Made it to OB this morning, just Noah and I. Maman stayed home to get some more sleep as she’s caught the nasty throat infection I’m still trying to shake. I picked up some natural Cs with sundrops dripping from the sky. It was a great time to get in a little kicky ball, our first since arriving in California.
Lots of surfers in the water and people out for a Saturday morning stroll. Jehann and his parents from Virginia happened by and joined our game for 15 minutes on the hard packed sand at ocean’s edge. Their little guy usually preferred to throw balls around but did well with his feet. They had taken a car down the coast from Oregon and were heading home on Sunday. Another chance encounter, strangers meeting strangers, touching briefly for unexpected shared moments.
The Virginians turned us on to the tidal pools just south of the pier. When the kicky ball broke up, that’s where we headed. The shallow pools in the rocks had been hollowed smooth over the centuries just right for tender tot feet. In most, the water didn’t rise above Noah’s knees. Deshoed and stripped of his pants it took him a little while before he paddled around. When he did make the dip, he became an instant convert baptized in the cool, still, salt water – toes wriggling in the sand.
Pool play lasted for 20 minutes or so until we had to start making tracks up Newport Avenue. Buses in this part of the city only run once an hour on Saturdays and Sundays. Noah-David stayed barefoot and rode papa’s shoulders. We stopped into a little boutique to pick up a blouse for maman – she’s real pretty in it. We ducked in for some take out burritos at $2 a shot and waited patiently on the corner of Cable and Newport for our ride back up Voltaire. It was good to get home and see the girls and have a bite to eat.
Ta-daaa - 180 Days of Magic 