July 12 - 15, 2024 - Lafe and Faith's Odyssey

Beach, Beach, Beach

In the morning, we vacated our spot as the sun brightened the early morning darkness and went to a coffee shop to work and read until we had the code to get into the house. We soon had the code and made our entry, swiftly disabling the alarm and exploring what we were going to call home for the next couple weeks. I sat down to work while Faith unpacked and cleaned out the van and did several loads of our laundry. In the afternoon, I took a break to get a much needed haircut. When I got back, Faith mentioned that there was a scale upstairs, so we decided to see how much our weights had changed since starting van life. I had figured that I was about the same weight, maybe a bit lighter. Turns out I had lost ten pounds and Faith had lost seven. For someone who is already pretty slim, ten pounds is a lot to lose, so I made it my goal to gain some weight back in the next few weeks. Faith’s family was scheduled to arrive in the evening, so we had some time to prepare a nice dinner for them. We attempted to use some fish from the freezer, but it was too far gone and was both chewy and extremely fishy once cooked. So, it went into the trash and we tried some shrimp from the freezer: same situation. But, we weren’t completely out of luck as Faith had made some bread complemented with a goat cheese and fig spread, a tomato and onion sauce (originally intended for the fish), wild rice, and baklava. In spite of the challenges, we had an excellent dinner after welcoming Faith’s family and helping them unload. After dinner, we were introduced to the jam-packed itinerary that was planned for the next two weeks: it included several days at the beach, a day in LA, an amusement park, lots of shopping, and a few days in San Diego. We spent the rest of the evening catching up and hanging out long after the sun had gone down.

The next morning, I got up early to get some hours in before everyone was up and ready to do the first thing on the itinerary: San Clemente State Beach. As everyone was getting ready, Faith learned how to use the espresso machine to make lattes, mochas, and other fun drinks. She honed this skill over the rest of the trip and was making some pretty amazing concoctions by the end of our time in Dana Point. We spent the afternoon swimming and boogie boarding, a first for me, in the surf and playing smash ball on the beach. The water was a lot warmer than it had been up along the Oregon coast, but it was by no means warm. I soon found myself shaking like a leaf and had to spend a while soaking up some rays to get warm. As evening came, we left the busy beach to get some ice cream from Thrifites, a shop that Stefawn, Faith’s mom, had gone to many times growing up and was a family favorite. As evening came, we hung out at the house and had a lovely homemade dinner.

The next morning, I once again got up early to work before we headed down to the farmer’s market and pier in San Clemente where we got some delicious samples and pastries that we enjoyed on the beach. As afternoon came, we made lunch at the house then headed down to the small and calm Baby Beach where we spent a few hours paddle boarding around the marina and digging a hole in the sand. Ella, Faith’s little sister, sat in the hole to see if she could fit, which she sort of did, and we seized the opportunity to hold her down and bury her in the sand. Be it for better or worse, she made it out. We filled in the hole, packed up, then headed back to the house for another homemade meal.

The next day was similar: I worked in the morning, had an excellent Faith-made latte, and we got ready for another day at the beach. Today, we headed down to the Corona del Mar Beach early to claim a fire pit for the planned evening bonfire. After getting a pit, we made our way down the beach and found a lovely spot to snorkel, boogie board, swim, and bask in the sun at. A few hours later, Joel, Faith’s younger brother, came in from the surf to reveal that something had “pinched” him. A nearby beachgoer was eavesdropping and said that it was likely a stingray sting. So, Joel and Stefawn went over to a lifeguard tower then down to the main lifeguard station to have the correctly identified sting treated. The sting pierced one of Joel’s toes and went all the way through it, leaving a small hole on each side. Apparently the best treatment for the stings is just putting the effected area in very hot water for a while to help get rid of the painful toxin in the sting. A long while after leaving, Joel and Stefawn returned to our beach camp to report all this news to us carrying a souvenir: a stingray bag that Joel had put his foot and hot water in. Not long later, we packed up and headed back to our fire pit to get a fire going and make some hot dogs for dinner. They were excellent, and we followed them up with watching the sun set over the ocean and some s’mores after dark. Night had fallen and we had run out of marshmallows and chocolate, so we called it a day and headed back to the house to get some sleep before the next day’s activities.