Soul restoration: A weekend at Dillon Beach

Rising tide at Dillon Beach
Something inside me shifted as we made the final turns through the emerald hills of Tomales. With a glimpse of the sea, I could feel the tension of the day, and the preceding weeks and months start to fade a little. It shouldn't surprise me, but I always feel such peace near the ocean.

And so I'm incredibly thankful to our dear friends Tom and Deb for inviting us to Dillons for the weekend recently. With strenuous activities like reading, Hearts, and walks along the surf, it was so easy to relax, something I've taken for granted as of late.

Sunset at Dillon Beach.
Mr. T and Tom. 
A view that never gets old!
Dillon Beach is just down the road from Bodega Bay, home of Hitchcock's "The Birds."
Early Spring. Warm enough to walk barefoot in the surf, cold enough to require a sweatshirt.
Tide pools.
Mussels, anyone?
Deb was braver than me in the frigid water.
Tom executed a crab rescue mission.
The town of Dillon Beach is home to less than 300 people.
The beach proper? About a zillion of these red crabbies.
This fellow measured about 2.5 inches.
Born in a coastal community, I always feel at home by the ocean.
Always classy my Mr. T
At other times of tide, we've been able to walk around that rock peninsula.
Dillon Beach attracts campers, fishermen, kite flyers, tide poolers, you name it.
One of the things I love about living in Sacramento is that weekend escapes like Dillon Beach are only a couple hours away. We can get to the ocean, the mountains, Napa Valley, Tahoe, San Francisco in 2-3 hours, tops (depending on traffic, of course).
Found me a mermaid!
Goobers at the sea.
An engineer in the making, Todd enjoys building dams.
Despite working on various activities--cooking dinner, playing cards, reading, napping--we all came together to stare as the sun sunk below the horizon. Felt like a little everyday magic.
I was actually winning at Settlers for the first time, but we ran out of time to finish the game. 
Over breakfast, we watched people learning how to surf. Again, people braver than me!
Some of my earliest memories involve playing in the surf. 
This trip was especially memorable because while walking along the beach, I got a phone call with a job interview invitation. Woot!
Dillon Beach is one of the very few in California where dogs can roam free. We saw hundreds of pooches swimming, running, playing, knocking over sandy toddlers. 
Always a line for the bathroom...
Cows also roam free at Dillons. I remember camping near the dunes as a little kid. In the morning, we'd wake up with cows sauntering through our camp sites.
Until next time!
xoxo,
shawna

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