Nice, Safe Little Beach -

What do The Travel Bags do on their day off?

Have a picnic at the beach! Portuguese Beach just north of Bodega Bay, to be precise. It came highly recommended by the members of the last church. (Refer back to this little remark when you scroll down to the sign below that reads “DANGER!”)

This is not the umbrellas and sun screen sort of beach excursion. This is more like the “where did we pack the ski hats” sort of outing.

This is a terrific beach for many reasons. It’s full of great climbing cliffs…

and caves to explore.

And it’s got this great little sign…which makes it an educational experience, because it leads a child to ask, “Hey, what’s a sleeper wave?” and “Why shouldn’t we ever turn our backs on the ocean? I mean, how do we leave?”

(Don’t worry, Grandpa. Sure, this sign says that this is one of the most deadly beaches in California, but they’re just kidding. Those crazy sign writers—always yanking our chains! Ha ha. Ha.)

In case you’re wondering, a sleeper wave is rather like an ultra-mini version of a tsunami…mini as far as the rest of the town is concerned, but not so mini if, hypothetically, your family is exploring a cave and all simultaneously break rule number 6 and turn their backs on the ocean and a sleeper wave comes in and they all run away screaming, except for the dog who thinks it’s totally awesome and charges with his full 130-pounds into the ocean, dragging the child you loved longest with him.

I mean, that’s hypothetically what could happen. And if that hypothetically did happen, good parents wouldn’t stop to take pictures.

Instead they would post these peaceful pictures that make Grandma and Grandpa rest easy that we…I mean the hypothetical parents are taking good care of their hypothetical kiddos.