Life at the beach is full. And cold. We’re over halfway through our summer stint here and there hasn’t been much time for updating blogs or processing the photos and videos we’ve taken. That’s a shame because the main subject matter of the cameras, puppies and grandtwins, are very worth looking at! This week’s projects, in between work and twins and the endlessness of pottying dogs and cat, is making curtains for the trailer. One window to go and they look great! Between the picnic table and the ramp door, I’ve got a good workspace. And thanks to a sewing machine loan from Westi, I have good tools. Now, if I could just get the outdoor temperature to warm up enough that I don’t need gloves to work! Did I mention that it is cold?
Checked googlemaps yesterday and found the Seacliff Beach image was updated last year while we were here. Fun! The photo above is our campsite … you can see the solar panels on top of the trailer, our ramp door “patio”, the truck with the camper on it, the dog yard, the picnic table. 
We must have been on duty because the “Think” cart is parked at our site too. The image to the right is zoomed out to give a little context, including the fishing pier out to the “Cement Ship”. Below the image is zoomed out enough to see the entire Monterey Bay. I love how the satellite imagery shows the “Grand Canyon” of Monterey Bay. This unique underwater landform is what makes our Bay so rich in marine life … and what makes the water so cold as well. (The red arrows show where we are.) Now if we could just get some sun! (Back in the summer of ’08 when we were in Rockport, TX and I was longing for fog, I told Steve he had permission to smack me if I ever complained about fog again. Well, I count my blessings that he isn’t much inclined to take me up on that. Did I mention that it is cold?)
Three days after pups were born, Mom and Dad joined our household. Noche, Ginger and Grayson were happy to see them as pups were whelped in the trailer and Steve and I had moved into the trailer with Dottie before they were born. We were happy to see them too! They arrived just in time for Mom to attend my Master Gardener graduation lunch. Dad pretty much got right to work on the projects we had saved up for him … refinishing a beautiful, but weathered, park bench given to us by Dennis and Nancy, and our beautiful red cedar bar that divides the kitchen from the living room. The weather wasn’t real cooperative but we did manage to get them out on the lake once at least. They had great visits with friends from their former life as Texans. Despite all that we had to do to be ready to leave ourselves, it was emotional to see them drive away on Wednesday.