homemade hopscotch and more

When the rains breaks, there is nothing as good as hopping a train to the beach with both my sisters and niece and nephew to etch out a hopscotch court in the sand and marvel at my little niece’s pick for beach footwear.

After getting our shoes sandy and breathing in big lungfuls of salty air, we stepped out of the chill for bone-warming hot chocolate at the serene and lovely Trouble Coffee, followed by a slow wander through General Store – a new shop with great light and plain wood shelves artfully filled with a bang-on, perfect collection of everything from postcard sets to succulents to porcelain cans and vintage Irish sweaters. (click here for a great peek and review)

Thanks to Sunset magazine for the tip-off about the outer Sunset gems. So worth the train ride. Especially because my niece requested that we sing Christmas carols on the ride home, for no apparent reason other than to make us all smile, along with lots of our confused, but sweetly amused, fellow passengers.