By The Sea, By The Sea, By The Beautiful Sea

"By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea! 
You and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be!"

The lyrics pretty much sum up my life.

I coached my team in a volleyball tournament this 
morning (we won!), 
but I missed our usual morning walk
in order to get to the tournament on time.

After the tournament I ran errands and came 
home to find Steve in the back yard 
eating lunch and basking in the sun.

Rain, and lots of it, is expected tomorrow 
so we decided that any "house" projects 
could be taken care of while we are housebound.

We debated the merits of kayaking or cycling 
and settled on a bike ride along the beach.

Due to rain, illness, and a conference, 
I don't think I have been on my bike in March.

And, I felt it!

I love our pier

and the promenade lined with palm trees

and the islands in the background.

We rode along the railroad tracks to Emma Wood

which was filling up with families on spring break.

This part of our trail is actually the original 
Pacific Coast Highway and I remember 
driving on it as a child going
to visit family in Santa Barbara.

Altogether we rode about 12 miles.

A pretty spectacular ride.

And a beautiful way to spend the afternoon - 
by the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea!