I beat the Central Valley heat this weekend in the cool waters of the Monterey Bay.
With several days of triple-digit highs in the forecast and two new child bike seats to test out, Saturday seemed like the perfect day to cool off at the coast.
My wife and I packed up the car, the kids, the bikes and the sunscreen (yes you can get sunburned through fog!) and made the trip in just over 2 and-a-half hours.
It seemed like everyone else had the same idea we had because traffic was pretty slow after Hollister especially on Highway 101.
Of course Monterey and the Central Coast was typically cool and breezy.
But, when the wind let up and the sun broke through the thick marine-layer fog it felt almost hot.
We biked from Pacific Grove to Monterey and let the kids play at Dennis the Menace Park.
The park is great and the kids had a blast running, climbing and sliding.
From there it was back on the bike trail, off to lunch and then the beach.
The fog was moving into Pacific Grove so we decided to hit Monterey State Beach where the sun was still shining and the fog was still a few miles offshore.
The beach was beautiful and the water didn't feel as cold as usual to me.
My five year-old didn't care how cold the water was she was getting in and having fun with new friends she just met.
My two year-old was having a blast playing chase with the surf as it rolled over the soft sand.
He got caught a few times tripping over his own feet and ended up soaked but laughing.
We had a great time in the sun and surf, but as the fog rolled in and we rolled out of town, we were happy to know we'd be warming our bones by the pool on Sunday in the hot Fresno Sunshine.
For the record, Monterey's high temp on Saturday was 69-degrees, only one degree warmer than Fresno's low temperature on the same day!
