Day #4 - Monday

Today was dedicated to BEACH TIME!

We have been in this gorgeous beach city, yet not donned our swimsuits yet for a day of fun in the sun with WATER!

So we decided to wrap up the trip by throwing together a beach bag and heading out on the Ferry to Coronado Island!

I have to be honest, I am not really the kind of girl who likes to lay out and get a lot of sun...so I was a little worried that I would be very bored and ready to go do something else rather quickly. But this was a day that was all about Shayna. She had only one request for our trip itinerary and it was that we get some lay out/beach time. Sooo...off to the beach we went.

We hopped off the ferry and made a very long but cool trek (cool because there were neat homes/condos/apartments all along the way) down to the Hotel Del Coronado on the opposite end of the island. We went into a few of the shops while we were on our way there and decided this would be a great place to buy a few souvenir gifts before we left.

Once we finally made it to the beach area behind the hotel, we layed out our towel and just relaxed on the most gorgeous white sparkly beach I've ever seen. The sand is sooo white and has black and gold streaks throughout it! Simply fabulous!!

*gorgeous Shayna on the beach...yes! We are getting a gun!!!*

We read our books, hit the water, read some more, took pics, saw some crabs and other cool sea life, read some more, & walked around the hotel shops. After that we went back up the street to a little pizza place and had a bite to eat before returning to the beach for our last bit of fun in the sun. When we got back to the beach we did more of the same, and even built a really (really really) bad version of a sand castle!

Seriously, could this thing look any more like a pair of boobs? Haha...what can you expect from a couple of city girls who didn't have any tools to build their castle with. We tried...and we had fun doing it. :) Luckily for us it washed away even as we were making it, so we were spared the embarrassment of others walking by it during the remainder of our time there.

Unfortunately, all good things eventually come to an end...and so did this wonderful trip.
My mission was accomplished, perhaps too well - Shayna and I had some great bonding time, she got to meet a dear friend of mine that I met when I was her age, we both got to meet that friends boyfriend of almost a year now, and Shayna .... well, Shayna thinks she may have found the place she wants to live someday. I agree...San Diego is a fabulous place! I could EASILY see myself living there as well.

We also got some good laughs throughout the whole trip, cause baby, I'm just a NYC kind of girl at heart...my pace is always fast and furious and I walk that way. Shayna's is always more laid back, more of a take your time kind of girl. So we joked throughout our whole trip saying things like "Hurry up California girl" or when she would notice that I was ten paces ahead of her she would say "Take it easy New York City" It gave us some giggles and gave me a nice memory. We don't have to be the same... I love her deeply and really, really enjoyed the one on one time I got to spend with my dear sweet Shayna while on this trip.

It's hard to believe this child that I have been raising for 14 years is about to enter High School! It's hard to believe that I am old enough to have a child that is the same age that I was when I met many of my current friends! It is amazing to me that I...a person who was a very hateful teenager to my parents...am the mother of an AWESOME, family loving, considerate, beautiful young lady who makes being the mother of a teenager FUN!

She makes my heart overflow with pride and love! I adore you Shayna, thanks for taking this trip with me!