Yep, there are the babies, in sunscreen, hats, and matching T-shirts. And the blue post? Why, that's placed at regular intervals throughout the Point Reyes National Seashore to mark the exact line of the SAN ANDREAS FAULT.
I encouraged my precious children to stand directly on top of one of the world's most active and most notorious faultlines in our modern era. And then I snapped a photo.
Other than the constant threat of imminent death should California decide to finally up and fall into the ocean as it's been threatening to do for ages now, our visit to Point Reyes was as peaceful and pastoral as you'd expect at any national park, or at least one with a pretty active seismograph right there in the visitors' center. We went on a nice long hike out in the tule elk reserve, and saw sights both vast--
--and intimate:
And in the land of a billion beaches but not as many climbing trees, our little tree worshippers finally found themselves a good one: 
And worship they did: 
Point Reyes is north of the Bay, so this was actually our first trip across the Golden Gate Bridge in a couple of years--normally we head southwest on our daytrips. There's a great spot for viewing the Golden Gate on just the other side of the bridge. If you've ever seen a photo of the bridge, this is likely the shot you saw: 
It's wonderfully iconic, both up-close and fitting the entire bridge into one frame, with the city behind it, and incorporating an interesting diagonal line. Just to the right of the bridge in that shot is Ocean Beach, actually a really nice beach for being inside a big city, and the beach at which we spent our sunset on this day: 
Because a day without a beach?
That would hardly be any kind of day at all.
We totally LOVE Point Reyes. Would go back in a heartbeat. We drove by and looked at the Fault but never thought to stand on it. Guess we're not excitingly dangerous like you are.
ReplyDeletepoint reyes rocks. little ones on the beach? there is nothing better.
ReplyDeletei can't believe blogher pulled ads from your blog. for that.?!?!
Wow! Blogher has a problem with naked kids painting, but its fine to say "WTF"? Like anyone doesn't know what that means. And isn't that more offensive than little kids enjoying themselves? Pure silliness.
ReplyDeleteI know, my personal opinion is that it's a little silly and overwrought, as well, but it's their company. I could have moved the post to a sort of mirror-blog site that would be ad-free, and I did welcome the ad money, but I didn't feel like the photos were anything that needed to be hidden, and I anyway do not want to censor my blog, so I let them drop me. I was really happy with BlogHer until that, however.
ReplyDeleteIf I could be the morality police, however, photos of little kids painting naked in their front yards (or playing in the sprinkler, or taking their baths, or whatever) would be a-okay, and children's beauty pageants would be totally banned. We just got cable, and Matt and I saw Toddlers and Tiaras? Five-year-olds dressed up like Las Vegas hookers doing stripper dances on a rigged up stage in a Marriott meeting room, and their moms talking about how their kids have so much personality, and the pageants give them so much confidence. Then they go get their toddler spray-tanned. Off. The. Hook!