Swami's Beach

Yesterday the old guy suggested we go to the beach somewhere. Well, he really wanted to go to REI, and the beach was to sweeten the pot for me. What a manipulator. It was a day emerging from the chilly weather we've been having, quite warm (the high 60s anyway), and clear. He didn't find what he wanted at REI, but we picked up a great book of short hikes in San Diego County. Lots of them are flat, the way I like 'em. Some of them we've been on, like the Tijuana River estuary, and our semi-regular jaunt through the San Diego Zoo Safari Park here in Escondido. Just the right size walks, two or three miles, sometimes more but I like three.

Before the beach, though, we needed food. We found The Bird House Grill, with Turkish food. I've never had fava beans before, and these were in a yogurt/garlic/dill/olive oil sauce (on the mezza menu) and I was sorry to have to share them with Mike. I had a kofte sandwich as well.

Next we went to Swami's Beach.

In Encinitas there's this elaborate Hindu looking complex right on Hwy 101, the Self Realization Fellowship. Our Realization was that we wanted to walk on the sand, and the tiny beach park and parking lot is right behind the Fellowship, with people slipping in and out of their surfing wet suits, and the benches full of guys reading in the sunshine. There are steps going down the 100 feet to the beach, all 145 of them, but we discovered we could return on a ramp-like path a ways down the beach, that connects to a bluff-top walkway back to Swami's. That was good to find because my knees don't like stairs. Next time we'll go down that way also. The beach is long and smooth with nicely packed damp sand for walking on.

It's taken me way too long to put beaches back in my life. I can even do it by light rail and bus if necessary. Expect more beach pictures.