We couldn’t drive all the way across the United States and not go the rest of the distance and see the Pacific Ocean. We visited Ecola State Park to get a little beach time. The water was cold, but that didn’t keep the surfers away. Despite the cold the girls played along the edge of the water until they just couldn’t help but get completely drenched. They also enjoyed arranging stones on the sand to dry out a bit. The day was pretty overcast, but tons of fun.

We would have loved to camp in this state park because the trees and ferns were just beautiful, but we needed to cover some distance that evening. We hung out for a couple of hours to get our sand and salt fill, stretch our legs, and accomplish seeing the pacific ocean.

The Mama got her feet wet too, but she resisted the complete drenching the girls enjoyed.

The coastline was beautiful and we were treated to the view of a distant lighthouse.

Beautiful Beach, Beautiful Girls!

We try to go to the beach once per trip to Miami. It takes a little while to get to the beach so we try to make the most of it when we go. This trip it was just the girls, Grandma, and Mama at the beach. We set up our shade, got some photos, and then played in the water.

Julia kept trying to swim in the ocean like she did in the pool and she ended up with pretty red eyes. She just kept trying though. One game the girls played was to carry wet sand into the ocean and rub Grandma and Mama’s arms with the sand. It was like our own trip to the spa. Emily asked several times to go out in the deeper water with Grandma. For having simple cups to dig in the sand the girls just stayed busy and happy for a long time. Everyone seemed to enjoy the sunny, fun day tremendously.

Two flowers that Mama would pick!

Enjoying the sun and surf!

Our Ju Ju girl!

Sun-kissed water and girl.

Digging in the sand. The ocean was destroying as fast as they were building, but that didn’t deter them.

Our shady spot, but we didn’t spend much time there. While the day was hot, the water felt great!

Playing with Grandma in the ocean.

We visited the beach for some fun in the sun. It is amazing how entertaining sand and water can be. The weather was beautiful and we had a great breeze. The girls had a blast. Julia knew she was tired and almost took a nap under the palm trees. We tried to build a sand castle, but filling a hole with water was much more interesting. Another favorite of the girls was pretending we were on a pirate ship.

I wonder what Emily was thinking as she looked out over the ocean.

Watching the Ocean, originally uploaded by Robby Edwards.

Cape Cod National Seashore, August 2007