Here's the thing with your kid getting strep throat.
Even if he's been on antiobiotics for 24 hours, you still don't want him around other kids just because what if he's still contagious?
But you and he have been cooped up in the house for three days while he recovers. And you look outside and the sky is being photogenic with its pale blues peeking through streaks of cotton clouds. The sun is lighting up your street. The air is sweet and fresh.
You simply have to get outside.
If you're like me, you simply have to get to the beach.
We took the boys on a docent-lead nature hike through Pescadero Marsh, which is located about 20 minutes south of Half Moon Bay along Highway 1. It was a slow, 2-hour stroll (with many stops) that started along the shores of Pescadero State Beach. We saw the sun glowing on creeks.
We saw birds and deer and bugs. We saw the first signs of spring as flowers busted through dried vegetation.
We saw trees that cried out for us to climb in their branches with a picnic and a good book.
We admired nature's art.
And finally, finally, we adored the beach.
We capped our hike with a visit into town for lunch at the Pescadero Country Store and with a bag of barbecued chips, a sandwich, fried artichokes and many glugs of water, one little boy was no longer under the weather. He, like the rest of us, was rejuvenated and ready to take on the world.
Or at least Monday.
(If you want to check out more kid-friendly hikes in the Bay Area, I highly recommend you sign up for the FaceBook page, Best Hikes for Children in the Bay Area.)
