Biking, Beaching & Bocce

On Sunday, we decided to go for a bike ride to Stone Harbor.  It was a partly cloudy day with highs in the 70's which is perfect temperature but it was pretty windy.  We drove to Avalon where we parked the cars and unloaded the bikes.  We headed south but first wound our way up and down some of the streets of Avalon.

Most of the houses appear to be fairly new or at least renovated.  A lot of the older houses are being bought just for the lot, torn down and replaced with a much bigger house.

We rode about 5.5 miles south through the community of Stone Harbor and out to a natural preserve at Stone Harbor Point.  We walked out to the preserve hoping to see some monarch butterflies.

The monarch butterflies travel through here on the migration back south sometime between late September and early October.  It must be a little early in the season because we only saw one monarch butterfly.

As we walked back to our bikes, I noticed this unusual plant.  It has blue berries and red stems.

Our ride back to Avalon was challenging because we were peddling against the wind the whole way.  Biking into the wind was even more challenging for this couple in front of us who were pulling their kids in a tow-behind cart.

We made it back to Avalon on our bikes with no problems except achy knees.  We were ready to sit, eat some lunch, and relax at the beach.

I even took a little nap!  :)

After we had all rested for a while, we decided to play bocce.  Bocce balls are just the right size for juggling!  :)

Bocce is played by throwing a small ball called the pallino out first and then everyone takes turns trying to get as close to the pallino as possible with the bigger balls (like the ones Chuck is juggling above).

The team that gets closer to the pallino gets a point for every ball that is closer than the opponents.

Sometimes, the balls have to be measured from the pallino to see which one is closest.  Of course, we didn't happen to bring a tape measure with us to the beach; but Chuck found a stick to use.

We played two games of Bocce with the women winning both games!  Woohoo!  :)

By the time we had finished the second game of Bocce, it was nearly 5 pm.  We packed up our beach gear and drove back to the campground.  After dinner, we played a game of ladder golf but it was getting so dark we couldn't see what we were throwing at.  Later, we all got together at Ken and Bonnie's to play SkipBo and Up the River.  Both games were very close with the women winning SkipBo and the men winning Up the River.

What's the tally so far on the games won?  Women - 11.  Men - 4.  I guess all that trash-talking about the men winning all the games before we got here is not working out for them too well.

All I have to say about that is:  Right here and right now, the women are ahead!  :)