Episode 14: Summer Summer Summer Time
Every summer, we camp at the beach with our best family friends, Karen, Dave and Felix Riesz. 6 months prior to these trips, Karen sends me a text that at midnight tonight, we can start scheduling for San Clemente! We coordinate to make sure we have sites next to each other, that are near the bathrooms but not too near, that have room for their pop up trailer, etc. Every group needs someone like Karen--she keeps track of when to schedule things, what restaurants have opened, but things are fun to do around town, etc. This camping trip always happens right after our boys are out of school, as a fun celebration that we all have survived another year.
If you haven't ever been to the beach in Southern California in June, you might think it is warm and sunny, with palm trees all around, and beautiful people sun bathing on the beach. This is how I envision it every year, and every year I forget that we have "June Gloom" around here. Nevertheless, we haul our beach toys, beach chairs, towels and sunscreen to the beach, and I always wonder why it is so cold this year. Was it this cold last year? (Yes).The good news is that after noon or so, you can shed your long sleeves and blankets, and actually get down to your swimsuit, though you'll still have some goosebumps. The gloom does not bother our boys, of course. We have been making this trip since Devin and Felix have been maybe 6 or so, and every year, they dig holes in the sand, build sandcastles with whatever plastic molds we bring, and, despite the water being in the low 60s, usually dip in at least once. One year, we had to drag Felix out of the water. We joked that the water gods were calling to him with their siren song. This is particularly funny now that Felix is 11, and knows more about Roman, Greek and Mayan gods than many academic scholars. This trip is always one of decompression for all of us. The adults walk and talk, stare into the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean, dig our toes in the sand, and watch our boys' friendship grow. This year this was particularly poignant as they hold onto the last year of being preteens. They are in a period of transition, which is both exciting and daunting for them, and for us.
Felix and Devin have always had an unexpected and special friendship. They went to the same preschool, and though they were passively friendly like 2 four year old boys usually are, they didn't become better friends until we met Karen and Dave. Felix is almost 12, with this beautiful shock-white hair, big blue eyes, and an endearing precociousness that never fails to charm me. He scorns any level of competition, prefers to do things just for the fun of it, and truly beats to his own drum. He loves to read, and does the Diablo for the YMCA Youth Circus where they live in Redlands, CA. This summer, he is learning how to ride the unicycle. Devin, on the other hand, is super competitive, loves traditional sports like soccer and baseball, loves to be a daredevil, and likes reading, but not enough to do it much in his free time. Devin couldn't name one Greek god, but he can tell you the make and model of every car he sees on the road. Both of them are extremely talkative, and you would think they would cancel each other out, but they don't. In fact, if we meet up with the Riesz's, whether it is at their house or our local favorite brewery, Devin and Felix will find a quiet place and just talk for 2 hours. Neither of them will tell us what they talk about it. It's a secret.
This past camping trip, Felix and Devin did all of the usual kid things--they dug a big hole in the sand, rode their scooters all over the campground, threw the baseball around, and, of course, made S'mores and set marshmallows on fire (I taught them that years ago). On the first night of our campfire, they set off exploring after S'mores. On the second night, they stayed and talked with us around the campfire, and this was magic to the parents. For whatever reason, they were open to talking to us about their first year of Middle School, which here is the 6th grade. Each of them had some struggles in Middle School, but neither of them told us anything in any great detail throughout the year. I don't remember their specific answers, but they did not scoff at any one of our questions. We learned more around that campfire that we had collectively learned for the last half of that year. What is it about a campfire that makes people want to talk?
Summer Vacation should be about decompression and making memories, but that isn't always the case. We usually forget about the need to relax and just go go go. This first trip of our summer vacation, though, usually delivers on both. I think that this was the first time in months that our boys could relax and be themselves, and as parents, we were just happy to benefit from that.
This is one of my best memories on summer vacation with Jeff and Devin. We did some post dinner boogie boarding in Fernandina Beach, FL and caught so many waves! Just after this, we got a call to rush to Denver so we could say goodbye to Jeff's Mom, who passed away in July 2022. It was nice to have this one moment together.
Catching Lightning Bugs in Black Mountain, NC
Fishing in Santa Barbara in 2020
Our trip to Santa Barbara in 2020 was really nice because it was the first we had been out since Christmas 2019. Santa Barbara has really good outdoor dining, so it was the perfect COVID location.
Help! Someone let this cute 7 year old drive a boat in Georgia. (He did a really good job)
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