Ocean!

I love the ocean. I was made to be near the ocean. When I hear the sound of waves and taste the salt, my heart swells with happiness and I feel like I am home.

I live in Iowa. It is a cruel twist of fate. I suffer.

That is one of the many reasons that I look forward to vacations with an unreasonable amount of excitement. Thankfully, God gave me children that also love the ocean, so I'm not being entirely selfish when I force them to spend endless hours jumping waves and lying in the sand.

This absurd love of all things beachy is what caused us to drive two more hours to San Diego. We laid in the sun, hopped waves, fought with seaweed that seemed determined to wrap its slimy self around our ankles, spent five dollars on a drink, and considered ourselves lucky. We stayed as long as possible and left sunburned and tired. We felt as if we had spent the day baptizing ourselves in holy water.

We are from Iowa. We don't see waves often. It makes us giddy.