Beach day at Tinkering School is a welcome retreat from our work. We look forward to an outing with our new friends in a new environment, where we can breathe in the ocean air (and breathe out the sawdust).

In the morning, we make a full breakfast for our adventuring. Daniel has invested in a way to make our pancakes more interesting.

Right after breakfast, we pack up our lunches for the day. Collaborator Serena assists Rob with his master sandwich.

Benjamin has been crunching through Harry Potter (and the Half-Blood Prince) all week. Today is no different.

Unsurprisingly, Potter also gets in on the HP party while the rest of the crew finishes getting ready for the beach.

Meanwhile, a sunscreen party breaks out. Reed is diligent in his application.

Some campers are less enthused about sunscreen. This is as good as you're gonna get with Axel, it would seem.

We make our landing at Redondo Beach, a favorite of ours, and wonderfully close by.

Climbing down to the sand is an adventure in itself. Delia leads the way!

We're thrilled to discover yet another beach day with playful dogs. We have land dogs...

And we also spot sea dogs! (Better known to some as seals.)

Avigael and Amelia are thrilled to have some furry pals. Smiles abound from all the campers as they settle into their beach day.

And then there's the ocean! There are many approaches to water contact. Avigael plays tag with the waves.

Wolf wants to go butt-first, he explains.

Sylvia just lets the ocean come to her.

Beach day is also great for quieter moments. Collaborator Serena takes a minute to herself.

Fox finds her own way to relax. We're not sure we can follow her particular style, but she seems happy.

Collaborator Caroline spends some time serenading the campers with their new favorite Steven Universe songs on demand.

One of our favorite things to do at Redondo beach is to explore the plentiful tide pools.

We start finding really interesting things and showing them off.

Sylvia spots some anemones in one of the pools.

What's that? Gandalf points out another little treasure he finds.

So many interesting things to see! Axel looks closely...

Maybe too closely?

Jaya and Watermelon have found their own pool to explore.

Collaborator Dee goes off on her own exploration as well. The view from this beach is incredible even on a foggier day.

Having fun, Liv?

Sadie has found some watery plant specimen.

Some of the campers decide to start their own Bucket O' Wonders. Watermelon shows off their small collection.

The tide pools are so amazing, Gandalf meditates on their awesomeness.

After some discussion of allowing nature to be natural, the tinkerers decide to release their specimen back into the wild.

We even find a cool hole to climb around in before we start heading back home. Pose!

We ride back, tired and happy, and warm from the sun (but not burnt, thankfully). After some showers, there is an expedition up to the animals for some more relaxing.

Dinner includes some logic puzzles, retelling of stories, and delicious mac & cheese. We finish off our vacation day with camp-favorite The Princess Bride, and some ice cream served with Collaborator Rhody's excellent hot fudge.

Tomorrow we go back to work to tackle the wheels for our carts and figure out our propulsions and braking. After such a wonderfully relaxing day, we're ready for it.

Blog written by Caroline, with Dee and Nik debating hip hop rivalries for company.

Session D: Day 4 - Beach Cray