Sure miss the Pacific

I forgot how wonderful the Pacific Ocean is. Last week we went to San Diego for a family celebration as two of our grandchildren were graduating from high school. It was a fun time to be there with them and a great reunion of our extended families.

As we drove over Cajon Pass and into Cucamonga, we saw lots of old grape vineyards which reminded me of the big flood in 1968 when we first moved there. The rushing water was so strong that a large wine barrel was pushed right through the wall of the Cucamonga winery. And the ground in our yard was so saturated by the heavy rainfall that a 40-foot-tall Italian cypress tree just "bit the dust" and fell over in our backyard.

We continued our drive south into the crowded city of Riverside where I reminisced about the good old motorcycle racing days there. My husband still has some dusty trophies on a shelf in the garage. Even I raced in one of the 100-mile "Great Bear Grand Prixs," but I didn't trophy. Onto the little country town of Ramona. It's located in the hills east of San Diego and that's where our daughter Cindy lives and where most of the celebrating took place.

One day was particularly memorable. Our daughter Lisa and I took five of my grandchildren to the beach for the day. The kids were ranging in age from 6 to 18 - three girls and two boys. The "Moonlight Beach" in Encinitas was the perfect place to go. There was lots of beautiful clean sand, good parking, bathrooms, showers, volleyball courts, two lifeguard towers and the clear, cool Pacific Ocean. And - it was free, and not very crowded.

The two teenage boys played volleyball, and the two teenage girls liked watching them while the 6-year-old granddaughter built castles and moats that filled up with water every time a big wave broke on the beach. What fun for her very first time at the ocean. She splashed lots in the waves and dug up pretty shells and sand crabs. I don't miss the big city, but I sure do miss that big, beautiful Pacific Ocean.

n Linda Monohan can be reached at 782-5802.