Sam's Return to Muir Beach

Just over a month ago, we decided to take a trip to Muir Beach. Cam wrote about it and shared some pictures on his blog at the time. I have been putting off writing about it from my perspective because I knew I wanted to do a Then & Now posting and it would take some time to put together. Here it is. I hope you enjoy the flashbacks as much as I do.

So, you probably know the story about how in April of 2001, I quit my job in St. Louis and Sam and I drove around 2,222 miles to San Francisco in search of a jellyfish beach, a new job for me and all of our dreams to come true.








I didn't end up finding a job that would allow us to stay and there were no jellyfish at Muir Beach but Sam and I still found the first beach we made it to spell-binding.

Thanks to Cam, five years later, those dreams are our reality.







I love this picture of Sam perched on the giant ocean rocks at Muir Beach.

Then.

Now.









I think I sat him on top of the rock when he was little. This time, he gave a rock climbing demonstration.
































































































































Getting down was a bit different this time too.















Cam had wanted to take one of his notorious long, solo hikes that morning. I wasn't into vegging out at home this time. So, we agreed to go to Muir Beach together where Sam and I could get out of the house, breathe the fresh air and chill out on the beach. At the same time, Cam could do a long, solo hike in the area. He's off.

Going.












Going.
















Gone.

We had agreed to meet back at the beach a couple of hours later. Sam and I were going to drive to the Muir Beach Overlook and see if we could see any Gray Whales migrating while Cam hiked.

But less than an hour later, we were pleasantly surprised when Cam rejoined us on the beach. Part of the trail he had been planning to take was closed and he said he just decided he wanted to be with us so he came back. He had been able to see us playing on the beach from the trail high above.

We enjoyed playing on the beach together for awhile.














Cam couldn't resist wading in the waves.








He spied some starfish clinging to this rock.

They were completely covered when the water was in and exposed when it was out.

We decided to save the Muir Beach Overlook for another day.







I'm glad to have been able to go back there with Sam and share the experience with Cam.