Well, we asked for heat and we got HEAT, so it was off to another beach day this week to try and stay cool. Unfortunately when we made our way home from Oceanside on Tuesday, there was a car accident on the 76 and it took 2.5 hours to get home. I am done with the 76 for now because it is one way each way for several miles and there is so much construction. We have been meaning to try new beaches so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. A friend suggested Tamarack State Beach in Carlsbad. Wendy, Teri and I left home about 9:15 (already felt like 100 degrees) and hit the parking lot a few minutes after 10. Not bad! We parked, paid and unloaded inches from the sand and couldn't believe how easy it all was.
The kids quickly bolted for the rocks, collecting sea creatures and having fun climbing. 
But our fun was short-lived. The lifeguard truck began putting DANGER NO SWIMMING flags all around us. Excuse me? Apparently we were at a SURFERS ONLY beach. Ugh! After further questioning the lifeguard, its seemed we needed to walk "forever" down the beach to the swim area. 
We packed everything back up with a lot of whining and made the trek down to Tower 36. Poor Teri had to lug Denton in his carseat the entire way, along with her cooler and beach chair. We were dripping sweat by the time we plopped our stuff down in our new spot and got right in the water. The kids dug huge holes, searched for sand crabs, played in the waves and boogie boarded. Once we were all settled, we did enjoy this beach, but not sure we will be going there again...too far to the bathrooms and parking. The craziest part of the day came on our way home. It was very hot and humid all day and thunderstorm-like skies surrounded us in the late afternoon. Once on the 78, we saw some amazing lightning strikes and even saw some rain. By the time we got home and unpacked there was roaring thunder, stunning lightning and quite a bit of rain. I think it even set off a fire or two. Crazy summer weather!
