The beach ...

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Now playing: Christopher Cross - Sailing (Remastered LP Version)
via FoxyTunes


I said I'd blog separately about my day-trip along the coast, so here is an attempt to get the feelings and images across with mere words ...

I pulled out of the Park, and headed due South on Hwy. 1. The morning was cool and misty, and I found myself hoping the fog would lift soon. I needed a sunny day at the beach. After about half an hour, I arrived at the section of highway that truly hugs the coast. Even in the fog, that stretch of highway is beautiful. I rolled the windows down and cranked up the tunes as I drove in and out of sections of sun and mist, letting the cool ocean breeze blow through the car. As I got further south the sunny areas dominated, with the fog appearing only sporadically. Is there any other feeling like driving along the rugged coast in the sunshine, knowing you're on your way to the beach? I have yet to find anything quite like it for sheer release.

I finally arrived at Pfieffer Beach, and the weather was perfect. A freshening wind swept along the shore, and the sun shone brightly down, making the water sparkle. Waves swept up on the shore, and birds soared up above. Idyllic, you might think, and truly it was. I set up my little area, and settled in to enjoy my afternoon. The tang of salt was in the air when I breathed in, and I could feel the spray from the waves crashing just ahead. I was mesmerized, watching the play of surf, sky, and shore. The combers would break just before the beach, leaving lacy patterns where water met sand. Birds ran along these edges, looking for tidbits and occasionally finding something, and small children played there as well. As I sat there, I felt like the sights and sounds were soaking down into my very essence, layering a healing balm over all the stresses and difficulties I'd been dealing with lately. It was as if the wind was blowing through me, taking everything dark away and replacing it with a sense of lightness and calm. This wasn't time to think or worry, it was time to simply be. Time to sit or walk and just enjoy, with no thought of tomorrow or what's to be done later. This isn't a feeling I'm blessed with often, this ability to just let go, so I appreciated every second of it.

Eventually, it was time to return. The light was shading into that mellow gold that happens on late summer afternoons sometimes. I drove back up the coast, stopping at various spots to take pictures of particularly magnificent views. Some of that peaceful feeling I had fled as I drove away from the sea, but I took a small amount back, held closely deep within. Sometimes if I close my eyes I can still recapture the sensation just for a moment, now and then. Music helps, so I included the above song with this posting. I always get the most vivid pictures in my mind when I listen to it. It actually sounds like sailing to me. However, that's a thought for another post, so I'll close by saying what an amazing day I had, and that I hope some of the tranquility and joy I experienced was communicated to you through what I wrote.