Playa Tecolote

 

    As we made our way back north, we spent a few nights boon docking at Playa Tecolote. It's one of the few beaches where RVs can park for free and is a beautiful place to camp. The water is a gorgeous  turquoise blue and across the channel is Isla Espiritu Santo, where we'd had such a wonderful time a few days prior. There were a couple of restaurants, one that made the delicious marlin escabeche we'd enjoyed on our boat outing. Erik and I bought some and had a "date" after the kids were in bed one night. We sat outside eating a late dinner and watching the stars. There was no moon that night and we saw meteorites streak across the Milky Way. It was amazing, the stars so bright and twinkly, all quiet but the sound of the surf. I think I will always remember the beauty of that night! 

    

    We had a really hard day with Peregrine while we were camping here. I don't remember now what it was over, but he was having a rough time. A woman who was camping nearby came over and talked with us for a while, having heard him screaming and carrying on. (It turned out she has a grandson with Asperger's.)  Before we left she came again and said that she wanted to tell us that she sensed so much love in our family. It blessed me so much, because she'd witnessed one of the harder moments, watched me dissolve into tears during our first conversation, and yet she could tell that underlying it all was love. That is my hope and prayer, that we are growing together in love, that it's what people see in us, and that it's what we will recall when we look back on these times. 

    One other thing I will remember about this beach were the piles of seashells the kids collected as we walked. Little hands overflowing, collecting just one more treasure. There was one particular kind of shell here I didn't see anywhere else. It's iridescent and ranges in color from white to yellow to papaya, most being a sunny yellow. It is small and delicate, with fluttery looking edges that remind me of a fairy wing. I picked up several of them, and then the kids realized I liked them, so they and Erik would come back from walks with hands full of fairy shells for mama. I came away with a pile of them, beautiful gossamer treasures from the sea. I will treasure most, though, the memory of time spent enjoying a beautiful place together.

Sunset walks, pink reflected in the water.

Typical of Baja, rugged mountains rise just beyond the beach.

Can you ever see too many sunsets? 

I never tire of watching the pelicans soar above the water, then one after another dive straight down, fishing for their supper. They bob gracefully on the water for a moment before rising to do it again. Beautiful.

One evening we drove to nearby Ballendra Bay, where the kids had fun playing in the sand and walking way out into the shallow, calm, clear waters of the bay.

Beware the sand zombie!

Handsome happy little boy. 

Poppy Joy.

One morning we watched this bird wade in the water right behind our trailer.