As I sit here, trying to come up with an intro to this post, the ever blinking cursor taunts me. Present, disappearing, present, disappearing. It impatiently waits for me to have a thought worth typing up, to move the words from my mind palace to this abstract idea of a page on the Internet.
And it makes me think of the waves of the ocean, who so dutifully report to the shore, time and time again.
I did quite a bit of thinking while at the beach with our close family friends earlier this week while I was in California.
I thought about how the rocks of Asilomar are slowly ground into sand.
I thought about the Polynesian migrations and the groups of explorers pushing out from their home in an outrigger, never expecting to stumble upon the islands and vast coastlines that they did.
I wondered what Native American coast dwelling folk thought when they saw the white foam of the waves crash across a rock while the sun was setting. Did they notice it's beauty, or simply see the ocean as a food supplying mechanism? Did they sit and enjoy the millions of shades that can appear in one sunset? Or was it just another occurrence like a gust of wind? Or did it have great meaning and symbolism?
I know if I really wanted to I could research and discover, but sometimes I think it's alright to not have all the answers, and let the questions roll around and reproduce in my head.
Finally, I thought about how some of these pictures are some of the best I think I've ever taken, and how excited I was to share an account of our time at the beach with yall.
Here we go.
After a nice drive through some agricultural land and some groves, we found ourselves on the coast. The weather was a bit moody all day, raining and misting in fits and spurts, but the rain let up for just a moment when we made a bathroom stop, and I was able to snap a few pictures.
Their little (but mighty) dog, Nala, was brought along, and loved on quite often through the course of the day.
These 2 random, crazy children were romping in the water, and it was COLD, so more power to em.
One of the most satisfying things is popping those seaweed globules with your toes
Friend was challenged to make a sandman, and he delivered. The curved arms give it a bit of an Olaf vibe, wouldn't you agree?
Here's a shot of the rocky outcroppings we were exploring.
The birds were also a fan of the rocks overlooking the turbulent waves.
Remember all those seagulls? Well, some have to bite the dust eventually. I think it's head and beak are pretty cool looking. Makes me think of the Snipe skeleton that Charles Muntz so delicately preserved in the Pixar film, Up.
Barnacles! And irl they were so much more vibrant.
I thought about how the rocks of Asilomar are slowly ground into sand.
I thought about the Polynesian migrations and the groups of explorers pushing out from their home in an outrigger, never expecting to stumble upon the islands and vast coastlines that they did.
I wondered what Native American coast dwelling folk thought when they saw the white foam of the waves crash across a rock while the sun was setting. Did they notice it's beauty, or simply see the ocean as a food supplying mechanism? Did they sit and enjoy the millions of shades that can appear in one sunset? Or was it just another occurrence like a gust of wind? Or did it have great meaning and symbolism?
I know if I really wanted to I could research and discover, but sometimes I think it's alright to not have all the answers, and let the questions roll around and reproduce in my head.
Finally, I thought about how some of these pictures are some of the best I think I've ever taken, and how excited I was to share an account of our time at the beach with yall.
Here we go.
After a nice drive through some agricultural land and some groves, we found ourselves on the coast. The weather was a bit moody all day, raining and misting in fits and spurts, but the rain let up for just a moment when we made a bathroom stop, and I was able to snap a few pictures.
We then traveled a bit further to Carmel beach where we enjoyed a picnic smorgasbord lunch as well as some frisbee, sandman making, and general frolicking.
Their little (but mighty) dog, Nala, was brought along, and loved on quite often through the course of the day.
These 2 random, crazy children were romping in the water, and it was COLD, so more power to em.
One of the most satisfying things is popping those seaweed globules with your toes
Friend was challenged to make a sandman, and he delivered. The curved arms give it a bit of an Olaf vibe, wouldn't you agree?
We then took a jaunt around downtown Carmel to window shop and enjoy the storefronts, as well as peruse around the cute little housenumberless beach houses.
After that we headed to Asilomar beach, a chunk of coastline featuring large, slowly eroding rocks to climb and explore.
I took my Olympus TG4 with me to explore, before reverting back to my Canon T6i for some gorgeous sunset photos, so try to see past the discrepancy in quality.
Here's a shot of the rocky outcroppings we were exploring.
Lots of tide pools with gently moving water.
The birds were also a fan of the rocks overlooking the turbulent waves.
Lots of seagulls and lots of crashing waves lead to some interesting sights.
Remember all those seagulls? Well, some have to bite the dust eventually. I think it's head and beak are pretty cool looking. Makes me think of the Snipe skeleton that Charles Muntz so delicately preserved in the Pixar film, Up.
Barnacles! And irl they were so much more vibrant.
After we climbed and ventured and explored, I stood on some rocks with my Canon back in my hands, and I took around 600 pictures of the sun setting over the ocean. As I stood and thought some more, I saw a sea lion frolicking very close to shore (in the image below) and a sea otter happily floating along. If I haven't said it enough already, sea otters are my most favorite animal, and to spot one being its adorable little self in the wild made my evening.
Alright, I know it seems like a ton of photos, but as the sky changed and the waves continued to crash with seemingly more power each time, I felt reinvigorated by the landscape, and an urge to take yet another photo overwhelmed my desire to try to converse space on my SD card. For every sunset photo here, there are 35 like it remaining on my card.
I am so grateful to have been able to go back to a "real" beach, where the waves dramatically crash upon the shore, unlike Port Aransas, where the water simply laps across the wet sand. Nothing wrong with the difference, but I didn't realize how much I missed CA beaches until I began anticipating our return.
And, fun little accomplishment for this future globe trotter, I flew home by myself, and through LAX at that!
This California trip truly convinced me that I love photography. I love it. I love all the things I notice now, and how I look for beauty in the everyday. I love learning more and bettering myself as a photographer.
Thank you for allowing me to share my passion with you.
I appreciate you, dear reader.
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