There is something quite wonderful about waking to the sound of seagulls calling for their breakfast sandwiched between the two loves of your life. She has her leg jammed some place between my last rib and my lung and his nose is exactly one inch from mine as I open my eyes. "Today is going to be a good day," announces my son as he pops up from slumber land, lets his sleeping doll drop to his pillow, and opens the hatch above the bed so he can pop his head out like a gopher. The air is cool. I turn on the space heater that I turned off because I am a total nerd and nervous about space heaters in small locations. Time for breakfast of Trader Joe's Os and rice milk.
The first order of business is to go to the beach. It is cold and cloudy, June Gloom, as we emerge from the belly of the sail boat. The beach is absent of people at 8:43 am making the way clear to kick off our shoes and run at full throttle towards the subtle waves. The water is really cold. My surfer dude peels off his sweatshirt and belly flops in the cold water despite warnings. He runs back up on the beach and rolls in the sand to make sand angels. My gal is more careful in her approach feeling the sea foam in her fingers and pulling a seashell out of the damp area left by a receding wave.
The best privilege of staying at the marina is the key to the bath house just off the beach. The kids warm up with a shower, and we wonder down to the Shoreline Village. It is 10:30, and they are apparently starving. Well, I guess their internal clocks are not too off as it is 11:30, lunchtime, at home. We wonder the Long Beach shore up to a park with three giant curved bridges and an arena fully surrounded in an aquatic mural. We discover the movie theater and conference hall just as the restaurants begin to shake out their napkins and open their doors for business. Near the aquarium, the kids get really excited to see Bubba Gumps. Shrimp all shrimp. All the shrimp they ever dreamed of. We order the combo sampler and a side salad for mom. We pass the Forest Gump trivia and get free raspberry lemonades for the kiddos. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.
Life is good, our tummies are full, the sun is peeking out from behind the clouds, and grandpa will meet us in thirty minutes at the aquarium. What a great afternoon at the fabulous Aquarium of the Pacific. The seal tunnel was a highlight as school girls showed us that if you hold a bright object to the glass, the seals will investigate it with their noses. I seriously almost cried seeing my daughter's face as the seal placed his nose right on the other side of the glass in her palm. Of course that is not saying much as I felt the same awe of a beautiful moment when Surfer Son finally touched a shark in the petting tanks and lit up with satisfaction.
The day came to a close after a stroll back to the boat for dinner. Early to bed after reviewing the driving direction to the pinnacle of our trip. The day is almost here. And, as a good mother would do, I kept that a secret as I tucked the little ones in bed. And why, you ask, would I not tell them of the excitement that will unfold in the morning? Well, it is simple, sleep. We must sleep. Goodnight.
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