Spring Break.  A long-beloved American tradition. When the rest of America is contaminated with cabin fever, the only cure is a break from the cold to a warm dry place. Lucky for Lea and me, we happen to live in such a place and our family came to visit for their Spring Break!

My folks tagged along with my step-brother Matt’s family, and JP made the long flight down from San Francisco to rally at the Shangri La in Santa Monica.  Since they spent most of their Saturday traveling, we grabbed dinner at the local izakaya-style watering hole, complete with a private back nook where we had to remove our shoes and sit on the floor to eat (you don’t get that in Iowa).  I was expecting sushi, but no such luck.  Instead we got a dozen traditional Japanese dishes that we otherwise would have never tried, had we any other option.  Typical dumb luck – it was great!

Our plan for Sunday started with an ocean-side brunch at Geoffrey’s in Malibu.  You know you’re on vacation when you get champagne in your orange juice for breakfast.

Brunch was good, but I was chomping at the bit to get these kids squeezed into wetsuits and out to sea.  By the looks of things, they were excited too. Even though it was the kids’ first time to the Pacific Ocean, they instinctively knew that the only way to get in is to RUN.

Big kids, too. 🙂

 

I’ll never forget my first time boogie boarding in San Diego when I was Joe’s age.  It was the experience that inspired me to later move to California. I failed to get Jodi in the water, which is a shame because she’s the one who taught me the art of catching a wave.  I can still hear her words,”Wait until you feel the water start to pull back at the bottom of your legs.  Then when the wave starts to push the top of your body forward, jump on the board and kick like crazy!”  For the rest of that week I spent every possible minute in the water.

Some recent storms have shifted the sandy sea floor at Zuma Beach, which has developed a deep trench right off shore, followed by a shallow sandy peak where the waves break.  The result is a strong current that runs perpendicular to the beach.  Not the best conditions for learning how to boogie board.  But like I said, since this was their first time, they wouldn’t know the difference and had fun with it anyway.  (They would also get more opportunities later in the week to redeem this sub-optimal experience).

Back at the beach, the girls (and Bob) were probably talking about hair and makeup and whatever it is they talk about when they get together; with an occasional glance to the sea to take a headcount.

Matt makes the word “beach” a verb, he does it so well.

In fact, he does pretty much everything well.  Cooler over the shoulder through the hotel lobby… Does this guy know how to Spring Break, or what?  This is gonna be a good week!