Since we live fairly close to the beach, my friend and I decided to go for a walk by the ocean.
It was the third day of a long weekend, and even though we went in the morning, it was surprisingly busy. Luckily, we managed to find parking just in time.
The parking area was a little uphill, and from there we walked down a ramp to a scenic path shared by pedestrians and cyclists. Once we got there, we simply kept walking along the coastline.
The weather was beautiful that day. Sunny, but with cool ocean air — perfect for a long walk.
One interesting thing about this beach is that natural tar sometimes washes ashore from offshore oil deposits, leaving black sticky patches on the sand. A few years ago, I accidentally stepped on some, and it stuck to the bottom of my foot — what a mess that was!
This time, unfortunately, some got stuck to the sole of my friend’s favorite sneakers. We both had one of those “uh-oh…” moments.
We paid for 1 hour and 20 minutes of parking, so we kept an eye on the time but still managed to enjoy a good long walk.
Later, I checked my iPhone step count and realized I was just a little short of 10,000 steps!
Since I don’t get enough exercise most days, it felt surprisingly satisfying.
On the way back, we stopped by a local coffee shop for a small sandwich and coffee.
We also planned to visit a newly opened plant shop nearby, but unfortunately, it had already closed by the time we got there.
Still, spending time walking by the ocean, chatting, and moving my body a little felt like the perfect small reset. Sometimes, simple days like this are exactly what we need.