Going Back to Oceanside

"We've been living in the city such a long time
You and I should live by the water
I'll shape up and you'll fill out
And we can buy a house
Maybe even have us a daughter..."

"Live by the Water" by Papas Fritas

    Neither Daphne nor I can remember exactly why we chose Oceanside in 2015 to be Charlotte's first out-of-state vacation spot. We think it had something to do with the price of the apartment we rented. Anyway, we have nothing but good memories about that trip, and we decided to go back this summer.

    It didn't hurt that both Daphne and Charlotte have discovered that they really enjoy vacationing by the water.

    On our first flight to Oceanside, all the screens in the back of the airplane's seats were showing scenes from the Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" programing (more on that later). That imagery scared Char quite a bit.

    This time the screens were much more welcoming.

    I was pumped that they still sell novelty license plates at the souvenir shops. I had one of these when I was a kid. Char used it as a book mark after I gave it to her. 

    I didn't spot Daphne's name anywhere, but we stayed in condo "D", and I figured that was close.

    

    The view of the ocean from the patio was great, and we spent every morning getting caffeinated to the sounds of the waves. Our walk to the beach was only three minutes.

    Oceanside still offers their Farmers' Market from 9 pm-1pm on Thursday mornings. Here's Char about to enjoy the cookie she picked out. She was almost five years old.

    

    This year Char graciously agreed to recreate the photo for me. Now she's almost 16.

    

    The same goes for these sunset pictures.

    Hopefully we can go back to Oceanside in ten years or so, and I can take these pictures again.