Lincoln City and the Sand Monster

Sunday was set to be sweltering in the city, and our friends Ken and Lindsey (and four-year-old Morgan) invited us to meet them at Lincoln City to play in the sand and surf. I was too excited to sleep and was up before 5 am. :) Michael wasn't quite as enthusiastic as I was; I'm sure he would have preferred to sleep in longer, but the beach was calling and his wife was ready to go! We stopped for gas and hit the road, taking "the back way" to Lincoln City, which to me means going through farm country through Newberg and McMinnville. It was a gorgeous drive with bright sunshine for most of the way. As we neared the coast, however, the sky turned white and the sun was nowhere to be found. While we waited for Lindsey, Ken and Morgan to meet us, Michael and I headed down to say hello to the ocean. It was downright cold and there was heavy fog to boot! It was quite a dramatic change from the sun and heat of the city. We bundled up in sweatshirts and I was wishing I had brought tennis shoes instead of my flip-flops as my feet were already getting cold and the day had hardly begun!

Happily, by the time Lindsey and Morgan arrived, it had begun to warm up and soon the exertion of building sand castles meant that I could shed my sweatshirt and stay comfortable. It remained foggy until we left around 3:30pm, but I liked it. I knew it had to be hot at home and I was happy to wade in the freezing ocean with Morgan. She and "Untle" Mikey (as she calls him), busily built sand castles (okay, Michael painstakingly built them), until the Sand Monster (aka Morgan) came and stomped them flat, then rolled on the place where they'd been for good measure. Untle Mikey's lower lip popped out to express his dismay, as Morgan giggled and danced around on the sand. I patted Michael on the back and said, "This is what it's like to have kids, honey." :)

Lindsey had the great idea of building a sand castle specifically for any Sand Monsters that might happen to show up and want to be stompers. Morgan called it a "Monster Castle" and that is what the four of us built. Then Morgan, Michael and I took great joy in destroying it with our feet. I laughed, saying that it sure took a lot less time to build than it did to stomp--about 3 seconds.

We played and played and laughed at the sheer joy on Morgan's face--it was hard not to feel like a four-year-old and I reveled in it. It was the first time in a long time that I skipped along the sand--and even galloped a little! Michael had a good time too. He was a willing playmate for Morgan and was game for anything she suggested. I love watching him with children; what an amazing father he will be.

After playing in the waves, looking for agates and skipping rocks until my feet turned red and Morgan began to shiver just the slightest bit, we packed up and headed to the local Subway for lunch. That veggie sandwich on flatbread tasted delicious and so did the potato chowder that Morgan shared with me. :)

After lunch we said goodbye and gave hugs and blew kisses, and headed home from our day at the beach. I for one, cannot wait to do it again.