Birthday Date

Last month I saw a deal for kayaking at the La Jolla Caves. My Dad loved taking us white water rafting as kids and has always been an active tourist. Spence and I thought it would be fun to kayak with my parents as a late birthday present for my Dad.

We were set up with life jackets and helmets. We really did not know what to expect but were so excited to try. First we had to paddle hard out over a rough breaking set of waves. We positioned ourselves toward the back of the line as we were set in pairs, two to a kayak. The wind was cold and the water a cool 60*. One couple ahead of us were tossed by the waves and sent back to shore to try again.

Of course, we all made it out to sea easily. It was a good feeling working together paddling for our lives, OK, not our lives, but not to be drenched by frothy waves. Our tour guides were fun leading us to the 7 sea caves in the ecological reserve. I loved the rise and fall of the ocean even though it made me a bit sea sick. We learned about brown pelicans, Garibaldi (the state fish), sea lions and Brandt's Cormorants. A brown pelican just hanging out in the ocean floated by 4 feet away.

We love having new inside jokes with my parents. We laughed at each other's paddling techniques, or lack thereof. Paddling back in to shore was tricky. You had to keep your kayak straight or the waves would toss you out. My parents were dumped in. Spence and I totally made it, barely. There were instructors in the waves shouting at us how to paddle and when to lean back to ensure safe arrival. We were all laughing feeling triumphant on shore.

Best double date ever. Thanks Mom and Dad!