Overdosed on Beauty

Awe-ful beauty of the California Central Coast.

It’s July. Time to get out of Phoenix. Mike and I set forth on an extended road trip, leaving 112^o+ in Peoria in search of cooler temps and views of water. Thankfully, the state of California has done a good job of securing the coast for conservation and public use, allowing us easy access to the coast.

We picked up California Highway 1 in Ventura about which I will write more extensively in another post. Avoiding Highway 101, we crawled through the Central Coast, encountering awe-ful views of the Pacific coast, mesmerized by the colors of the sea variegated from pale blue through a variety of aquas, and culminating in navy blue.

Immense boulders offshore provided God with the tools to throw in blotches of bright white as the water crashed and swirled in dizzying patterns. Beaches extending for miles or protected in coves varied from fine brown sand to dark gray rocks, all of them beckoning us to explore.

North of Eureka, California, we left the coastline to take in trees, the stunning Redwood Forest. Having read “The Overstory” by Richard Powers, I was tempted to bow in admiration and humility before these ancient beings.

And then it hit. I was beautied out. This happens to me whenever we visit Bryce Canyon glowing with more color, texture, and depth than imaginable. I feel like a cup overflowing, with a heart ready to burst. Apologies to my writer friends, but the clichés are accurate.

Thankfully, we were stopping for two nights allowing time to recalibrate. I splurged on a room in Florence, Oregon, the balcony overlooking the Siuslaw River and picturesque bridge. The instructions for tsunami survival placed prominently on the desk are a little disconcerting for one growing up in tornado land. But that we were to head for the Dairy Queen was a comfort, knowing that I could be rewarded with a Peanut Buster Parfait if I survived.