I took my gang to Oceanside Pier yesterday. Just me and my Peeps.. my Posse.. ok.. ok.. my kids.

It was a perfect SoCal day. Crystal blue sky... Good visiblilty into the ocean.. some thunderheads setting up shop on the mountains.

My boy, aged 4-and-a-half, wore long pants, a long-sleeved, flannel shirt, bandana around his neck, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat. Perhaps a bit over-dressed. He was pretty stoked.

Our plan was to walk out to the end of the pier, have lunch, and go back home. A nice simple day where neither I nor the kids were stretched to the breaking point. That was my plan.

We found a stash of free parking just east of the railroad tracks on a side street. No time limit either. We slabbed on the sunscreen, pulled out the wagon and loaded up. Totally sans toys.

By the time we made it to the pier I realized I'd messed up. My 21-month-old girl was already saying, "Beets! Beets!"... which means Beach Beach! Shes a water hound. Luckily, she was appeased for the moment with Pirate Booty ("healthy" cheetos) and the wagon ride.

I was a bit tired of dragging the wagon, so I suggested that my boy walk. He obliged me.. running from rail to rail watching the surfers. He realized that the southside of the pier had better waves.. I was so proud. It was also a great place to shoot surf photos... Except those in the line-up couldn't seem to figure out the sets. They kept paddling out, missing the set, then paddled back in only to have to wheel around again to keep from taking the next set on the head.

We watched a few sets roll in.. I pointed way out to sea showing him the first hints of the set waves comin' in. My girl happily munched away. Then, we continued down the pier.

A bucket with some live fish in it caught both kids' eyes. My kids had a "conversation" with the fisherman who didn't speak english.. it didn't matter to either side.. smiles all around.

We ambled on. My boy was concerned that nobody noticed that he was a cowboy. They had noticed.. and I assured him that such was so. We were all getting hungry... and thirsty. Too bad my girl had spilled most of our water.

We found a bench to eat lunch upon and began to do so. My boy turned to the retired man next to us and said hello. It's funny. We see people all the time and don't really know what to say. Yet, here's my boy.. all of 4-and-a-half.. and he says to the guy, "Do you come here a lot?" The retired guy smiles, "Almost everyday." "This is a great place to watch people fish," says my boy. "It sure is.."... they have thier own conversation.. a wierd kind of magic to a parent.

Well.. to wind this winded blog up.. we wandered back down the pier and I gave in to the lure of the beach... my girl up to her armpits in the water.. my boy took off his boots and joined in other family's sandcastle construction zones... and he didn't even scream when it was time to go.. he protested once.. then thanked his new friends for letting him play.. wow.. I think we'll come again.

It's funny how we ignore things like the pier. It looms all the time. But, we rarely bother to go enjoy it. We think, "been there.. done that."... but it's always different. We don't see old friends and ignore them because we know them.. we go say, "Hi!" and remind ourselves why they are our friends.

I'm glad we said, "Hi!" to the pier.

Enjoy!

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