Journeys›Photograph

A Labor Day Weekend on the Beach in Santa Barbara

·Santa Barbara, California·#california#summer#family#santa-barbara#beach-trip
A white boat with shark teeth on a sandy beach, with palm trees and a building against an orange sunset sky.

We got to Santa Barbara in early September, just as the sun was going down. The light was soft and golden, and the long line of palm trees was silhouetted against the sky. The beach was quiet, and a lifeguard boat with shark teeth painted on the bow was parked on the sand for the night.

Even as dusk settled in, the kids went straight for the water. They ran along the edge of the surf, splashing in the small waves as the mountains became hazy in the background. They just kept running back and forth on the wet sand as the last of the daylight faded into twilight.

The next day was bright and clear. We spent our time right at the shoreline, trying to figure out a skimboard. It was a process of trial and error, getting the timing right to catch the thin layer of receding water. After a few tries, they started to get the hang of balancing, gliding a few feet before the board stopped in the sand.

A child in a pink shirt splashes in shallow ocean water at dusk, with sand, buildings, and mountains in the background.A child runs barefoot in the ocean's foamy edge on a sandy beach, with buildings and mountains in the distance.A child in a pink shirt stands barefoot in the foamy shallow ocean water at a beach with mountains in the background.A barefoot child runs on a sandy beach at dusk, with the ocean and distant hills in the background.A child runs barefoot on a wide sandy beach next to the ocean, with hills and trees in the background.A smiling child on a skimboard at the water's edge on a sunny beach, with the ocean and boats in the background.A child in a swimsuit skimboards on a wet beach, smiling, with the ocean and boats visible in the background.A child in a swimsuit balances on a skimboard at the water's edge on a sunny beach with boats in the distance.

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