We Reached the Pacific!

Friday July 1st - After a long day at Disneyland the day before, sleeping in was a must.  Skipping breakfast is just fine though when In and Out Burger is on the menu for lunch!  Aunt Kim took us all out to In & Out Burger for my first and Nate's 2nd taste of the delicious California Burger chain.  It's pretty yummy if I do say so myself.  The franchise we went to is apparently almost too popular, cause the only way to eat at the restaurant was to stake out a spot on the grass, so we ended up having to eat our In-n-Out in the gorgeous California sun.  Bummer, huh?

After lunch, Uncle Greg took us out to Leo Carrillo Beach near Malibu, California, where we saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time on our trip! The smell of the salty sea, the sound of the waves and the beautiful views were wonderful.  We climbed on the rocks and through caves due to the low tide and searched for endless Hermit Crabs in the tide pools.

Outside Malibu

After a few rouge waves splashed us, Kathryn and I were getting cold so we all headed out to Neptune's Net, a local biker seafood joint, for a feast of fried seafood.  Then, after we worked hard to polish off our mounds of fried seafood, we headed to a dune off the highway to watch the sunset.  After working our butts off to get up the giant mound of sand, we sat and watched the sun head down over the ocean.  What a gorgeous way to end the day!  Oh, and while up there, we met two hippie-ish ladies who had also made it to the top to see the sunset, and ended up striking up a conversation when they asked us to teach them how to use the camera on their phone.  After getting some pics and being taught how their camera works, one of the women decided that she was going to let gravity assist her down the dune, so she proceeded to roll all the way down the sand dune.  Mind you, this dune is not made only of sand: there are some pretty nice sized rocks (yet another story), but she slowly rolled over all of them, right to the bottom of the dune.  We suspected that drugs might have had an impact, but who knows, maybe she was just naturally playful.  Synopsis of the evening: a great way to end the day, with crazy characters, excellent company, and a gorgeous view.  We love vacation.