A Quiet Labor Day Weekend with Flowers and Fish

The end of August rolled into the start of September over the long Labor Day weekend in 2003. The coast was completely socked in with fog on one of those days. The view from the beach was muted and almost sepia-toned, with the cliffs and houses on the hill looking distant and quiet under the heavy cloud cover. It wasn't exactly swimming weather, just a calm, overcast day by the water.

We spent a good chunk of another day wandering through a dahlia garden. The sheer volume of flowers was incredible. Paths wound through dense fields of them, each one a different shape and color combination. There were spiky orange ones, some with delicate pink and white petals around a yellow center, and others a vibrant, almost neon yellow. Against the backdrop of the equally gray sky, the colors felt especially intense.

At some point, we also made our way to the aquarium. It's always a strange experience, going from daylight into the dark halls. Inside one of the tanks, a lionfish drifted with its fins fanned out, looking dramatic in the dark water. In another, a bright red fish with huge eyes just swam laps. It was a simple weekend, just a few quiet outings to mark the end of summer.