Cape Creek Beach

To get here we have to cross the busy 101, take a flight of stairs descending through the forest, and walk across rocks and a creek to the sand. There must be hundreds of cars an hour crossing overhead on 101, but we can't hear any of them -- not even the ridiculous motorcycles -- and there's only one other family on this beach. And what a beach it is -- narrow, sandy, with pounding surf and plunging mountainsides all around. Cooper and I dig roads into the beachy sand and drive his toy cars while Laura holds up behind driftwood to read. It's crisp and sunny, cool but warm out of the wind, and boy does that water look good -- but it's just too cold for me to jump in there and leave this warmth.