C D C?

Do you remember the first time you saw the ocean? It's interesting that the earth is covered with so much water and yet there are many people who live their whole lives without seeing the sea.

 My little sister Valorie came to visit for the Labor Day weekend--she's the ideal guest: kind, funny, low-maintenance, an oatmeal connoisseur  and comfortable with silence (sometimes you run out of things to say for awhile).  I didn't realize she hadn't been back to the beach since our family trip to San Diego in 1979. She was just a baby and doesn't remember a thing. I was 16--I am the WAY older sister.

So I made it my quest to get her to the ocean.  I was worried that it would be crowded due to the holiday but we left early enough in the day to beat the lolly-gaggers. Just as we pulled up to the free parking area for Torrey Pines, someone fortuitously pulled out of the perfect parking spot and we pulled in.

"It's so big" is the first thing she said. "Look how it drops off at the horizon--no wonder explorers were afraid they would fall off the edge!" I was in Big Sister heaven enjoying her joy in seeing the ocean and exploring the beach for shells. We found a few shells for her to take home--to mark the occasion--this time she is old enough to remember.