El Matador Beach - Malibu, California

There is something about the ocean that calls to us. It is beautiful, yet terrifying - calming, yet chaotic - ever beckoning us to lose ourselves in its wake. The above picture is of the Sea of Galilee in the Holy Land. I have not yet been there, yet I yearn to walk my feet along its shoreline and reflect the magnificent history that happened there.

A far cry from Galilee, playing this week with our cousins visiting from Illinois, we decided to take them to one of our favorite Malibu beaches...

Let's Go to the Beach
Author: unknown

Let's go to the beach

To swim and play and run.

Building castles in the sand

Is ever so much fun.

We'll fix a picnic lunch

And eat it when we like.

And when we all are nice and full

We'll take a nature hike.

Be sure to wear your suit

And bring along your float.

We'll ride so far out in the surf

Pretending it's a boat.

We'll find some pretty shells

And throw the gulls some bread.

Put on a lot of suntan oil

So that we don't turn red.

We'll never want to leave.

Such fun this all has been.

But we'll come back another day

And do it all again!

This is just above El Matador Beach, along the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway).

We drove through Kanan Dume with cousin "M" and arrived at the bluffs, before making our way down to the beach itself. Gramy bought the girls matching shirts, which they wanted to wear together.

After winding our way down, we changed into our suits and the kids got busy playing in the sand and surf.

Climbing the big rocks without our surf shoes proved a big challenge, but I couldn't resist this shot of the cousins.

Part of what makes El Matador so beautiful is the incredible rock formations. I love Malibu because it is so protected from mass development and not only provides white sandy beaches, but is surrounded by sea and mountains. Though I'm a California native, it never fails to take my breath away...

We had to take this picture for the kids great grandmothers, who are 87 and 91 years old!

The kids built many sand castles, most of which the sea engulfed as the tide rolled in. My brother and his wife stayed with the girls while I went on a beach walk with Grandfather.

When I returned, "C" was excited to show me what treasure washed ashore.

And "E" couldn't contain her joy as she raced to and from the waves. This was on Tuesday and the next day, though we were scheduled for a 2 day Disneyland trip with the cousins, the twins were happy to blurt out that they actually prefer the beach!

As the day wore on and the calmness of the ocean settled in, I could see the kids thriving in the fresh sea air, surrounded by the great elements of nature...

Along the Sea

Come walk with me

Along the sea

Where dusk sits on the land

And search with me

For shells are free,

And treasures hide in sand.
-Author Unknown

While the kids were playing, my dad and I took a long walk and here are some pictures we took...

It was such a perfect day. To end it, I'd love to leave you with one of my favorite e.e. cummings poems...

We find in the sea

Author: e. e. cummings

for whatever we lose (like a you or a me)

it's always ourselves we find in the sea