A beautiful California summer:

Captured a few images of California summertime where the waves roared, the sun smiled, and the sky was as blue as a diamond.

On a typical California summer, 2 families went to the ocean side at La Jolla shores for a full-day picnic. While we hurried to select an open spot in the grassland just before the sandy surface of the ocean, the little ones were busy putting up tents and umbrellas in the space occupied by us. We opted for an early lunch with a sandwich before going to the ocean. 
Alisha, the younger of the two sisters all 10 years, is determined to pursue Marine Engineering when she grows up. The extent of her interest was fully evident when she took us for a short walk all along the shore towards the Tadpole area. What was a 5-minute walk as per that naughty child, turned out to be a 3-4 kilometers stroll along the beach almost to Torrey Pines Gliders port. On not finding any larva-stage amphibians at the designated place, she was not disheartened and instead showed us some other marine animals including a very big-sized dead Lobster! She had an answer that Tadpoles probably are not found during low tide. A few calls from her parents forced her to abort the mission halfway. The elder one, all 16 years old, was not much amused by this long walk as she would rather have been happy playing with her dog Zen inside the tent or simply taking a nap in the cool ocean breeze. 

Another lovely afternoon and we were on a trip to the local Del Mar County fair, the biggest fair in San Diego with the theme 'Get out there'. While we were out wearing summer dresses as the temperature was in the high twenties, to our surprise cool breeze started blowing as we approached the fair near the ocean. The fair is both fun and at the same time educational. There were plenty of joy rides for children of different age groups and Alisha tried a few of them and especially loved the one that allowed her to pass through a horizontal rotating barrel. An entire area was showcased with various metals and stones including rare earth and radioactive materials for the children and enthusiasts to get conversant and even take home a few gemstone samples absolutely free. But the biggest attraction for Alisha was the area where Local San Diego wildlife takes the spotlight in the 'Wild About Home Grown' Fun show. Children can get up close and personal with several attractions from swine pig racing, horse riding, and most importantly interacting in a closed space with different animals, patting their backs and feeding them. While she was enjoying her rides, I too joined the fun by the sheer luck of throwing one ball into the pot which earned her a small aquarium as a reward. The aquarium brought so much excitement to Alisha that she kept it with her all the time while returning from the fair and even asked for a bigger aquarium from her father. When her father said a strong no to her request, she politely demanded that she was ready to forget the 20 dollars that she owes from him, and instead wanted that aquarium. When her father narrated past incidents where this type of fish could not adjust to indoor aquarium conditions despite maintaining PH value, she relented a bit and peace prevailed. But that did not deter her from taking good care of the fish after returning home after all she is going to be a Marine Biologist!

California with its mild climate, proximity to the ocean, and undulating landscapes continues to inspire and ignite young minds like Alisha to create their own stories through their love for the ocean, marine life, and surroundings.