She Is Powerful

      No, not me!  The Pacific Ocean!  A few weeks ago I attempted to entertain you with some photos from Pt Reyes National Seashore.  That spot is incredibly beautiful and it was fun to show you photos.  This weekend RR and I traveled in the opposite direction to have a date with the ocean.

       Ft Bragg is a fishing and logging town on the north coast of California.  Possibly you have heard of its more trendy neighbor Mendocino but I prefer to spend my money in Ft Bragg.  It is an economically depressed area but that does not take away from the ocean connection.  I have been going there regularly for about thirty years and feel as if it could be home.  In years passed I have camped on the Ft Bragg coast or stayed with friends or relatives in town.  In more recent years, RR and I have taken to staying in a motel at the northern edge of town.  This motel,  the Ocean View Motel, is right there at the ocean's edge.  You can leave the sliding glass door open at night (if you dare and I do) and sleep with the ocean's roar in your ears.  On Saturday morning, I was impressed with how calm the ocean was - nary a whitecap in view.  But then there was Sunday morning.  Oh my! What a difference 24 hours makes.  I don't believe I have ever seen the Ft Bragg ocean so violent.  Such powerful and high swells, breaking way out there and then breaking again closer in.  Amazing!

       I got to thinking about people who didn't have the privilege of growing up and always living within 45 minutes of the ocean.  I feel bad for them and what they miss by not having the ocean connection.  I can't imagine what that must be like: to have never seen the power of the waves or heard their roar.  I tried to capture at least some of the ocean energy in these photos.  If only I could have included the waves, the birds, the breeze, the fragrance that is the Pacific Ocean.

Waves!  Huge!

Surreal, if you ask me.

This gives you some perspective on the height of the waves.

More perspective.  I won't be going beach combing down there.

Foam with a veil of fog

I am always impressed with the many shades of blue in the ocean.

And there was no wind!  That was pretty surprising. With waves like these you expect there to be lots of wind.

Beautiful blues

Can you hear the wave hitting the rocks?

If only we could capture the energy in those waves!

More blues!

Pulse of the World

     "We need the sea.  We need a place to stand and touch and listen - to feel the pulse of the world as the surf rolls in."                David Brower

    On Sunday, RR and I got out of town - something which we too rarely do.  We didn't go far but, in fact, we went to a whole different world.  We drove down to Pt Reyes National Seashore - about an hour south of our town.  It is a stunningly beautiful national treasure. Even my unwelcome sidekicks Stress and Tension took a hike while I was there.

    I was dazzled by the fall light.  We have been thoroughly socked in with fog and I was pleasantly surprised to see the fog and the sun dancing.  This was not one of those low cloud kind of days.  Oh no.  This was a sun-shines-bright-but-right-over-there-the-fog-completely-obscures-the-cliffs kind of day.  

   I took over 350 photos and had an uber hard time narrowing them down for this post.  I was just so taken with the colors, the intensity, the beauty of the day.  Feel free to browse and feel the breeze.  If you listen carefully you can hear the seagulls screeching.  I thought about giving you stuff to read along with it but no.  You won't want to be distracted by words.

 

L: Lost

        As I have referenced before , somehow it has fallen into my purview as the guidance counselor to be responsible for lost and found items.  The lost and found bin is located in the front office and every Thursday I put all the items out on the walkway in front of the office so they will catch the eye of every parent and student who walks by.  I don't know how this happened (however, the last line of my job description is "Other duties as assigned" so I guess this counts)  but I just accept that package.  Like so many other things in my work world, I can make that part of the job fit.

      Yes, it fits.  I have been lost in life before and I do believe I am lost again.  The last time I wrote about this, I was just discovering my current lack of direction.  I've been siting with it now for several months and finding myself curious and a little impatient with this place where I stand.  I accuse myself of being a coward because, in my foggy and cloudy world, I stay on the bluff.  I look over the ocean of opportunities but I won't move from the bluff.  It's cold out here on the edge.  I can't see very far .  But I do have a blanket around me, and I can see some sunshine over to the northwest.  I look with hope at that piece of blue sky which appears to be blowing the fog south.  I wonder how long it will be until my edge of the cliff is in the sunlight.  I wonder if the clear view will help me find my way?  The thing is, when you stand on a cliff by the ocean you must always be prepared for cold wind, for fog, for dampness.  You really can't be concerned about much more than holding on to your footing.  It's a long and rocky drop to the beach below.  It's good to breathe in the ocean air.  It's good to let the mist from the waves brush your face.  It's good to stand and just be.  Who knows?  Maybe you will see something on the horizon that will point you in some direction.  Try it.

D: Doran Beach

       Doran Park is a gentle and relaxing beach park on the Sonoma County coast.  It has a two mile stretch of sandy and sheltered beach and is an ideal place to fly kites, build sand castles, walk dogs (on leash), play frisbee, football, or volleyball, or just read and nap.  The word "sheltered" is important.  Many of the north coast beaches come with cold and treacherous surf.  It is relatively common to hear the medivac helicopter flying some fearless (or foolish) person to the local hospital.  Most locals know not to mess with the riptides and crashing surf but tourists think they know better.  Those waves and those cliffs will steal more than your attention if you are not careful.

     But that is one of the beauties of Doran Park. Doran Beach Park rests on a spit of land that projects into Bodega Bay. The waves here are generally light and playful.  This is a safe beach for children to play in the surf and to learn never to turn their back on the sea. The coast is only a twenty minute drive from our home so from the time RR and I came to live in Sonoma County, we have enjoyed frequent excursions over to the coast.  Sonny Boy and his sister Nutmeg grew up playing in the dunes and waves at Doran.  This beach plays a big role in our family history

Doran is a wonderful spot for people watching AND bird watching.  I'll leave you with some inspirations!