by Liz

Our seventh and last rest day of the trip has been spent beside the sand dunes of Oxnard. They are ten steps from our bedroom door and just over the top of them we can see the sea, from an unusual vantage point as it’s at eye level – the house is a few feet lower than the beach.

We started the day with a swim. Well at any rate, we went in up to our knees and the waves crashed over us spraying us with freezing water. It didn’t look terribly safe or inviting so after what we thought was a reasonable time being sprayed, we retreated, and found a plate of baked goodies outside our front door, left by our host with a friendly Good Morning message. 

We went out for breakfast, as is our tradition on rest days, and enjoyed hot croissants outside the local surfers cafe. On the way home we found sea lions barking and playing in the marina and spotted a little hummingbird having its breakfast.

Today’s main pleasure was welcoming Philip’s school friend Aran and his partner Beth for lunch. They came laden with gifts of local wine, English chocolates and interesting startery things like puffed waterlily seeds, a first for all of us. The table tucked beside the dunes made an elegant setting for a feast with friends and we shared the goodies from our host and enjoyed the lines of pelicans that flew over us. Along the beach, the nearby park marked on the map turned out to be a restricted access zone with rocks and a shipwreck but we saw graceful terns diving on the other side.

I’m writing this sitting in a rocking chair looking out at the dunes. Philip has carried a chair to the top of the steps leading to the beach so he has a beautiful view of the ocean in the evening sun. At the end of this gentle day we have leftovers for our supper, a sunset to watch in an hour and a 68 mile day to prepare for tomorrow, with the added lure of dinner out with friends I’ve not seen for 38 years.