Some Say We Were Crazy

                                                          

Mike & Diana’s Trip to Ocean Cove 
November 2003

Just because Diana and I decided to go to the coast last weekend, some said we were crazy. After all, a storm was coming in. What fun would that be to remain locked up in one's motorhome (MH) for the weekend? I watched the news after our return on Monday evening, it reported on the "crazy" weather.

Well, we were right there on a coastal bluff to greet its arrival. And this is the story of our journey back in 2003..........

Usually, we travel with Steven & Skippy.....10 years old and one year old.....a boy and his dog, it's a beautiful thing. Often times one can factor in a second 10 year old...a tag-along friend to keep Steven company when his parents suffer from the simplicity of age. This trip, Diana made plans for Steven to be well cared for by "Auntie Ann" so we could venture out on our own...."just the two of us" as the song goes. Needless to say, we were excited at the prospects of the reduced responsibilities. Diana spent nearly two months refurbishing the MH interior. New flooring, wall paper, window coverings. A new refrigerator and stove have been added. It was like new! And we wanted to make sure all systems were a go for our upcoming 'biggie' trip to the Grand Canyon Thanksgiving week. Oh, and did I mention a new mattress? So now you can understand why we were excited at the prospects of being alone. After all, the new 'devices' needed to be checked....and double-checked. Right? Right.

I spent a vacation day on Friday so we could enjoy a full 3-day weekend. Friday arrived, and when we got up, ready to pack and roll, Steven was sick. Really sick. Oh my goodness.....was our trip going to be cancelled? Dad said "No Way!" and placed a phone call to Grandpa, who saved the day. He came over to take care of Steven until Ann could arrive. While we got a late start (noon instead of 9:00 a.m.) we nevertheless got underway with a song in our heart.

Ocean Cove is north of Jenner ("By the Sea") by about 30 minutes up Coast Highway One. It was dark when we arrived, and there were only two other RV's in sight when we rolled out to our favorite spot, on the bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and Ocean Cove. Diana put together a Cajun salmon dinner to die for, of which I washed down with a limited supply of Berringer's finest. By now the rain had started on-n-off, and we enjoyed listening to the pitter-patter of rain on the roof in between our favorite songs on the CD player. As we climbed into bed, we gave a hearty "thank you!" to God for the opportunity to enjoy this rare occasion. It almost seemed too quiet without the boy(s) and dog.

Saturday was what one might expect. Cloudy, cool, wet. Some would say this is not their idea of a good time on the coast. It lent itself to an opportunity for relaxed reading, and napping after a great breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and pan toast. If you don't know what pan toast is, ask me. You'll never use another toaster again!

Okay, so now it's nearing 2:00 p.m. We have had plenty of R&R....now we are getting a little anxious....for a walk, fresh air, movement....anything but sitting around in that little tiny home on wheels. I mean, one can only take so much! We had already taken a hike to the little Ocean Cove store, we had firewood, we had ribs for dinner....now all we needed was some clearing weather.

Suddenly, the rain stopped. The clouds started to split apart. Within minutes, I had the awning out, the BBQ in place, the ghetto blaster on the pick-nick table and my favorite tunes cranked up because we had no neighbors. The sea was crashing to the shore, the tide was coming in, and temperature was mild.....about 63, and no wind. The sun was working its way towards the ocean in the distance, and the vastness of the Pacific was evidenced by a horizontal opening of the clouds that made it look like someone had lifted a blanket, and there was a sliver of blue sky stretched across the horizon. From the left to the right, as far as you could see, south to north, there was this opening that gave enough of a sliver of blue for the sun to enter from the clouds just above the water in all it's glory as if God was saying "you better pay attention, because I'm about to put on a show for you".

The sun emerged from the bottom of the cloud layer and seemed to hover for quite a while, then touched the water. Within minutes it was swallowed up by the sea, but the glow created upon the bottom of the cloud cover cast an orange hue that film cannot capture. The majestic spread of visual warmth was something that cannot be described.

And that was just the beginning......

The ribs were great as were the warmth of the blankets on the new 'pillow top' mattress. Sleep was deep, uninterrupted by the norms of life. We awoke to the sound of thunder......how far off (Bob Seger) I sat and wondered....so we got up, sensing the hour to be about 5:00 a.m. Fresh coffee in hand, we both ventured outside to experience a sense of what it must have been like when God was creating the earth.

Two layers of clouds were hovering.....an upper layer of sheer thin white, and a lower level of dark, thick rain clouds, which were broken up into chunks like clay broken across a floor. Wind was evident when you looked up....you could see rapid movement of this awesome mass, but back on the earth, stillness abound. Then you could see it, miles off shore. Lightening bolts dancing across the water's surface, originating from the dark clouds. It lit up the shore line, the pearl white gleam of ocean foam from the turf tumbling towards the final crash of liquid vs. solid earth. Then the awesomeness of lightening bolts stretching across in a horizontal fashion like I have never seen before. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! I'm standing outside listening, and watching in total amazement, then realizing what an idiot I was for standing out in the open, in puddles of water no less! The lightening was now flashing from the east, and the west. We were surrounded by a show of force that man could never recreate.

I retreated into the comfort and security of our home on wheels. Diana and I looked at each other as if to say "did we really see what we thought was saw!?!" It was absolutely beautiful, like being in the eye of a hurricane, but without the organized violence.

Then we happened to notice the clock.....it was 1:20 a.m.! It must have been the electricity in the air or something. We both felt like we had a full 8 hours of sleep. So we packed up our campsite and headed south. Destination: Bodega Bay. For about an hour we ambled along at 15 mph, enjoying the total lack of traffic, and a view from the bluffs that looked straight down nearly a thousand feet it seemed. Diana clutched her armrest, trying to avoid eye contact with the crest of the cliff.....many without guard rails.

Around 4:00 a.m. we pulled into a day use area and parked overlooking a beach that is usually filled with tourists from San Francisco. The smell of breakfast cooking with a view of the moon approaching the water was just too good. After stuffing ourselves, we decided to nap. All the excitement, travel and food must have worn us out, because we did not awaken until 9:00 a.m. Not a cloud in the sky. A fresh pot of coffee filled our travel mugs and away we went, heading for home. We ended up catching up to the storm that had departed the coast line. Light rain on and off all the way home. We arrived around 2:00 p.m.....plenty of time to unpack and reflect on our journey.

We could not have experienced this in a hotel, motel or house. The cozy MH and ability to park on a piece of million dollar real estate brought us to a sample of what creation might have been like. A trip we will not soon forget. At $14.00 per night, we will return this winter, rain or shine. I know one thing....had Steven gone with us, he would have thought we were crazy.

                      Ocean Cove sunset - without the storm on a better day