The Beach
July 31, 2012 * * * * * Posted by: Carola 
We are fortunate to live close to the ocean. No matter which route we take, in less than an hour we can see the Pacific Ocean stretching out to the horizon. It’s a cold ocean here – you certainly don’t go in there for a leisurely swim. It’s also very dangerous – it has vicious underwater currents that pull you out in the ocean, and so-called sleeper waves that are way stronger than regular waves. But despite the cold and dangerous waters, the beaches on our North Coast are a favorite destination of mine.
Forget about white soft sand. Here the sand is grey and rather coarse – walking barefoot can turn into a challenge. Still, strolling along the beach is a perfect pastime. There are shells to find, sometimes even a broken sand dollar, beautifully shaped sea glass and the empty crusts of crabs. All kinds of seagulls, cormorants and brown pelicans occupy the sky and the rocks. Harbor seals pop up in the waves and stare at the people on the beach full of curiosity. On good days you can spot whales in the distance.
I love the driftwood. It’s everywhere on the beach, piling up into interesting shapes or lying as logs in the sand, inviting you to have a seat and look out over the ocean. Dream a little bit and forget about your daily life for a moment. It always works. Just a few days ago, my daughter and I sat on one of those logs, eating sandwiches and enjoying the sound of the ocean. It was one of those typical grey days, when the clouds hover over the coast and don’t move away. There goes your dream of sunny California. What is left is a rocky coast with its very own untamed beauty.
One of the best wild places in the world.
Ocean
Reader Comments (18)
morning carola, i'm just back from the ocean...the indian ocean off northern tz; i love being near the sea but sadly i dont' get enough opportunity. i dream of views and days like yours. i dream of an ocean like yours, rather wilder and - in my opinion - far more scenic with all the treasures that can be found. my sort of wild beaches are definitely as you describe rather than the rather more soft sand, palm tree beaches that we get here (nice, but you know what i mean).
WOW...what a gorgeous coastline! As you say - it's not how I imagine 'sunny California' beaches to look like...but equally - if not more - beautiful!!! Lucky you to have the ocean at your fingertips!!!
Having lived in sunny SOUTHERN California for 12 years, Carola, I can fully attest to the wild, cloudy, frigid and mystical atmosphere of the northern California coastline. I think of beach volleyball in the south. I think of sitting on driftwood and hunting for sand dollars in the north. Do I need to tell you what I prefer? :)
YAY for you and where you live. I close my eyes and can feel it in my soul!
Sounds wonderful. I would enjoy strolling the beach...sigh.
How beautiful, any ocean I love. Loved this post.
like life, the landscape isn't any one thing. thankfully.
a beautiful post to remind us all that untamed is as gorgeous as manicured sunshine gardens.
I've only had one chance to visit your beaches there, Carola, and loved the wildness and beauty and difference from the Florida beaches where I spent most of my young years. A lovely, haunting image also!
The photo, and the post, take me right back to days spent with my grandmother in Ocean Shores, WA. Many times we would drive up the coast from San Francisco, stopping to walk along the shore in Oregon before finishing up the trip in Hoquiam, WA. I remember collecting sand dollars, drift wood and digging for razor clams. Love the the west coast, the long stretches of beach which you evocatively describe. Thanks for bringing me home for a moment.
I had to google sand dollar. They are beautiful, I've never seen them. I love the beach you show us. I used to live near the beach, but I would only go there for walks, never for sunbathing.
I was just in northern California, driving slowly on the hairpin turns of Pacific Coast Hiway in these parts. You're fortunate to live near such beauty! I love the still wild, undiscovered places.
What a beautiful place to live, I agree! I would love to wake up every morning to that!
Thank you so much for sharing the beauty of the ocean with us. Living in the high desert I yearn for the power of the bigbwater!
The wild, cold beaches are beautiful in their own way. I do like viewing the crashing surf from a safe spot on the beach.
Oh Carola, how fortunate you are! This too would be my kind of beach. I don't worship the sun nor do I like to swim in the ocean, but I so love the sound of the waves and the hunt for treasure! Beautiful post!
The beach, no matter how cold the water or how grey the sand, is always a place of wonder and beauty for me too. I can understand how much you would enjoy sitting on that log and just "being".
That sounds the perfect place to go walking and get lost in your thoughts. And seeing the picture I am magically transported there.
What a gorgeous image.... both your photo and the one you paint with your words. It sounds like the perfect place to be.
I have a cactus whose potted dirt is covered over with smooth, white-veined pebbles from the mouth of the Russian River. And one of my best memories is coming over a rise on a logging road on California's Lost Coast and seeing the land sweep down to the ocean. (That also may have been one of my more stupid decisions, to make that trip in a Toyota, but once on the way there was no turning back - as in so much of life.)
There are so many discoveries to be made there. Thanks for sharing some of yours!