Surf’s Up
May 11, 2008
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VENTURA, CA — This … is bliss.
On this 94-degree sun-splashed afternoon, the beach was lined with umbrellas, with sunbathers stretched out under the sun, on beach towels draped over warm sand. A dog, dripping water, ran full tilt along the surf, leaped high and snatched a frisbee tossed from 90 feet away. Lots of sunscreen was being applied. The sun was summer-radiant.
Ahh, but this was late April. The water temperature was still a bit too spring-chilly for most. But it was eight years since I had body-surfed in the Southern California tide. I just had to go in.
It was a little slow going, venturing deeper into the cool water. A couple of high-school girls, not far away, laughed and shrieked each time a wave caught them in chilly foam. At first spray, the water was indeed shriek-inspiring.
But before I knew it, I was floating in the exquisitely refreshing coolness of the water. This was the water of my youth, of weekends on the beach, of hours riding the waves, and of tortilla strips and soda, enjoyed with gusto to fill that ravenous hunger that comes after an afternoon in the waves.
I was home, home here in the foam-flecked water, the marine-salt-smelling Southern California water. And once again, the waves were there for the riding.
Like riding a bicycle, catching a wave is a skill that, once learned, is never forgotten. I looked at the waves, watched where they broke, how they broke, and then began.
It’s just before a wave breaks, as it rises upward and curls, that you catch it. My timing was off for the first one. But on the next one I waited just a second longer, and leaped shoreward. The wave caught me, lifted me, and carried me in. At the end of the ride, in the foam of the breaker, I got a taste of the salt water, the taste of all those weekends in high school. And then I went out for the next ride.
Once in the water, all the mannerisms and enjoyments come back. Turning away into a wave about to break. Dipping under a breaker in full tilt. Swimming out beyond the break line and then just floating in cool water as it gently rolls, under the hot sun.
There isn’t such a thing as a last wave. There’s only the next one. And the next one after that. And so I spent the afternoon here, savoring the timelessness of wave after wave, and the coolness of the water, on this hot spring afternoon.
Topics: Southern California, Beaches | No Comments »
The vineyards beyond
April 22, 2008
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PASO ROBLES, CA — From the tasting room, the vineyards roll over hills and down valleys along the east side of the Paso Robles wine country. They make a pleasing view over tastes of chardonnay and syrah at Vina Robles Vineyards, off Highway 46.
Topics: Paso Robles Wine Country, Wine | No Comments »
Beyond hills to the sea
April 18, 2008
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CAMBRIA, CA — Traveling west from Paso Robles to Cambria, Highway 46 climbs into the coastal hills, with scenic pullouts along the way. The view from this vantage point encompasses the hills, at the height of spring color, and the curve of the San Luis coastline, with the dome of Morro Rock in the far distance. Indifferent to this view are some cattle, refreshing themselves at a watering trough almost directly below.
Topics: Paso Robles Wine Country, Central Coast | No Comments »
April in wine country
April 15, 2008
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PASO ROBLES, CA — In the peace and stillness of the mid-April countryside, the songs of sparrows blend with the calls of blue jays and woodpeckers. Along Adelaida Road and Chimney Rock Road, the leaves are popping out of the canes in the vineyards, the lupines highlight the meadows in lavender, and the valley oaks are clothed in the bright green of new leaves.
Topics: Paso Robles Wine Country, Back Roads | No Comments »
Emerald spring
April 11, 2008
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GAVIOTA PASS, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA — I treasure the greens of the grass-covered savannah of a California spring all the more because they are such a passing thing. By May, the grasses begin to dry, gradually turning to the buff color of a coyote’s fur. The golds and beiges of the late May landscape signal the lengthening of days, the departure of storms and the heat of summer, all good things. But the greens of spring are things to cherish, at least for me, for they are part and parcel of renewal, of the earth’s reawakening, of good things to come.
Topics: Back Roads, Santa Barbara | No Comments »
Back roads
April 8, 2008
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GAVIOTA PASS, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA — Far from the interstate, rewards await the inquisitive traveler. In the Santa Ynez range, back roads wander through grass-covered hills, through pastures, between oak-clothed ridges.
Believe it or not, this was once part of the main route between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Topics: Southern California, Santa Barbara | No Comments »
Ventura highway
April 4, 2008
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SOLIMAR BEACH, VENTURA, CA — Cool but not cold is the water, salty is the fragrance. The rhythm of the waves is a southern California leisurely adagio. Burst comes a breaker, followed by the drag of the surf. Burst comes another breaker, followed by more rush and drag.
This is body surfing territory. In the early days of spring, a wetsuit is needed. But by May, the water will warm to swim-suit temperatures. You just go out to where the waves begin to break, time yourself with the next one, start swimming shoreward, and let the wave carry you in.
Topics: Southern California | No Comments »
Caparone Winery in the Paso Robles wine country
March 30, 2008
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PASO ROBLES, CA — Caparone Winery is on San Marcos Road, a back road in the hills of the Paso Robles wine country. A wooden sign marks the winery’s driveway which, on a sunny March afternoon, curves through a lush green meadow colored with lavender wildflowers.
Inside the winery building, near casks of aging wine, Caparone’s six bold red varietals are available for tasting. Among them are three estate-bottled Italian varietals – nebbiolo, sangiovese, and the rarely planted aglianico. There is also an estate-bottled zinfandel, as well as merlot and cabernet sauvignon from grapes grown in the Bien Nacido vineyard near Santa Maria. The wines are not only rich and full-bodied, but very reasonably priced.
I left with the nebbiolo, the aglianico and the zinfandel. On my next trip I will not forget the sangiovese.
Topics: Paso Robles Wine Country | 1 Comment »
Wine country spring
March 25, 2008
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PASO ROBLES, CA — On this first day of spring, when the meadows are lush and green, the grape vines, seemingly bare, are sending forth the first tiny leaves of the season.
Topics: Paso Robles Wine Country | No Comments »
Waterfall and surf
March 21, 2008
BIG SUR CA — After tumbling down a redwood canyon, McWay Creek leaps 80 feet to the surf.
Topics: Big Sur | 1 Comment »