Sand

Friday March 13, 2026

Desmond earned his wings and made his first visit to the beach this week. We’re in San Diego for Emma Haberlach and Alan Dritley’s wedding, and came a few days early to make the West Coast friends and family rounds with Desi.

This week, at least, it’s a privilege to be scrambling to get this done before Friday. We’re getting some sun and introducing Des to a whole new world of experiences. His first flight was six hours long, and he did better than we could have possibly asked of him. Whenever he did get fussy, I just held him up so he could look at the back of the plane. For whatever reason, he wanted to just stare blankly at the people sitting behind us for hours on end. Fortunately, those people were good sports and seemed to enjoy Des popping up like a meerkat every few minutes during the middle hours of the flight. He slept hard for the last two and a half, which was a fair enough trade-off for the lack of sleeping he’s doing overnight in California.

He’s also now dipped his toes in the Pacific Ocean before the Atlantic. Less excitingly, he’s had his first experience with sand. We went to a beach in La Jolla with Brittany Fantasia, Lindsay’s cousin-sister Sydney, and Brittany’s son, Nico, who’s a month younger than Des, but far more experienced with sunshine. He seemed pretty into feeling the sand on his feet, but I was less into him kicking it up into his own face.

I’m really not a beach guy, mostly because I hate sand. I hate how hot it is. I hate how, no matter how careful you are, it gets all over your blanket. I hate how it’s literally impossible to go from water to towel without getting covered in it. I hate how it only kind of comes off in the shower later, so you’re still feeling it in your buttcrack 24 hours later.

Desmond appears to have inherited his mother’s attitude toward sand, not mine, so I suppose I’m happy for him. I love the ocean, so maybe I’ll get a boat so they can hang out on shore, and I’ll stay on the water. Apparently, we’ll both need to nap after a day in the sun since Des knocked out cold for two hours as soon as we got in the car.

Anyway, quick one this week, so enjoy some pictures: