Tag Archives: ocean

A Question of Luxury

Just what is a luxury? The word tends to bring to mind those things you buy: fancy cars, expensive homes, designer clothes…

As I mulled the idea of a luxury I wouldn’t want to live without, I found myself thinking instead of just how fortunate I am. My basic needs are met…and more. I live in a beautiful city…a place that others choose for vacations.

The natives have been restless this week, our weather has been hot (for us) and we’ve had unusually high humidity too. Weather has been the topic of conversation for everyone. Most coastal dwellers don’t have air conditioning–we’re all much more used to carrying a sweatshirt at all times since it’s more likely to be chilly (for us) rather than too hot. So we’re all whining and complaining about discomfort and wishing for greener (and more temperate) pastures.

As I headed off to the beach this evening for relaxation and relief from the heat (it’s starting to become a habit), I realized that it is our proximity to the ocean that is the luxury that I would prefer not to live without. I love seeing the ocean in the distance as I sit in traffic on the freeway. I love knowing which direction west is as I watch the sun set. I love the briny smell of foggy mornings and the woody smell of bonfires along the shore. I love the quirky behaviors of seabirds, watching them run along the shore with bills specially adapted for the food source they seek. I love the piles of amber kelp that wash up and become jump ropes and sandcastle decorations and fun poppers exploding under my bare feet.

I love long walks, especially at low tide, with the white noise of the surf soothing my soul and relaxing that tight knot that often forms between my shoulder blades. The beach is definitely a luxury–and I wouldn’t want to live without it.

What luxury would you not want to do without?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea

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Today was one of those rare hot, sultry days in our coastal community…and it’s the first week of school. I love our old fashioned school with high ceilings, big windows…and no air conditioning! By the time I left work today I felt hot and soggy–and home was also hot and un-airconditioned.

The perfect answer to almost anything in my world is a walk on the beach. Mostly I walk at the beach on weekend mornings or afternoons. But today, a Friday evening sunset walk was the perfect way to cool off and the perfect end to the week. I’d forgotten how the sun setting changes the light and creates softness and shimmers, reflections and incredible colors.

A feeling of peacefulness comes over me as I listen to the waves crash and smell the salty air. I managed to catch this seagull in flight as it headed over the breakers. There is nothing like the sea to sooth away the stresses of the week and help me feel centered and calm.

Where is your peaceful place? What soothes and calms you at the end of your work week?

Morning Views

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Just to change things up I’ve been taking a different route to work this week. And remembering some of my lessons learned from last week, I’ve been trying to take a few minutes every day to stop and take pictures of things that catch my eye. This week’s #sdawpphotovoices theme is repetition…and my route this week has some quirky features that capture that theme.

Here’s a photo I took this morning of a row of palm trees planted along a road above Highway 101. This photo is in its original state taken with my iPhone.

You can see ocean with the marine layer off in the distance and the beautiful blue of the early morning sunshine.

Below this row of palms is a pumpkin patch that I notice when I drive on the road below. I walked down a ways to try to get close enough to capture the orange of the pumpkins. I wanted to capture the ocean as a backdrop, but my iphone just isn’t able to capture the detail and the distance. I did pull this photo in and cropped it a bit to emphasize the pumpkins. I also used the souvenir filter on the app tadaa to change the effect.

In some ways this filter makes this scene look like something from the past instead of one taken today. I love that pumpkins are growing along the side of this road in a suburban beach city…a relic of the agricultural history of the area.

I think I’ll try yet another route tomorrow…I wonder what I’ll notice!

What do you see on your way to work? How does it change your view of the community?