Turns Out, It Was Not a Nude Beach

So, the other day, I took my children to the beach as we often do. When we moved to Northern California, we committed to taking advantage of living near the ocean, so we’re doing it. BOY are we doing it. (see: feces and sharks, below). The closest beach town (Santa Cruz) is less than an hour away from where we live. Apparently, to people who know these things, the beaches in Santa Cruz are, like…fine, but not extraordinary. Keep in mind that people out here weekend to Hawaii, because it’s a quick-ish, cheap-ish trip, and have all been to all the SOCAL beaches where celebrities surf, as well. Regardless, we are enamored by the local beaches. They have sand AND water, so we’re good.

I decided to try a new beach in Santa Cruz this time. One that has, in my mind, taken on a bit of a legendary status. A friend mentioned offhandedly months ago, that whenever she goes to this particular beach in July or August, she “always sees whales, dolphins, seals, and other cool stuff.”

To my mind, seeing a whale in the wild is the coolest, most alien-encountery, exotic thing that can happen inside my little life. This spring, we traveled further south down the coast and DID see whales from a very, very long ways away, and it was amazing.

But THIS beach in Santa Cruz that my friend had described, was going to afford me close-up views of all the things. Never mind that THIS beach was only ten minutes down the coast from our usual beaches, which feature nary a whale(y).