#ruby's diner

Shooby dooby down to Ruby's!

Last Thursday morning at Moro Campground above Laguna Beach was classic. A lot of time spent doing not particularly anything. Even breakfast.

By which I mean to say my breakfast, for example, was supposed to be a frittata sort of thing. Unfortunately, there was a bit too much liquid added to the recipe so rather than cook... the eggs sort of ran.

All around the pan.

To the rescue? Kimmer's cousin Derek who dried it all down on his grill. And, in the end...

Good stuff.

Tasty.

It just, you know, took forever.

A "forever", though, that was spent feeling the breeze and the warmth of the sun, looking out at the ocean and the hills, listening to the surf, the birds, the sound of children playing.

Seriously. Time stretches out in the best way possible. You get to indulge experiences for which there's usually no time.

So there's really no accounting for what we did Thursday morning except be.

The afternoon was a little easier to comprehend. We drove down the monster hill to the beach parking lot with the boys, Derek's son and his son's best friend. Or, as Kimmer calls them, The Bobbsey Twins.

Of course no one else calls them that. So there you go.

It's turned into a hot day, by the way. Hot enough that even the boys have agreed to this bit of exercise they wouldn't normally indulge: walking. And swimming.

Go figure.

At some point, walking north in the surf, they find a spot to occupy as we continue.

And continue.

And continue.

Part of that's because I'm taking the opportunity to do a shoot with Oatmeal Bear so he can have more vacation pics on his Facebook page. Right now, this very minute, I don't remember where or how I came into possession of Oatmeal Bear. I just know he's been traveling with us at least going back to when Kimmer was pregnant and we went to an outdoor concert that one time.

There are lots of Oatmeal Bear photos on the road. Thursday was simply an opportunity to shoot a few more.

Now, the major reason we're on the beach is two-fold. First, we haven't been down here yet and are very much running the risk of camping above the beach without ever setting foot on it. Second, though...

It's a really hot afternoon... and walking barefoot in the surf makes the temperature perfect. In contrast, walking up higher on the beach through the hot sand...

Makes the temperature miserable.

One more time:

MISERABLE.

So we went with the perfect hot afternoon experience of walking in the surf.

We walked about a mile-and-a-half up the beach to those historic cottages that are in the process of renovation. After that, we stopped in at a convenient bar next to the beach for a pair of drinks. And then we set about on our return walk in the surf.

Three miles and change... is what we managed walking in the surf.

Later, once we were back in camp (the boys already having left the beach and walked up the hill after swimming), we were greeted by our friend, Shane, joining us for the evening.

First order of business: Ruby's Diner along the Pacific Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. Classic cars outside the diner. Tasty burgers and shakes in a corner booth for the six of us plus Oatmeal Bear... on the inside.

Later, when we're all back at camp again, night's descending and it's time for a campfire.

I think it's Derek, Shane, and I for a bit until it's time for Uno Attacks! with Shane, Kimmer, myself, and the boys. It's a riff on Uno... with a card holder that shoots out a random number of cards at the press of a button.

With me so far?

Because Shane plays a card requiring Derek's son (to his right) to hit that button twice. Derek's son then plays the very same card in a maneuver called "stacking" that, last year, was officially sanctioned by his cousin (our daughter) Linzy. This move requires the next player, his best friend, to hit the button 4 times.

FOUR.

But wait.

That's not all.

Because turns out his best friend has one of these cards, too.

Which is how I come to hit the button SIX times.

I know, right?

We call it "Super Uno", by the way, whenever you're actively collecting a massive amount of cards rather than playing down to, you know, zero.

After a few rounds of Uno Attacks, we all sit down around the campfire to bring our day to a close. It's a ritual being repeated all around the campgrounds among families and friends.

When it's finally time to call it a night, we share fond fare-thee-wells with Shane before he heads off into the night. At which point we all head off to bed while I marvel at how warm it is outside. So warm...

That a t-shirt's just fine this late at night.

Dang.