Close Encounters with the Ocean.

I lived 4 years in this paradise.

I like to think of the ocean with the rhythmic sound of waves lapping the shore, with the sun warming the cool, brown sand, and with me lost in my dreams. That’s my idyllic place––my happy place. I love my close encounters with the ocean––at least most of them.

In my early married life, we lived in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, at the edge of the Pacific Ocean. I'd yelp with joy as whales passed by on their migratory path from Alaska to Mexico and back. I'd marvel at how surfers remained upright on their boards, and I'd laugh when they took head-over-heals tumbles into the waves that they were trying to conquer. I loved my nearly daily visits to the beach with my two-year-old son and my friend and her son, as she and I took turns watching our boys play in the sand as the other jogged down the beach. And I was relieved when I finished my mile-round trip run and plopped on my blanket to become one with the ocean.

One day a rogue wave surprised me and splashed over my blanket and backpack. I squealed as I grabbed my son and stumbled away from that wet mess. I thought I was far back from the water line, and I wasn’t expecting it.

That was a lesson well-learned. Pay attention! Be alert! You can never fully trust the ocean and its wily ways.

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my sea glass

Now, many years later, I live on another portion of the ocean––the same ocean, but farther north, in Santa Cruz. The rules still apply. Pay attention! Be alert! Maybe I should say, “The same rules should apply.” But I let my guard down, and my good sense with it.

my sea glass

 


The ocean offers many gifts, which can be found on its shore. Smooth, round pebbles, driftwood pieces, and shells, of all sorts. For me, one of the ocean’s greatest gifts is sea glass. It comes in many colors, red, yellow, orange, blue, and brown, and I love it all.

One afternoon in January after a series of atmospheric rivers wreaked havoc on the Santa Cruz shoreline, there were sightings of sea glass––lots of sea glass. I was unstoppable. A friend and I hiked down the hill to the beach. The day was gray and cold, and the ocean was wild, but nothing could keep me from the sea glass littering the wet sand. With my polka-dotted boots pulled to my knees, I headed to the shoreline. I was in my zone.

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Soon I was collecting sea glass and gleefully stashing it in my pockets. This was my biggest find ever, and I was excited. Aquamarine, milky white, sea green, and brown gems were my treasures until a wild, rogue wave crashed into me and the cliff behind me and knocked me to the ground. The January cold waves swirled around me and did their best to carry me out to sea, but I got snagged on a log and held on. My friend and a passerby dashed into the waves, grabbed me, and pulled me to safety.

I looked like a drowned fish, and I was soaked to the bone … but I still had my sea glass.

Would I do it again? Probably!

Would I be overly excited to find sea glass? Definitely.

But would I be smarter, more aware, and alert of the hidden perils of the ocean? A resounding Yes! I think so!

I will keep one eye of the ocean waves as my other searches the wet sand for the glimmer of sea glass––aquamarine, milky white, sea green, brown, pink, mint, purple, cobalt blue, ruby red, orange, yellow, amethyst, cornflower, amber, and….

Wouldn’t you?

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Clip Art compliments of bing.com