Weekend on the Water

Relaxing after a "hard day's work," with a beautiful view out to the water.

The long haul back up from the beach. (Note two small heads at the top: Baylor & Bella, peering through the slats and impatiently waiting for me to return and throw their ball).

View toward Dakota Creek at low tide.

View toward California Creek at low tide. Semiahmoo is in the distance...

Ahhhhh...it's so refreshing to get out of the city. A drive - even on a busy, stop-and-go freeway - can do wonders for the soul, because the destination makes the journey soooo worth it. Particularly when there is a glass of wine waiting upon arrival at said destination.

Last weekend I ventured to Blaine, WA (about 10 miles south of the Canadian border) where my dad's once-designated retirement home has now become his full-time home, though he is far from being retired, both in his career and his goals. Case in point: this weekend, my brother and I were invited up to the house under the guise of spending time with my father and stepmother but as it turns out with the ulterior motive of my brother assisting my dad building an erosion barrier on the beach and moving 100-lb. chunks of concrete. Never wanting to be left out, I volunteered to assist on the beach - I mean, how often do I have the opportunity to get all mucky and muddy and actually be physically productive on the weekend?! However, upon grabbing the PHD (post hole digger - for lack of a more technical term) I immediately realized my mistake, as I took my first hard stab at what appeared to be soft ground and hit wet clay that resonated a vibrating thud through my whole body like a tuning fork. Determined not to let the beach get the best of me, I sweated my way through several holes before (fortunately) my younger bro woke up and took over the task (and somehow managed to make it look easy and effortless - damn him).

So my triceps are a little sore (yessssss - now I can justify my lack of time in the gym) and at the end of the day, the time out of the city spent both in physical labor and in the company of family was a nice treat and reprieve from urban life.