Sophie and the Beach

Much has been written about Sophie and the beach, here and here and here.

Yesterday we went to the beach. It was a beautiful, breezy day and the sky was intensely blue. I intended to exercise, so I brought along Sophie's wheelchair and pushed her about a mile toward the Santa Monica pier. We passed women pushing baby carriages, young guys on skateboards, muscle men working out in the sand and a homeless guy who muttered curse words and shuffled along next to me for a little bit. I heard a couple arguing, you've got to try to have a sense of humor about these things, an older woman said to an older man, and one young guy whizzed by me sideways on skates with only one wheel. His red hair stood up on end and he looked a little like an inverted hamster.

I turned around at the pier and pushed her back toward where we had started. We sat in the sun at Perry's Cafe. I ate a grilled mahi-mahi sandwich and fed Sophie grilled cheese and french fries.

Then I wheeled the chair down the short wooden pier and left it there, at the end. I love that Sophie can walk freely here on the sand. There's a wide expanse and a soft surface, so I just let her go.

We sat, then,  in the sand and watched the surfers and sunbathers for a bit before we headed home.