08-13-09

It was a beautiful sunny morning. I enjoyed coffee and futzed around the house.
I finished cleaning trailer #9. The fridge was still dirty and I took apart the ceiling vent and cleaned it.
I was itching to ride my bike and Corey needed some keys made, so I rode to the hardware store. Then I rode to the beach two blocks south of home. I hadn’t been to that beach yet. More people were there than the beach west of home. It is right on the 101 and is more accessible. I dipped my bike tire in the ocean for symbolic reasons, but really couldn’t ride it on the soft sand. It’s a long curved sandy beach. Two 4-wheel-drive trucks drove by. It looked like a lot of fun, plus you could really cover a lot of ground. I need to get a permit and then I can drive my Jeep on the beach. The permit is free. I watched closely the way they drove to learn hopefully how not to get stuck. It seems the wet sand near the water is harder and easier to drive on. It’s a balancing act though, if you drive too close to the ocean the waves will hit you. I got my poor rusted Jeep out of the winter salt, now I’ll douse it in salty water.
I sat on the beach for awhile. I girl walked by taking pictures. She was a long distance biker who had ridden across America from Virginia and was now headed south to San Francisco. Fascinated by all of the long distance touring bicyclists on the 101 I asked her all sorts of questions. She was going to cheat a bit and hitch a ride for the next 10 miles, or so.
I went home for awhile, then went to the beach west of home that evening. I rode my bike there, then walked around. I brought a bottle of wine and a glass in my back pack and sipped it as I explored the beach and rocks. There was no one on the beach. It was odd to have such an amazing place all to myself. I had my headphones on and kept looking over my shoulder for people, but there was never anyone anywhere. I could see for miles in all directions. I played on the rocks and in the sand and surf. The ocean is so loud that I could still enjoy the crashing waves over my thumping tunes.
I biked home as the sun set. When I rounded a corner there was a small deer standing in the road. It ran around the corner. I fumbled for my camera and moved forward. It went up the ditch and into the brush. I rolled forward and looked into the woods. For a second I saw nothing, then saw the deer standing right there looking at me. I shot a few pictures. The deer just stood there. Usually animals run off so fast I’m lucky to get a couple of pictures. I wasn’t sure what to do so I shot some video.
Eventually it slowly walked back and disappeared into the trees.