Another Summer Daze

We have family visiting this weekend, so we went down to two different beaches here on the Point to check out the summer traffic.  Sunny, blue sky, a beach, no traffic, no requirements of me of any significant sort: the kind of day that seems like whatever it is that lies at the heart of our dreams of how lovely and shining life can be.

First we went to visit Lily the llama down near Freeman Beach and took her for a walk on an absolutely deserted beach.  Hard to know why there were no people along this stretch, but there were none but the six of us.  A few birds in the water; a sailboat a ways out; a big cruise or ferry-sized ship much farther out.

Then we went to South Beach, where Mt. Baker was looming to the east as if it had a special spotlight on it.  That beach was filled with half a dozen or so families in bathing costume, sitting in beach chairs, kids digging in the sand. Entirely iconic.  A two-year old tottering around at the water's edge discovered how to throw stones into the water and then a goofy little dog showed up to chase after her stones.  She threw, the dog raced after it but never found it, as it quickly became just another rock in the water; she threw again, the dog raced, and again and again.  She looked over her shoulder at her parents to see if they liked that she had discovered, maybe invented, an absolutely brand new in the whole world activity, but they weren't paying all that much attention.  A big moment in her life, but she won't really remember it for long.

Then we went up to Dylan's and ordered up a lot of ice cream cones.  Finally, home in order to loll around for awhile before we cooked up some dinner.  Saturday in July.  Calm, sunny, lovely.  Lucky us.