Sonoma Coast and Glass Beach

After we left Point Reyes, we drove north along the California coast through Sonoma Coast State Park.  At some point, in order to avoid disappointment, we told the kids that we were on an "explore the beach" and not a "swim in the ocean" vacation, because of the cold and dangerous surf.  They took this well,  and seemed to enjoy the beach-combing and tidal pooling.  We collected a lot of rocks and shells and sundry other items on this trip, myself included (I swear I'm still finding rocks and shells in my laundry!  but it was worth it).

 The pocket-filling begins.

 >>>>>>End Sonoma Coast State Park, Begin Glass Beach. :)

 Someone told us that we could scoop up the glass by the handfuls.  The whole beach was like this.  Super cool.

 We found lots of little crabs on this beach!

I scheduled our trip a little too tight, which is a temptation of mine!  Its hard to resist seeing as much as possible.  But it is also nice to be able to relax and enjoy the places I'm visiting!  Do you like your vacations slow and relaxing or do you like to see as many sights as possible (or a mixture of both!)?

When I plan a trip, I love to use the Frommer's travel guides.  We learned to love them while we lived in England.  Maybe because I have a hard time making decisions, I like the fact that Frommers, for big cities anyway, will give attractions a "star" rating.  This helps me prioritize because of course I can't choose it all!  I also try to see things in terms of what I value (love me a good art museum!  I wanted to do a museum in SF so badly!  But it didn't work out).  And, particularly with kids, I think vacations are an investment in their education.  There is something about experiencing things that teaches me about a particular subject so much more profoundly than just reading about it in a book.  So I try to keep this in mind too-- which activities will enrich my kids the most.