One of the most amazing parts of living in a small beach city in Southern California are those brief moments in time when the gods smile upon us and say, "Here is a seventy-five degree day in the middle of January. You're welcome." We were recently blessed with one of these bouts of warm weather, and as all my friends know, when we're graced with unexpected sunshine and balmy temperatures, my immediate response is to run, not walk, to the beach.
Saturday started as it usually did—a lazy sleep-in with Spike, followed by our morning walk and then eggs and coffee on the patio.
Mike decided he wanted to experiment with tiki drinks that night, so we headed to the local farmers market in Torrance to get some fresh fruit and supplies for his concoctions. We wandered around the stalls aimlessly, sampling oranges and nibbling on French croissants, until we ended up with more fruit, flowers, and frozen meat pies than we could carry. Our next stop was Sprouts for some sushi and snacks for the beach, then we were ready to head to our favorite local spot, a tiny stretch of sand we call "Topaz" because of the street it's on.
The most wonderful thing about those mid-winter beach days is that you practically have the sand to yourself.
There's truly nothing better than feeling like you have your own private slice of Southern California paradise. My happiness level was an 11/10. Beach time looks different for everyone, but for us, it means a few things: snacks, music, and reading. We split a spicy tuna roll while our playlist rotated through our favorite artists, like Lord Huron, Tame Impala, and Father John Misty. Mike was flipping through his tiki cocktail mixology book, while I kicked back with Jedidiah Jenkins' newest travel memoir, Like Streams to the Ocean. We sat contentedly in silence, with no worries or plans to burden us or preemptively end our afternoon. The thing that sent us home was a two degree temperature drop (it's still technically wintertime, after all) and a much needed afternoon nap.
Even though travel fills my cup up more than anything else, these lazy, no agenda days at home make me so happy.
We capped off our day of sunshine with Mike's tiki creations, featuring freshly made cinnamon and passion fruit syrups and grapefruit juice, courtesy of the farmers market. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the drive to always be on the go, but I have to say that this Saturday was one of the best in recent memory.