#9 - Monday Musings - Mendocino!

Last week was heavy. I struggled to focus, didn’t have much of an appetite, and would catch myself with a steady stream of tears down my face. I am not surprised by what I see happening in the world, but I continue to feel great sadness at the ways in which people are willing to hurt one another. I made a concerted effort not to wallow in despair - when I couldn’t focus on one task, I shifted to the other; and I found the tears dried up when I took my rage out on the oxalis weeds that have overtaken the rose garden in my backyard.?

I spent a lot of last week reminding myself that I have a plan, and I am working against that plan. Last week alone, I made great strides in updating my website, connecting with old friends, and learning more about gardening. I know I am capable of staying the course, even if there are hurricane gale forces trying to throw me off of my track.?

Nevertheless, it was nice to have a brief escape.?

I vowed that on my move back to California, I would not delay in seeing places of interest to me that I had managed to skip when I lived here before. The Northern California Coast had always looked so beautiful to me. When it came time to plan a trip for Conor’s birthday, I picked Mendocino - a place that would be new to the both of us and offer two of our favorite things: the beach and the forest.?

We drove up Saturday morning (traffic-free, a miracle), crossing the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, through Sonoma country, before weaving through the rolling waves of the 128 West before finding ourselves in dense Redwood forest, the ocean on our left, as we traveled up the 1. It was truly beautiful - sharp cliffs lined with homes with large glass windows, waves breaking along the rocks, everything saturated in the best of their color (is there a better color than ocean blue?).?

We arrived and went to the town of Mendocino, enjoying a lunch outside in the sun. I was pleasantly surprised by how warm it was. We then went to the two bookstores in town - and abandoned any reasonable limits (I think we came home with at least 10 books) - first going to Gallery Bookshop, and then Main Street Book Shop where we had a chance to hang out with the shopkeeper’s dog, Buddy. We spent the afternoon meandering - walking along the cliffs, sun beating down and warming our faces, making new inside jokes over a wine tasting and laughing as the sherbet sunset behind us glowed. It was good to just be.

On Sunday morning we started our day at Cafe Beaujolais and I had one of the BEST biscuits of my life and we enjoyed brunch outside in the sun with coffee. We then headed north, to see Glass Beach (much of the glass has been taken, but it is still beautiful). Conor and I enjoyed looking at the tide pools - hermit crabs duking it out, abalone abandoned along the shore (which I was not allowed to bring home), a seagull even dropped a sea urchin on Conor as it flew overhead! We then made our way to Point Cabrillo lighthouse and enjoyed the trail there and watched as whales played in the ocean beyond. From there, we headed to see a property (I was not kidding about purchasing land this year!) before making our way home with a compulsory stop at In-N-Out on the way back.?

It was a beautiful weekend and it was good to be reminded that we can still have beauty and find moments of ease even if the world around us is continuing to shift and morph. I have always struggled with cognitive dissonance, but I am working harder this year to be able to enjoy and be present in the happy moments where we can find them. ?