradeship of family. 

Dabbling with "Abuela-hood" (grandmother)

The girls often wander over and hang out with us. I sometimes come up with a garden or baking project they can help with, which they adore. I also have some coloring books and card games. Although more and more they show up with their phones and play video games. A sign of the times....

Chattering constantly, they sprint through the foam washing up the playa, climbing up on rocks and driftwood. Meanwhile, the dogs trot along sniffing out interesting odors and tearing after the occasional shorebird. We take the (human) girls to our favorite tide pool where we dunk into the bubbling, swirling water created by the offshore waves. Briana and Maleska love to clamber up the rocks, then jump into the pool, as well as getting swept along with the current. We walked further where they shimmied up a huge branch of a driftwood tree. Ray and pushed the base of the branch up and down giving the girls a “ride” as the branch bucked up and down. 

A BIG hit is when Ray lets the girls climb up on
his shoulders and dive/bellyflop into the water

As we forded several rivers emptying out along the shore, the girls gleefully allowed themselves to ride the current toward the sea. It’s kind of amazing that their parent prefer to hang out at home and either watch tv or play with their phones rather than walk this magnificent beach and enjoy it. I guess you take it for granted when you’ve lived on the beach your whole life. 

Somehow, the girls often show up at mealtimes. They love to do the
dishes afterwards. If we're not eating they often
ask for cereal with milk and sugar, which seems to be
quite a novelty for them.