17 Jun Monterey Bay

Today, I woke with a need to write but lacked inspiration. I started by jotting down a few items of discussion, descriptions of recent travels, but felt my soul was still in slumber. Wanting to wake the maiden of the sea to evoke images I am longing to describe, I turned on the Discovery Channel to watch ‘Life’ in HD.

Admittedly, I cried for the newly hatched barnacle geese as they stumbled down a cliffs edge and I cringed each time their frail little bodies collided with a rock. I rejoiced for the three goslings that survived and mourned for the two that did not. However, once the humpback whales emerged on screen, I found myself mesmerized; inspired.

Next, came almost an hour of BBC’s: Blue Planet: Natural History of the Oceans: S1: E1: “Ocean World.” That’s when I felt it. The leap my heart makes when it swells to the mighty waves of Poseidon’s rage; when the ocean tide swells into a feverish break; crashing and etching itself into massive rock formations. Or the sweet calm that surrenders my soul when the ocean is calm and the tide gently kisses the beach: bubbly sea foam; reminiscent of champagne.

Calypso, the mermaids sea goddess is singing me a lullaby; I am her daughter and I must answer her call. I am under her spell. I must join my sisters. None can resist our beauty and seduction. We have seen grown men; pirates, come undone with our sequined, aqua tails, swollen breasts, and holographic fish that crown our luscious locks. We put them in a trance with our seductive angelic voices singing tales of our “Jolly Sailor Bold”…

May 24, 2015

It has been a year since my last trip to the ocean. We went exactly four times last year. Twice to Bodega Bay (where we went crabbing and had fun with a sea lion), once to Richmond (for midnight shore fishing), and once to San Francisco to visit Fisherman’s Wharf. Oh what adventures we had!

Each year, the ocean calls to me and when it does, I find I become restless until I am able to answer its call.  I have been begging him to make a trip up the coast. I started researching “adventures”: Big Sur or Bolinas. I had no way to explain myself other than to say, “I need this. I need to dig my toes deep in the hot sand. I need to watch the tide recede and watch the sand crabs burrow. I need to breathe the fresh salt water in my lungs. I need to feel the damp breeze on my face; cheeks aglow. I need to climb to the highest rock formation I can find and stand in my grandest Tadasana pose with gratitude in my salute. I need to run barefoot on the beach or just simply spin and spin in circles with my arms outstretched to the universe. My heart is bleeding and only the ocean can calm me…”

He simply nodded in agreement. He is my rock; my stability. He is grounded, responsible, and often the voice of reason. I am scattered; I am chaos. He is my twin flame, my soul mate, and literally, my other half. He is fire and I am air. He completes me.

“I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except, I think it’s because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all come from the sea.

And it’s an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea- whether it’s to sail or to watch it- we are going back from whence we came.” ~ John F. Kennedy

The next morning, we rose with the sun. We were going on a road trip; an adventure! My heart was giddy. We drove along the coast, stopping for pictures, food, and the occasional bathroom break. We made it to Monterey Bay, CA in approximately 4 – 4 1/2 hours. It was literally one of the best days of my life.

We saw sea otters, sea lions, sharks, tuna, sting rays, octopus, jelly fish, and so much more. We ate at a restaurant that overlooked the vast blue tides. We walked the wharf where all of the commercial fishing ships dock. We enjoyed clam chowder, and $30 Bloody Mary’s that included crab stuffed olives. We danced by the street art; Maidu murals. I dug my toes in the sand as he wrapped his arms around me.

I walked to the edge of a pier, and like a voyeur, I stood on a dock and watched a grayish sea otter floating on her back, cracking open and eating clams. A second, dark brownish, sea otter seemed to come up from the deep with what appeared to be a crab; his offering. Together, they tore it apart and almost seemed to feed each other; enjoying a meal together at sunset. Afterward, they held hands and floated as the suns rays muted into a pink and purple haze. I watched them until they floated from my vision…

I closed my eyes and deeply inhaled the crisp sea air, and exhaled all of my worries and concerns. I focused on my breath: inhale. hold. exhale. hold. inhale. hold. exhale. hold. I felt complete. I felt his hand touch the small of my back and with a warm, sleepy smile, I kissed him full of gratitude. I was ready to return home until the sea calls to me once more.