Morro Bay 2012

 If you had peeked into my Freshman apartment at BYU back in 2000, you never would have thought that my roommate Emily and I would ever be friends.  I don't think we started to get along until March!  But those last two months of the year were a serious bonding blitz for our apartment that left me with plenty of wonderful memories and several dear-to-my-heart friends I'm still in touch with. 

When Emily moved to Southern California a few months ago, we planned a meet-in-the-middle weekend.  We joined up in beautiful Morro Bay with our husbands and kids this past weekend.

Honestly, the part I was most excited for was the Hazel/Amaryllis merge.  Both girls have massive imaginations and I had a feeling they would be fast friends.  (They were giggling together within 30 seconds.)

 (Amaryllis kissing Hazel out of a sleeping spell)

We stayed at a gorgeous, big house so we'd have room to hang out after the kids went to bed.  I'm still reeling from all the space - how do I survive in 1200 square feet?  It was lovely to spread out.  Jack was head over heels for the balcony.  He spent mounds of time out there pointing at the boats. 

We strolled the main drag, peeking into shops and sampling delicious pastries from the bakery, visited the teensy aquarium, and played at the local playground.  Emily took this photo.  I love Morro Rock in the background, and sweetie Jack pointing at something that interested him. 

 After naps we spent the afternoon at Spooner's Cove, climbing big rocks, collecting medium-sized rocks, and throwing little rocks in the water.  

 

Jake (Emily's husband) and Todd took Hazel up to the top of this enormous rock at the beach.  Todd said she was right on the edge of the cliff until she got sprayed by sea foam.  That girl is just about fearless.

 I love this family photo! 

 The next day we attended what may be THE LAMEST parade I have ever attended.  I am really bummed that we spent our time on it, actually, because we ended up not having time to check out the kite festival that was going on and I bet it was really cool.  But, maybe not?  Judging from the parade, maybe I was crediting this little town able to put on more of a party than it could.  (I'm telling myself that to try not to feel bad we missed it.)

The highlight of the day was throwing everyone into canoes to play on the water a bit. 

 

We were able to get up close and personal with these bad boys.  They spend all day sunning in the middle of the bay.  They barked a bit at us, but when a handful of sailboats went past, they all arched up as tall as they could get and really made a ruckus.  It was awesome.  

We took our canoes across the bay and played for a while in the sand dunes.  There was a fairly tall drop-off, maybe eight feet or so, and first thing when we got there, Todd said, "Hazel, you should run and jump," and off she went, not a seconds' hesitation.  Slam, into the sand halfway down, and she ran the rest of the way, balance intact.  I am so impressed with her courage.  (Surprised, no.  Todd is quite a daredevil himself, after all.  But definitely impressed.) 

Emily took this photo as well.  She's got a gift for photography.  Check her out here. 

 After canoeing, we snagged some lunch, then it was check-out time at the house and up we packed into the car for the drive home.  We had a great time.