Cali Trip Day Four: San Clemente beach and Dana Point harbor

The fourth and last day of our trip was probably the most relaxing just because we didn't spend the day walking around. We got up when we wanted to and sat on the balcony for a bit before we went down to the pier for breakfast. We shared a huge breakfast, drank coffee and just relaxed. After we ate, we walked down the pier one more time and watched the fishermen do their thing. We wanted to get to the beach early so that we could get a good spot, so after our walk we went up to the room and changed in to our bathing suits and packed up our beach stuff. Thankfully the condos we were in loaned us beach chairs, an umbrella, towels and even gave Laine a bucket of sand castle building toys. When we got down to the beach we got everything sat up and then spent the day lounging around, building a HUGE sand castle and my uncle and I did some swimming in the ocean. At one point he asked if I wanted to take a shot at surfing, so not wanting to look like a wimp I agreed to. I put on his wetsuit top to try and keep me from being freezing in the water, he got his board and we went down the beach to where the surfing area was. We noticed that the current was extremely strong, so he decided we should stay up where the "whitewater" was. I have NEVER tried surfing before, so I really didn't know what to expect but I found our really quickly. He told me to lay on the board and try and navigate through the waves, while he pushed me further out. The waves seemed to come in three's so not only did I have to push my way through one wave and try and stay on the board, but I had to do that three times in a row over and over. I fell off and went underwater at one point and decided that I may not be cut out for surfing after all. He said that the waves were about 3 feet taller than normal and I think it was just as hard for him to try and control the board as it was for me. I think in the future I'll just be a spectator when it comes to surfing! The rest of the day was much more relaxing because we spent it building sand castles and catching rays. At one point a huge piece of kelp washed up on the shore, root and all and a bunch of kids swarmed around it and were pulling out all kinds of sea creatures. It was a great educational experience for them because they got to see that all these creatures fed off the kelp and co-habitated with one another. Laine slept for about an hour and a half including during the kelp adventure. After about 5 hours on the beach we decided to go to our room get ready and go over to my uncle's friends' house up the hill. Their house was amazing because one view was of the ocean while the other side of the house faced the mountains and valleys. It was truly incredible, and I know why they haven't owned a TV in 10 years! We had a glass of wine and talked while enjoying our beautiful view and while Laine played with their Great Dane, Disco. She and Disco became buddies for sure! My uncle asked us where we wanted to eat on our last night and I wanted to go somewhere where we could sit outside and had a view of the water, so he took us to an amazing restaurant at the Dana Point harbor (very close to the kiddie beach). We walked around the harbor before dinner and then ate a delicious meal while watching the boats come in from the ocean. After dinner we walked over to an ice cream place and got ice cream and listened to a daughter/son band that was performing near the water. I can't explain the beauty and calmness that the California coast has, but I can say that I'd love to live there. I want to take walks on the beach, sit on my patio year round and enjoy the amazing sites that it has to offer. For now, home is Keller, Texas but I hope we can spend more time in sunny southern California in the near future!