Asakiyume mita

Oh it was so good, y'all.

I worried beforehand, as I always do. Weather dot Gov said it'd be smokey, and also a little chilly, and also that there were riptides the day before. The surf was supposed to be rough (but good for surfing). The water was cold. I was still so worn down on Tuesday. Was it really worth driving all that way?

But we did and yes, it was worth it. Reminder for next year's Kai: 71F water and 75F day is perfect. And while yes, we drove through a lot of smoke (Florida and the entire SE is currently on fire), and there was even smoke in the Publix parking lot just a stone's throw from the beach, the beach itself was fine. I was right that the constant breeze off the water would keep it clear.

It was a hazy day, though. Thin clouds so the sun was never in full force which, again, perfect. I don't particularly care for those scorching hot beach days, where the only respite is the water and your skin is cooked within minutes. We put on sunscreen just once and were there 3 hours; my face feels a little warm this morning, but no visible sun burns.

CG came with us; I offered her the choice Tuesday night and the girl had to actually think about it. Us was me and my MIL -- she leaves next week so I wanted to take the chance to go to the beach while she was still here.

CG and I attacked the waves. I was extra careful at first, what with the red flag warning and all the rip tide warnings, so we didn't go out further than she could stand. It was high tide, so that left us a lot of space to swim and play. She's gotten so good about going with the waves. She'd get hit and go under and then pop up a few seconds later laughing.

Unfortunately she lost her goggles toward the end. She was absolutely distraught. I tried to find them, but, well. She ended up calming down by drawing in the sand with MIL, which brought out the delightful proclamation: "playing in the sand is fun!"

I got a last swim by myself; swam hard out into the deeper parts then just let the waves crash over me. I could've stayed for another hour, but I'd promised CG ice cream on the way home and we had a 5yo to pick up.

i swear, the ocean healed me. I'd been so so tired that morning and still congested, but by the time we left I was... fine? I should've been exhausted because I'd been straight up swimming in chilly water for almost 3 hours, but no. The older I get, the more I've realized that I need to be in the water more: pools, lakes, rivers, oceans, whatever I can get. I'm glad CG is old enough to go with me; I'm hoping 5yo will at least learn to swim this summer (well, without floaties). Because I can't wait to take both of them.