After spending a week in Northern California, my first thought is: why don’t I live at the beach? Line up to fight me, mountain lovers: beaches are the most blissful, primal, awe-inspiring places on earth. Yes, mountains are beautiful, too. But they are missing something, namely waves. Unless you’re here, in which case you might consider exiting quickly.
My sister Elizabeth and I met up last weekend in San Francisco to explore both north and south of the city. We went to some Point Reyes national seashore beaches and also had snacks while strolling along the shore at Sausalito. We meandered above ocean at Santa Cruz, ventured down to Sand City near Monterey, and scooted alongside the bay there.
And then we went to Pfeiffer beach, at the top of Big Sur. As a friend’s daughter used to say when she was little, omg god!
Okay, I’m almost done with my vacation pictures. Just two more, I promise.
Let me note a couple of things. First, even though we didn’t plan to do super strenuous or long walks, we ended up walking a lot-a-lot. And second, my sciatica is definitely better than it was this time last week. Funny how that works. Just moving a lot, with some resistance (e.g. over sand), elevation change, and steady pace made a difference in my alignment and strength. Yay!
The next trick is to find time and ways to enjoy that experience of movement in a beachy setting back home. Luckily for me, I also live near the ocean (a different one, but it’s nice, too). However, maybe salinity isn’t even necessary; any beach might do in a pinch.
So, let’s see what I can and will do. Sticking to plans, however desirable, once I’m back in the swirl of regular life is always difficult.
Readers, any thoughts about how to replicate or re-engineer sublime vacation moment into a regular life schedule? I’d welcome any suggestions.
