Pacifica Beach Excursion

When I sat down Thursday morning for my first free breakfast at the Shattuck Hotel, my first thought was, “Oh, my goodness! There is a set of mini salt and pepper grinders at my table!” Doesn’t take a whole lot to amaze me.

Then we stopped at Whole Foods and bought a sandwich to share. It was made of “real” mozzarella, avocado, tomato, and artichoke on focaccia. We also bought sweet potato chips (my favorite) for our picnic at the beach.

We went to Pacifica Beach as it it is a little more out of the way and doesn’t get so crowded. It was quite the climb down from the road to the beach. And when we left the beach, I discovered the stairs were a  huffing and puffing, leg burning, areobic workout.

Besides the view and sound of the crashing, monster waves, we enjoyed the benefits of a perfect skin warming sun and my new friend, Jonathan Seagull.

And as an added bonus, we had a couple male nudists parading past us. Well, one did have a t-shirt on, but that was it. I’m wondering if this is a legal way of flashing people? But it provided for good humor, although that probably wasn’t the effect they were hoping for.

Lain and I sat and ate our food and discussed how much we need our creative outlets. No matter how busy and hectic things get, the healthiest thing we can do for ourselves is take time to create something each day, no matter how small and trivial. Writing for me is the way I make sense out of the world and the people in it. It’s how I process life events and confusing actions and words.

If I don’t write, I don’t process, and then I don’t find the conclusions or solutions to things that allow me to move past whatever is bothering or confusing me. That’s a bad thing. People should definitely be encouraging me to write, and write a lot! It’s in everyone’s best interests.

Writing also entertains and soothes me. I create stories that help me to see the humor in difficult circumstances. And I can make things up and create happy endings, many of which actually come true.

I love listening to my son talk about his art. I don’t understand everything he says but it’s interesting, and it impresses me how much he knows about history and cultures from his study of art. It was nice to not be in any hurry to get somewhere, but to just enjoy each other’s company and the awesome power of the ocean.

Below is a video I took at Pacifico Beach and the wild waves.

The second video is of our drive away from the beach area.

Next post I’ll tell you about our grocery shopping and barbecuing experience — the last installment of my 2010 western odyssey.