Ocean Solace
The events of the last week and what they mean for us as a family are still settling in. At some point we will be able to wrap our heads around things enough to write about them, but for now we are not there.
We have spent the last week along the California coast. The ocean has always been a huge comfort to us both, but the NorCal coast is often inhospitable, shrouded in fog and ripped by biting winds. On those rare clear days, the rugged coastline and electric blue water provided us with a place to reflect and commune with nature. From the beginning of our relationship, we’ve had some of our best talks walking along the beach (in parkas and ski hats mind you).
We’ve been away from the Pacific for five months, and while we know the importance of the ocean to us, it still came as a surprise when we both began crying as we hopped on 101 in Ventura and the Pacific came into view. Surfers were plying the waves, flocks of gulls screamed overhead, the smell of salt filled the air and the sparkling water stretched out to the Channel Islands and beyond.
A week of amazing clear warm weather as we camped within earshot of the crashing waves has allowed us some solace and calm. Marbled godwits, snowy egrets, whimbrels, royal terns, sanderlings, harbor seals, elephant seals and porpoises flitted past or frolicked in the waves before us. We’ve taken many walks along the beaches, holding hands and talking. It was even warm enough for a quick dip in the water. We’ve enjoyed epic sunsets over the water and the super moon rising above the Coast Range.
Our dear friends Heather and Jesse came down from SF to camp with us for the weekend, providing a great test of the claim that the Minnie sleeps six. It does! We laughed, ate great food, wandered along the beach collecting rocks and sat around the campfire listening to the waves below.
Neither Lisa or I had ever been to Hearst Castle, and no trip to the Central Coast is complete without it. The castle was beautiful and the art collection is fantastic, but the highlight for us was the California Condors soaring above us. Massive wildfires on the Central Coast this summer have disrupted their usual flying patterns so they now spend significant time gliding low over Hearst Castle, to our great amusement and joy.
The food here has also made us incredibly happy. The first of the season’s citrus crop is arriving and there are stands of greens and strawberries lining the roads. Small roadside taquerias have beautiful fresh fish, and Santa Maria-style barbecue. We’ve missed the freshness of the fruits and veggies available in California, and we’vemissed having such great food readily available to us.
The Minnie is now in need of a bath. She has a thick coating of salt and sand and myriad footprints of gulls all over the roof. We will head back to the desert soon, but for today we’ll take another walk by the waves with the shorebirds, feeling the sun on our face and the sand between our toes. Most importantly we will be together.
