There are loads of beaches to visit in California, but if you happen to be in the Northerly part of the state, and you happen to be touring Muir Woods, you should definitely drive the extra ten minutes and visit Muir Beach.
This tiny beach is one of my favorites, cozy and intimate, extremely relaxed. Part of the landscape leading up to the beach is actually a habitat to help facilitate a species of endangered Salmon.

Be sure to visit on a cloudy, overcast, cool day (most days along NorCal's coastline) and pack a picnic, bonfire makings, blankets and a volleyball. Then just sit back and enjoy the sand and the chilly surf. Don't forget to wear sunscreen. Those overcast days will do some real damage if you're not paying attention.



If you don't have a dog to play catch with, don't sweat it, this one cozied right up to me. He was content to stick with me for as long as I'd throw the ball for him.

This week's twitter meme subject is one of my favorite things in the world. In fact, they cover most of the world! That's right, Oceans!

Here is my curated collection of oceanic bodies of water from around the globe. Enjoy!

For a week now I have been trying to think of what to say about my recent trip to Crystal Cove Beach Cottages in Newport Beach, CA.

I'm still at a loss for words. Perhaps because this trip was never intended as a grand adventure.

Here's what it was: 

It was a soulful getaway.

It was a restful bit of relaxation and indulgence.

And it was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Four nights, five days of going to sleep when I felt like it. Napping when I cared to. Rolling out of bed and going directly to the deck that adjoined the room and lounging on an adironak chair while reading book after book after book... Soaking up hours of sunshine. Exisiting in a state of quasi-narcolepsy.

The most adventurous thing I did each day was to leave Crystal Cove and it's perfect 1940's-esque confines and go with my vacation-roommate to eat breakfast at a bakery, or lunch at Cafe Rio or Rubys. And one day I drove her to downtown Huntington beach so she could shop while I read a book (I hate shopping). But for the rest of each day, we lazed, and lounged and lunched on leftovers and loved every minute of the day!

At least once each day I padded barefoot down the paved street, down a steep staircase and onto the sand-lined street below, past the beachcomber restaurant and a line of freshly restored cottages (as in just opened the day before) to the golden sands, deep blue waters and deafening silence of the crashing waves on the beach.

There was a pattern to the day, in the life of the beach, I observed. In the mornings, the sounds of children playing and people laughing were king on the beach, over the gulls and waves. But around dinner time, the people faded away. Then the residents of the cottages could be seen walking solo, slowly down the stretches of sand. After dark, a flashlight here or there illuminated small patches of beach, their owners searching for sand crabs and sea-life. But mostly, after dark, all was peace and thunderous waves where the sea met the earth, trying to beat it back and reclaim it for it's own.

And I know now, again, why I was always meant to live by the ocean, for the peace it speaks to my soul. And I know now why I don't live now by the ocean, for nothing else matters when I'm there.


But someday.
Someday I'll walk the expanse, smooth, wet sand enveloping my feet, waves drowning out every care and I'll be there to stay.

The sea will have reclaimed me.

Last Saturday I was supposed to go for a bike ride with my sister. But then she bailed on me with no fore-warning, which was seriously annoying (especially because I'd passed on several weekend trips so I could go biking with her). So I ended up going out to Point Reyes and hiking. I went a few months back and did a hike to Sculpture beach (there's an old blog with photos somewhere). This time I wanted to spend some serious time on the beach so I chose a hike called the Limantour Spit. It basically paralleled sand dunes on one side and the ocean on the other. Perfect! It was couple of miles each way. Once I got past the populated beach area and headed away from the people, I saw more and more wildlife. Flocks of Pelicans, cranes, crabs and occasionaly a Seal would poke it's head out of the water and stare at me. I reached what I thought was the end of the beach (it pretty much turned right, sharply and then looked like it ended into a rock wall) I sat myself down and ate my lovely Whole Foods Turkey Sandwich, apple and home-made chocolate chip cookies. Yum! A seagull tried it's best to look cute enough to feed throughout my lunch, but we all know that Seagulls are rats with wings! No food for him! (okay, okay, I did give him some of my turkey sandwich!)



California is a study in Microclimates. It's astonishing really, how quickly climates change around here. My trip to work is either a 24-minute train ride or a 30 minute drive in traffic (12 minutes if there is no traffic!). During that 24 minute train ride, the weather can be sometimes like this: 80 degrees at 8am in Walnut Creek. 5 miles down the road, 86 degrees in Lafayette. Four miles later you drive through the Caldecott tunnel (a tunnel through the hill that separates Oakland from the inner east bay), On the other side of the tunnel, it is a chilly, overcast, 65 degrees. Not kidding!



So after my lunch on the point of the spit, I laid back to take a nap and enjoy the sunshine, which came and went about every five minutes. It would alternate between sun, cold and fog drizzle in a time-lapsed loop. Pretty incredible.



When I got up from my little nap, I looked at the water only to see a seal sticking its head out of the water directly in front of me, staring at me. So I stared back. And then I grabbed my camera. He started heading down to the right and I followed, only a few feet later a really cool sight came into view: Over a hundred seals napping on the beach in a giant flock. They weren't the gross, huge harbor seals on pier 39, theses were darling little seals, light brown and white and black. As I walked towards them, they streamed into the water en masse. I took a ton of photos. The closer I got, the more rushed into the water and just waited there, heades bobbing in and out of the small bay, looking at me and waiting for me to leave.



After I took the photos I wanted, I headed back out to my car and then home. The fog was just starting to roll in and take over the beach and the sun was hidden for the day.



If only every day was a beach day!

We finally reached an arch that we had to maneuver through as the waves receded to make it around the point.






I didn’t do so well, I’m not gonna lie. I'm not the most graceful/balanced person in the world. Not even close. I slipped right in, drenching myself through all of my layers and dunking my lovely new(ish) digital SLR. Great.
The biggest concern at this point was not the camera (it’s under warranty still) but the cold. We were a good three miles of sand and hills away from the car, we weren’t done with the hike, it was drizzling rain (from the fog) up to that point, but had just started to actually rain. Thank goodness for the priesthood. Between them and my backpack, we had everything we needed (to make sure Kamikazee Christy survived, lol). I had the first aid kid (for my bleeding cuts and scrapes) and they had towels and a spare fleece. Couldn’t do anything about my soaking shorts but ring them out. Did a quick change and then joined the group in the mouth of a cave for lunch watching the waves and the rain. We explored a bit more and then headed back. Luckily I had some dry socks, shoes and pants in the car (a must when going to the beach in NorCal), so I changed and got all warm and toasty for the ride home… No cold, no pneumonia, just a really fun day!