Beach House 2008

ALL ACCORDING TO ISABELLE

So the trip started like any other trip......with a LONG ride in the car. Lucky for me, mom packed plenty of puzzles, movies, books, and even stopped by to pick up two of my favorite things....GRANDMAS. To make the grandmas fit in our car, mom moved my car seat to the middle and not being accustomed to this spot in the car...I got a little green in the gills. I threw up all over the car, all over Grandma Nan, and quickly mom stopped the car so I could air out my drawers and get some "fresh air."

(And although I was totally oblivious to the fact that my panties were blowing in the wind, I couldn't help but point out all the trash people left in the desert and how important it is to keep the planet clean...and the gravity that holds us to the planet...."and I think I just found a treasure amid the trash.......yep....it's a fairy broom and one penny that I can keep in my special box in the car.....when I am done with the fresh air." 45 minutes later we were back on the road. And I kept a bucket handy not to throw up in but simulate mommy spitting in it when she was pregnant.....that's the sure way of reminding everyone all the way to California that I was still a bit queezy.

Immediately upon arrival, I secured my title as Grandma Deanie's exclusive beach buddy.I discussed beach topics with her, helped her with computer questions, sand baths, and general vacationing topics.



We, as usual, hit it off immediately and spent hours just hanging out.

FINALLY A TITLE THAT SUITS ME: OLDEST AND IN CHARGE!
I took very seriously the role of being the oldest kid in the house. I let the babies know very early on that I was the responsible one to ask for drinks and snacks and that they could start right off by burying me in the sand.


I was the responsible one who had to make sure the babies didn't get out when I opened the door. They would stare longingly out the window and admire my ability to take care of myself. One time, I gave in and let Lauren out. Pretty soon, my mom came out and said, "Isabelle, you need to keep the door closed. You are the oldest, and you are in charge." Well, I had news for my mom. Although I love being in charge of these babies at the beach, I don't particularly love when my mom gets up in my business about how I take charge of stuff. Besides, she is always the first one to remind me at home that I can't turn on the stove by myself, run the food processor by myself, or carry Liv around as my personal doll because she said and MOM IS IN CHARGE. So I just calmly closed my eyes and pointed both fingers directly at my mom and said,



"I'M not the one in charge, YOU'RE the one in charge...."


"Now, you better go get Lauren.....she's runnin' down the street!"








Occasionally I had to clean up after them....along with every other patron using the beach board walk for that matter......I mean, someone has to keep this street clean! "KEEP THE SAND IN THE SANDBOX, KIDS!"




AT THE TIDE POOLS
We spent our traditional day at the tide pools in Corona Del Mar.

I took it upon myself to educate Connor on the patterns of the daily tides and the dangers of the open sea. I explained the swells of the foaming rip tides, and which creatures inhabit the pools' shallow bottoms, and let him know right away that the life jacket I wore would completely buoy me up in the event of a tsunami. Then I had to pass him off to Grandma Deanie while I went to check on my baby sister, Liv.

Imagine my surprise when I found her on the beach naked as a jaybird......























WHERE'S THAT STINKIN' MOM OF MINE?!!















She gave me some nonsense spill about how Liv got all wet and sandy and she had no choice but to let her be naked amid strangers but to be honest, I think she was just asleep on the job. So now what, mom, you need me to take care of her and everyone else here today?....I've got Connor out there alone.....and hermit crabs out there who need to be relocated with other crabs so they can be with their families.....I mean do I need to take care of everyone today?

Well, I had to go back to help Connor and I had no choice to leave Liv.....so I left her with Lauren.....and from the looks of things.....I left her in good company.

ON THE PIER



Most afternoons, mom, Liv, and I went on walks or bike rides just to talk and hang out.
We usually went down the board walk and then up the long pier that holds Ruby's Diner.










Inevitably, I would find a fisherman who was willing to give me a run through of his equipment and tackle.


He would fill me in on his particular bait of choice and what was biting on what. We would usually end this nightly exchange with me digging in his cooler to handle the livestock.






This particular day, the fishing was good and the fisherman was unusually friendly.


And he had good things in his ice chest.....

squid and anchovies.


Cool.





AT THE BEACH








Grandma Nan was always willing to hang with me at the beach and even take me in the huge waves.(Mom was always there too, but she can't prove that because she was usually behind the camera). Anyway, we would sit and watch the waves, dig for crabs or sea shells with twirls (like Gary's on Sponge Bob),and Liv, as usual, would be perfectly demure.


She's so cute!




BIKING WITH GRANDMA DEANIE


So one of the highlights of my week was biking with my mom, Grandma Nan, Grandma Deanie, and Liv in the trailer. We would constantly get stopped on the board walk by surfers who tell me, "cool bike, little girl." That's because A...it is cool and so am I, and B...because I ride tandem behind my mom. One day we made our biking a day-long adventure. We rode the entire board walk, then crossed over to Balboa Island on the fairy (not the same thing as the fairy that's small with wings...imagine my disappointment when I realized my mom left that minor detail out)! Anyway, we then rode up and down nearly every street on the island, looking at the cute houses that mirror princesses cottages, and checking out the spooky Halloween decorations.

My favorite house was this really random, out of place barn. Of course, being detail oriented (I take after my aunt Tate that way)......I had to get off my bike, go through the gate and well...






acquaint myself with the yard cow, obviously......and then get an apple off the apple tree, stop to admire the coordinating barn mail box....



....and then go back to close the gate.

LONG BEACH AQUARIUM

I have to hand it to mom, she definately knows my passions. I love going to the aquarium, and I can admire those stinkin' sharks for hours! And the weedy sea dragons were Grandma Deanie's and my favorite little things to see in the glass.













But as usual, the highlight of my aquarium visit is and will forever be


petting, loving, admiring, caressing, cooing at, in general getting as physically close as possible and in direct contact with THOSE RAYS! I LOVE THEM!








...oh, and feeding the starving birds they have at the aquarium.

THEY ARE ALWAYS SO HUNGRY!















Livy seemed to feel the same way about the aquarium as I do. She loved watching the fish swim in the tanks and wanted to grab at them all.



Overall, it was pretty much the coolest trip. In so many ways, it seemed perfectly tailor-made for a sophisticated tourist like myself.

We'll do it again next year, LADIES!