We never intended to spend our afternoon walking the length of Cayucos State Beach (then Morro Strand State Beach), picking our way over rocks and around tidals washes, chasing shorebirds and hunting for tiny unbroken shells. But there we were in beachy-cute Cayucos, the keys to *our* car in the back of my parents' car, already up the highway, and the only way to get back to our rented house 5 miles away?

We had to walk there.

To be honest, we weren't even miserable when we realised our mistake. The day was perfect for walking - we had fresh-baked cookies in our backpacks and just enough sunshine for happiness. Our 5 year old ran ahead of us bit-by-bit up the beach, practicing her letters in the sand one at a time, until that very last mile when her weariness overcame her enthusiasm. (And then, we read street signs).

That day, we walked from seaside town into seaside suburbia, always toward the giant rock, toward the giant towers at Morro Bay, and not once did we wish to be doing anything different.

Which is why, now and then, it might be good to accidentally (intentionally) lock yourself out of somewhere.