Eyes of a Child

Do you ever feel like you've just spent way too much time indoors lately? I feel like that pretty much every day. Luckily, my coworker is of the same sort, so today on our lunch break we walked down to Woods Cove, a beach by Diamond Street, pulled of our socks and shoes and hiked our skinny jeans up as far as the cheap stretch material would allow. The high tide's rushing waves competed with us to the strand of beach left before the cliffs - laughter and sillyness filled our spirits and I felt like a little kid, ready to strip down to my undergarments for the thrill of jumping in the icy blue water. Ahh, Pacific Ocean, you are my rebirth.


Last weekend I explored the tidepools, about a three minute walk North of Main Beach. Everyone was out enjoying the sunshine, greedily devouring the freedom of a Saturday afternoon with smiles and laughter and each in their own way.

High school boys at a game of giant hopskotch 

As I was walking on the irresolute waterline where the waves rest for a hesitant moment before retreating loyally back to the ocean, I saw some high schoolers draw deep grooves in the sand for a game of giant hopskotch. Naturally, I planted my feet in the wet sand and observed, and it didn't take long before we were discussing their pursuit for fun. I cannot tell you how hard we were cracking as the boys took turns making the game more challenging; "Backwards Hopskotch" and "Double Rectangle Only Hopskotch" were my faves - "Superman Hopskotch" was epic, but would lose it's beauty if explained.

Walk a little further and you hit the tidepools, enjoyed by all; loners, locals, the emo high school couple, the little boy wearing a wetsuit yet terrified of getting his feet wet, the mother reverently commanding her six year old daughter to slow down as she speeds over to investigate a cave (oh do you remember the wonders a cave could bring you as a child? You were the first to have ever discovered it!) and of course the inquisitive child that relentlessly pokes the poor yet patient sea anemone (amenome, anenemy?)

Inquisitive nature

We should never loose our curiosity, it drives us, it expands our horizons, it creates an interconnective mind supported by creativity. It still amazes me how I can continue to take in new life experiences, learn new things, study politics, biology, human nature, one hundred ways to prepare an egg,  create networks in my mind that expand from here to Tonga and every and any obscure destination in the world, and still, my head is so little. Who can possibly believe in limitations, when all that is going on in such a small space?

The Cave

Only accessible by crossing treacherous waters or climb the ruthless (five foot) cliffs

Ahh yes, I am still enamored by nature's curiosities, and I hope that I will never lose sight of them. Let not the world impressed upon us be the only one we see. Whatever my weathered retinas show me, I hope to see it through the eyes of a child. 

And so, I find a cave.

Perigee Moon

Unless you live under a block of concrete, or you simply have no interest in natural beauty, you may have noticed the Perigee Moon illuminating the sky last night. The Perigee Moon, approximately 14% bigger and 30% brighter than the opposite apogee moon, is about 50,000 km closer to earth and occurs every 18 years or so. The last one was in March 1993, the month and year my brother was born. Last night, on the 19th of March 2011, it appeared again - on my brother's 18th birthday.

These pictures were taken between 7:32 pm and 8:40 pm, overlooking the harbor in Dana Point, California.

The moon presented itself as a dangerous beauty, illuminating the sky even behind dark clouds. Watching the boats trickle in and out of the harbor was calming and gracious as they slid across the moon's reflection on the ocean surface.

Cheers to natural wonders out there - and to those who appreciate it