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Day 1895/91 – Coast!

In some ways i must admit i like the idea of visiting the coast more than the actual act. No, that’s not entirely true. But, like so many things having is not so all-satifying as wanting. I suppose one could argue what i like most is saying “sorry, can’t work on that right now, i’m off to the coast.”

What does one do at the coast? The Pacific coast, that is. Well… one does not swim with the same abandon i have exhibited at Fire Island on the Atlantic side of the country. Why? It’s freakin’ cold, that’s why. The pacific is not unlike lake superior in that people die in the respective waters. If you disrespect the pacific, just like if you disrespect the big lake, you will be punished. How does one disrespect a body of water? It’s actually easier than you think. Where the pacific is concerned the first transgression people perform is to turn their backs on the ocean. Bad idea.

Lake Superior is more subtle in that the waves are, generally, much smaller than those found on the pacific coast. However that subtlety lulls you into a false sense of security as you float in the warmer top few inches of the icy waters enjoying the calm, rhythmic undulations of the gentle waves. Suddenly you feel a deeper chill and realize the warm sun on your body is not counteracting the heat bleeding off into the lake as you float lower in the fresh water. You glance to one side realizing you’ve drifted just a bit farther away from the dock where you go into the water. You abruptly pull yourself upright. 4/5ths of your body is now submerged vertically…. and you gasp when you feel the unexpected numbing cold grip the lower half of your torso. What you’re feeling is the thermocline, which, for the big lake, begins just inches below the sun-warmed surface. The lower part of your body is feeling the true nature of the lake: 36 degrees on average. Even confident swimmers feel a twinge of panic, sink once as their legs unexpectedly spasm in the cold, aspirate water, panic takes hold… and you drown 10 feet from shore.

Don’t disrespect the water.

But all that being said I am deeply happy to once again live in a state connected to water. Just to sit on the sand and listen to the waves has a lizard-brain calming affect. That calming affect shows up in my photographs, which are supremely boring. But this is just the first trip. Now the coast is but 3 hours from where i’m typing these words. No longer do i need to plan weeks in advance, block out days for travel, put aside hundreds of dollars for travel expenses and concoct an itinerary (with contingencies of course).

What does one do at the coast? If you go to Seaside you play Skee-ball and ride the bumper cars. But what i do is immerse myself is the utter timelessness and scale of the ocean…. and remind myself that all my worries are hardly a drop in the vastness.

Maybe on trip 3 i’ll play Skee-Ball, too.